LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus Lithium LiFePO₄ Battery

LiTime (formerly known as Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus Lithium LiFePO₄ Battery is a large, powerful, reliable, and surprisingly lightweight deep cycle battery commonly used in applications that require a battery (or battery pack) that cycles well and that accepts the charge well.

LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus Lithium LiFePO₄ Battery is not the cheapest battery in its class, but it is a very popular one, thanks to its features that more than justify its price.

Updated: February 9, 2023.

LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus Lithium Battery Features and Specifications

LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus battery is based on the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO₄) chemistry, ensuring a high capacity-to-weight ratio, relatively strong charge and discharge currents, a very large number of charging and discharging cycles, safe operation, etc.

The physical dimensions of the battery are (L x W x H) 20.5 x 9.37 x 8.54 inches (~52.1 x 23.8 x 21.7 cm), and it weighs only 52.3 pounds (~23.7 kg).

Note: Ampere Time 12V 200Ah Plus battery is often classified as a BCI Group 4D Battery, but it is somewhat larger, and it actually belongs to the BCI Group 6D batteries.

The nominal voltage of the battery is 12.8V, and as long as the discharge current is kept below 0.5C (<100 Amps) and especially around or below 0.2C (<40 Amps), the discharge voltage is kept well above 12V, making this battery much more energy efficient than a similar lead-acid battery.

A nominal capacity is 200 Ah, and thanks to the LiFePO4 chemistry, the battery doesn't suffer from capacity loss due to the increase in discharge current.

For example, when the typical lead-acid battery is discharged for 1 hour, its actual capacity drops down to 55-60% of its nominal capacity, while the capacity of Ampere Time 12V 200Ah Plus remains almost (within a few percent, even lower) unchanged.

Like all similar lithium batteries, LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus comes with the built-in Battery Management System (BMS), which protects the battery from unwanted events, including overcharge, over-discharge, over-current, short circuit, and low/high temperature.

Because of all that, Ampere Time 12V 200Ah Plus battery supports more than 4000 charging/discharging cycles, features an estimated lifetime of 10 years, and comes with a 5-year limited warranty.

The maximum charging/discharging current is 200 Amps, with a maximum pulse current of 400 Amps for 5 seconds. Although the battery accepts the charge well, keeping the charging current slightly lower, for example, 0.25C (50 Amps), can prolong the battery life and increase the number of charging/discharging cycles.

Although the battery is able to provide 400 Amps for 5 seconds, which is enough to start smaller internal combustion engines, the battery should not be used as a cranking battery - if You have, for example, a power generator that requires less than 400 Amps to start, having another cranking-only battery can also prolong the LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus battery lifetime.

Such discharge currents allow a single battery to provide constantly ~2400W (200A @12V: safety margin, since the manufacturer advertises the battery as being able to provide 2560W constantly, which is 200A @12.8V).

Also, the battery is able to provide 4800W for 5 seconds, making it an excellent choice for inverters up to 2000-2200 continuous watts and 4000-4500 surge watts.

But, the battery comes with a BMS that allows the user to connect the battery in parallel (up to 4 batteries) and in series (up to 48V/51.2V).

Note: when connecting lithium batteries in parallel, always connect them as their manufacturer recommends and use batteries of the same model, preferably from the same batch (same age).

Ampere Time 12V 200Ah Plus battery features a pair of M8 battery terminals, ensuring firm contact between the battery and its cables.

The charging temperature of the battery is between 0°C and 50°C, while the discharge temperature is between -20°C and 60°C. While charging voltage should be kept between 14.2 and 14.6V, it should not exceed 15V (overvoltage protection threshold). Similarly, the over-discharge protection threshold is ~10.8V.

How To Charge Ampere Time 12V 200Ah Plus Battery

Since the battery is able to accept 200 Amps charging current, 40-50 Amps charging current causes no strain of any kind to the battery.

When the battery is charged with 40-50 Amps, the battery discharged down to 100% DoD can be recharged in 5-6 hours using the Constant Current/Constant Voltage (CC/CV) charging algorithm.

Such a charging algorithm is available using dedicated lithium battery chargers or advanced battery chargers that also feature a dedicated lithium battery charging mode.

Also, when the battery is charged using solar panels, the solar charge controller MUST support the charging of lithium batteries - for example, in order to charge the battery with 50 Amps, a solar battery charger controller with 85% energy efficiency will need:

14.6V * 50A / 0.85 = ~860W

of power.

And the size of solar panels required to provide 860W of power depends very much on their energy efficiency, which usually ranges from 30 to 80% with an average value of "only" 50%.

860W / 0.5 = 1720W

So, in order to recharge the Ampere Time 12V 200Ah Plus battery in 4-5 hours, one requires a solar charge controller to be able to provide 50A and solar panels being able to provide 860W, which in average conditions, which means having installed 1700-1800W solar panels.

LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus Battery as Trolling Motor Battery

In order to keep the wiring at an acceptable level, a maximum current of trolling motors is usually kept at 50-60 Amps which is not a problem for the LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus battery.

Since trolling motors are not used at full throttle all the time (if they are, they are seriously underpowered), a trolling motor with an average current of 30 Amps can be powered by LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus for 6+ hours, which is excellent value for the battery weighing just 52.3 pounds (23.7 kg).

For trolling motors operating at 24, 36, and/or 48 volts, note that Ampere Time 12V 200Ah Plus batteries can be connected in series to create 24, 36, and/or 48V battery packs.

For more info about this topic, feel free to check our Best 12V and 24V Lithium Trolling Motor Batteries article.

LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus Battery as Power Inverter Battery

With its 12.8V, 200Ah, 200 Amps continuous, and 400 Amps for 5 seconds, LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah battery can be used for power inverters up to 2000W nominal power and 4000W surge power.

For example, if the user has a 2000W power inverter with an energy efficiency of 90%, the battery must provide the following:

I_Bat (A) = 2000W / (12V * 0.9) = ~185 Amps

P_Bat (W) = 2000W / 0.9 = ~2222 Watts

for the power inverter to provide 2000 Watts for external loads.

And when a surge happens (4000W), the battery provides the following:

I_Bat (A) = 4000W / (12V * 0.9) = ~370 Amps

P_Bat (W) = 4000W / 0.9 = ~4444 Watts

Note: If the power inverter is pushed to its limit most of its operating time, it is seriously underpowered.

As one can see, LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah battery can be used to power a 2000W power inverter with ease - even if the inverter is at maximum, the battery can power it for ~1 hour.

Long Story Short: If You are looking for a deep cycle Lithium Iron Phosphate 12V 200Ah battery, consider the LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah 12V 200Ah Plus battery - it is able to deliver and accept 200 Amps with a surge current of 400A/5s.

Also, note that LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah manufactures similar 12V 200Ah lithium batteries:

• LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Lithium Battery ("Plus" is missing) with the BMS that supports 100Amps currents, and
• LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Self-Heating Lithium Battery with 200A BMS and battery charging down to -4°F/-20°C.

Personally, for most applications, the LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus Lithium LiFePO4 Battery is the best choice, although, for people who prefer winter activities, the self-heating model is recommended.

For more reviews and recommendations, feel free to check the LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 200Ah Plus Lithium LiFePO4 Battery Amazon link (link opens in the new window).