LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH 12V 50Ah LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery

LiTime (formerly known as Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH is a very popular ultra-lightweight, deep cycle, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO₄) battery suitable for various applications requiring at most 500-600W and the battery that can be quickly recharged and that supports a large number of charging/discharging cycles.

LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH is commonly used as a kayak trolling motor battery, fishfinder battery, small inverter battery in various off-the-grid systems, as a backup battery, in medical and security systems, etc.

Updated: February 9, 2023.

LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH Features and Specifications

LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH is a very compact and lightweight battery featuring physical dimensions of 7.79 x 6.53 x 6.69 inches (~198 x 166 x 170 mm) and weighing only 11.57 pounds (5.24 kg).

LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 50Ah battery is based on the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO₄) chemistry which ensures safe operation and is additionally supported by the internal built-in Battery Management System (BMS), which protects the battery from unwanted events, including overcharge, over-discharge, over-current and short-circuit.

Thanks to its lithium chemistry, LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH supports more than 4000(!) charging/discharging cycles, comes with a 5-year limited warranty, and can be safely discharged down to 100% DoD.

Maximum charging and discharging current is limited to 50 Amps - personally, the charging current should be kept below 25 Amps, preferably around 10-15 Amps.

The operating temperature is between -20°C and +60°C, while the charging temperature should be between 0°C and 50°C.

Internally, LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH features four 3.2V cells connected in series for a nominal voltage of 12.8V.

Also, thanks to lithium chemistry, the battery doesn't suffer from a capacity loss when being discharged by stronger currents like lead-acid batteries. LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH features much-improved energy efficiency when compared with similar lead-acid batteries.

The outer casing is made of tough and durable ABS plastic, ensuring good resistance to vibrations and mechanical impacts. Also, it features IP65 dust and water level protection.

According to the manufacturer, the Ampere Time APT-12V50AH battery can provide 640 Wh and 640W of power.

Personally, this battery cannot provide 640W of power since as soon as the discharge current reaches 50 Amps, the voltage drops below the nominal 12.8V required for 640W.

Also, the battery cannot provide 640 Wh of energy, not even if the battery is being discharged using a very low current.

But, depending on the battery age, condition, and charging method, LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH is able to provide 550-600 Wh (and W) without issues, which is still an excellent result.

If more energy and power are required, LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH can be connected in parallel (up to 4 batteries) and in series (up to 4 batteries) to create battery packs up to 200Ah and up to 48V.

Personally, if You need a larger battery, go for a similar Ampere Time 12V 100Ah, 200Ah, 300Ah, 400Ah, and other similar batteries.

Note: when connecting lithium batteries in parallel and series, always connect them as recommended by the battery manufacturer. Also, never mix batteries of different capacities or ages.

How to Charge LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 50Ah Battery

Since it is a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery, the LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH battery can be charged with currents up to 50 Amps, using either dedicated lithium battery chargers or an advanced AGM battery charger that features a dedicated lithium battery charging mode.

Also, it can be recharged using the following:

• solar panels (150-200W) connected to a battery charge controller that supports the charging of lithium batteries.
• lithium charge controller with 12V input, which features DC to DC converter in order to increase the charging voltage up to 14.6V.
• a small power generator with a 120V AC receptacle and the battery charger or 12V DC port using a lithium charge controller with a DC to DC converter.

The good thing is that LiTime (Ampere Time) offers this battery also as a bundle with a 10A lithium battery charger, so if You need only one battery and You already don't have the charger, this combo is highly recommended.

LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH As Inverter Battery

LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH is commonly used as a power inverter battery that can provide at least 550-600W continuously, making it suitable for power inverters with such power input.

For example, a 300W power inverter with 90% energy efficiency requires the following:

P(W) = 300W / 0.90 = ~333W

of input power, which is well within the 550-600W limit of the battery.

However, most power inverters feature surge power which is usually 2x their nominal power - in this example, such a power inverter would need:

P(W) = 600 / 0.9 = ~666W

to provide 600 surge watts, which is slightly above the battery's maximum power threshold - depending on the surge length, the battery's BMS will most probably cut off the battery to protect it.

In short, LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH can be used for power inverters in the 300-500W range, but You should be very careful regarding the surge power.

LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH Battery As Trolling Motor Battery

Single LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH battery can be used as a trolling motor battery for electric trolling motors up to 20-30 pounds of thrust - larger motors simply draw too strong currents, and they would cause BMS to disconnect the battery due to the overcurrent events.

As such, the battery is typically used as a kayak trolling motor battery and often as a large fishfinder battery.

When the electric motors draw ~20 Amps constantly, the battery can be used for up to ~2.5h, which is a lot when fishing with kayaks, and when the trolling motor is mostly used only for faster position change and not for actual trolling.

Many kayakers use LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH battery as the main battery for everything, including trolling motor, navigation lights, fishfinders, etc., and are recharging it using solar panel kits with the chargers that support charging of the lithium batteries - recommended power is ~200W.

LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH Battery As Fish Finder Battery

LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH battery is commonly used on kayaks and similar smaller boats for powering onboard electronics, fish finders included.

When LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH battery is used to power only the fish finder, runtime depends directly on the fish finder drain current, which for most models ranges from 0.7 Amps to 3.0 Amps.

So, depending on the current draw, LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH can power fish finders up to:

• 0.7 Amps: ~71 hours (almost three days!),
• 1.5 Amps: ~33 hours,
• 3.0 Amps: ~16 hours.

And the best of all is that LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH battery can be recharged with a lightweight, portable solar panel, allowing the users to power their fish finders, and other electronics, practically 24/7.

Long Story Short: LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH battery is an excellent ultralight battery with excellent charging and discharging features, but it is limited to 50 Amps of charging and discharging current.

The battery supports a very large number of charging cycles (up to 4000+), has very good energy efficiency, a low self-discharge rate, and in the long run, it is not expensive, on the contrary.

For more reviews and recommendations, feel free to check the LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH Battery and LiTime (Ampere Time) APT-12V50AH Battery With The Battery Charger Amazon links (links open in the new windows).