12V 1000Ah Lithium, AGM, and Gel-Cell Deep Cycle Batteries Comparison

12V 1000Ah lithium, AGM and Gel-Cell deep cycle batteries (or battery packs) are able to store huge amounts of energy and release it when required.

Such battery packs can be used for electric vehicles and boats, off-the-grid batteries, solar batteries, backup batteries, medical and security devices, and similar.

However, lithium, AGM and Gel-Cell batteries differ in many features, including weight, the number of supported charging/discharging cycles, charging and discharging currents, etc. - all of which have their own pros and cons ...

Published: March 17, 2022.

Intro To 12V 1000Ah Lithium, AGM, and Gel-Cell Batteries and Battery Packs

12V 1000Ah batteries are large and expensive batteries and as such, they are rare to find.

However, many battery brands offer BCI 4D or BCI 8D batteries which can be connected in parallel to create a battery pack with a nominal voltage of 12V and a nominal capacity in the 1000-1200Ah range.

Note: When connecting batteries in parallel, always connect them as recommended by their manufacturer, especially lithium batteries.

The following chart lists some of the most popular 12V deep cycle lithium, AGM, and Gel-Cell batteries and the features and specifications of the possible battery packs which may be created using these batteries - batteries are ordered alphabetically:

As one can see, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO₄) batteries are ~2-3x lighter than AGM and Gel-Cell lead-acid batteries, however, this is when nominal 20h capacities are being compared.

When 1-2h capacities are being compared, Lithium batteries perform much better and are actually much lighter, since lithium batteries can provide strong currents without the capacity loss, or at least, not as near capacity loss as lead-acid batteries.

For example:

- Ampere Time 12V 1200Ah Lithium Battery Pack can provide 800A cont., and its 1h capacity can't be calculated, but it can provide 800A for almost 1.5h.

- CHINS 12V 1200Ah Lithium Battery Pack can provide 750A cont., and its 1h capacity can't be calculated, but it can provide 750A ≥1.5h.

- Eco-Worthy 12V 1000Ah Lithium Battery Pack can provide 600A cont., and its 1h capacity can't be calculated, but it can provide 600A ≥1.5h.

- Lossigy 12V 1200Ah Lithium Battery Pack can provide 600A cont., and its 1h capacity can't be calculated, but it can provide 600 for almost 2 hours.

- Mighty Max 12V 1000Ah AGM Battery Pack can provide 575A for 1h (575Ah 1h capacity - that is 57.5% of its nominal capacity) and 313A for 2 h (626Ah 2h capacity - that is 62.6% of its nominal capacity).

- Renogy 12V 1000Ah GEL Battery Pack can provide 546.5A for 1h (546.5Ah 1h capacity - that is 54.6% of its nominal capacity) and 330A for 2h (660Ah 2h capacity - that is 66% of its nominal capacity).

- Renogy 12h 1000Ah AGM Battery Pack can provide 550A for 1h (550Ah 1h capacity - that is 55% of its nominal capacity) and 327A for 2h (654Ah 2h capacity - that is 65.4% of its nominal capacity).

- Zooms 12V 1200Ah Lithium Battery Pack can provide 800A cont., and its 1h capacity can't be calculated, but it can provide 800A for almost 1.5A.

As one can see, AGM and Gel-Cell lead-acid batteries feature serious capacity loss when being discharged with stronger currents.

Also, one must be aware that lead-acid batteries support 8-10x fewer charging/discharging cycles, they don't accept the charge as quickly as lithium batteries, they feature a stronger self-discharge rate, they are heavier, etc.

However, AGM and Gel-Cell batteries are not done yet.

First of all, they are (still) cheaper than lithium batteries and they are safe by design - to make lithium batteries safe, lithium batteries come with a built-in Battery Management System which protects the battery from unwanted events like overcharging, over-discharging, overcurrent, short circuit, and similar.

And that is the main weakness of the lithium batteries - if the lithium battery is powering an electric system and there is a short glitch (current surge) in the system, that glitch can cause BMS to disconnect the battery from the rest of the electric system.

Some batteries come with the BMS that will automatically reconnect the battery after the glitch/surge passes (with a certain delay), but not all - this can be an issue when the lithium battery is powering very important systems with electric motors, for example, sump pump backup system or similar.

So, for the systems where a large number of charging/discharging cycles is not important and the weight of the battery or battery pack is not important, and the battery must provide power even if there are strong power surges, feel free to still consider AGM/Gel-Cell lead-acid batteries. Just my 2c.

If You are interested more in this topic, feel free to check our articles:

- What Is The Best 12 Volt Lithium Battery?

- BCI Group 4D, 6D, and 8D Batteries - Dimensions, Features, and Recommendations

- Best 12V, 24V, 36V, and 48V Lithium Deep Cycle Battery For a Power Inverter

or check our Articles and Guides section.

Note: When choosing the right battery, choose according to your own needs and requirements.

12V 1000Ah Batteries as Inverter Battery

Large capacity 12V 1000Ah batteries are often used as inverter batteries in various situations, like RV house batteries, solar batteries, emergency off-the-grid batteries, and similar.

1000W Inverter Battery - Example

1000W power inverters feature output power of ~1000W with surge power usually around 2000W.

Since their energy efficiency is usually around 85%, in order to provide 1000 output watts, such power inverter requires ~1177W - for simplicity's sake and to have some energy reserve, we will round this number to 1200W!

If such inverter is powered by a 5x Mighty Max ML4D battery pack, each battery must be able to provide 240W.

Mighty Max provides accurate constant current and constant power discharge tables/graphs - a single Mighty Max ML4D battery is able to provide 240W ~8h down to 10.5W.

So, if we are going to power a 1000W power inverter with 85% efficiency with a 12V 1000Ah battery pack consisting of five Mighty Max ML4D batteries, we can expect ~8h of operation.

Surge Power Issue? If such battery pack must provide 2400W due to the energy surges, that would be 480W (~12V, 40A) per battery for a very short period of time, which is not a problem for Mighty Max ML4D and other similar lead-acid batteries.

On the other hand, if we are going to power the very same inverter with a lithium battery pack consisting of, for example, 5x Eco-Worthy 12V 200Ah batteries, such battery pack can provide 1200W for 10+ hours, since most lithium batteries, when discharged with relatively low currents, feature output voltage around 12.8V during most of their discharge cycle, showing one of the advantages of lithium batteries over lead-acid batteries - much better energy efficiency.

Surge Power Issue? If such battery pack must provide 2400W due to the energy surges, that would be 480W (~12V, 40A) per battery for a very short period of time, which is not a problem for Eco-Worthy 12V 200Ah and other similar lithium batteries.

5000W Inverter Battery - Example

5000W power inverters feature output power of ~5000W with surge power usually around 10000W.

Since their energy efficiency is usually around 85%, in order to provide 5000 output watts, such power inverter requires ~5883W - for simplicity's sake and to have some energy reserve, we will round this number to 6000W!

In this example, we will "use" the very same Mighty Max ML4D AGM lead-acid and Eco-Worthy 12V 200Ah lithium batteries - every single battery must provide 1200W per battery.

Mighty Max ML4D battery is able to provide 1200W for ~1h, while Eco-Worthy 12V 200Ah is able to provide 1200W (~12V, 100A) for ~2h.

Note: lithium batteries feature a much more stable output voltage!

Obviously, although both battery packs feature a nominal voltage of 12V and a nominal capacity of 1000Ah, this example shows the advantages of lithium batteries over AGM batteries - not only that lithium battery pack lasts 100% longer, it also weighs half the weight of the lead-acid battery pack (~46% to be more accurate).

Surge Power Issue? If the battery pack must provide 12000W due to the energy surges, that would be 2000W per battery for a very short period of time.

Mighty Max ML4D battery can provide ~2000W for 30 minutes down to 10.5V without issues - so, no issues due to the power surges.

Eco-Worthy 12V 200Ah battery can provide 120 Amps cont. and according to the currently available documentation, this is also the maximum discharge current. That means that this battery is able to provide maximum power of 1440-1500W, which is below the required 2000W per battery.

So, if You have a battery pack consisting of 5 Eco-Worthy 12V 200Ah batteries, such battery pack is unable to provide 12000 surge watts.

If that happens, BMSs will disconnect the batteries from the rest of the electric system and the battery pack as such will fail - surge power issue!

If You intend to use your battery pack for such power levels and You want to use lithium batteries, then go for Ampere Time 12V 300Ah or CHINS 12V 400Ah lithium batteries.

Such battery packs are able to provide 1600A and 2250A respectively for 5 seconds, which is more than enough. Also, these batteries create battery packs with the capacity of 1200Ah and not "only" 1000Ah.

Long Story Short: Lithium batteries are replacing AGM and Gel-Cell batteries in many applications requiring batteries that cycle well, that are lightweight, and feature a low-self discharge rate.

Just be sure to connect lithium batteries in parallel and/or series as recommended by their manufacturer and to charge them using lithium battery chargers or advanced AGM battery chargers that feature lithium battery charging modes.

When choosing the right battery to build yourself a new 12V 1000-1200Ah battery pack, choose according to your own needs and requirements.

And whatever You, do stay safe - after all, it is your own responsibility since these batteries are able to store huge amounts of energy and to release it at the moment's notice.