LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 230Ah Plus LiFePO₄ Deep Cycle Battery

LiTime (former Ampere Time) 12V 230Ah Plus Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO₄) Deep Cycle Battery is a compact and robust lithium rechargeable battery designed for various off-the-grid applications that require lightweight deep cycle, maintenance-free battery.

LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery is not intended for starting (cranking) applications or golf cart batteries, although it can provide relatively strong currents and support connecting in parallel and series (up to 4S4P).

Published: April 17, 2023.

LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus Battery Features and Specifications

LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery features a nominal voltage of 12.8V and a capacity of 230Ah - the battery can store up to 2944 Wh of energy.

The physical dimensions of the LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery are (L x W x H) 19 x 6.7 x 9.5 inches (483 x 170 x 240 mm - M8 battery terminals included), and it weighs only 45.29 pounds (~20.5 kg) and can even be carried around by a single adult via built-in handles.

Note: don't try to carry around similarly sized lead-acid batteries since they are 2-3x heavier.

Due to its dimensions, the LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery belongs to the BCI Group 4D batteries - just be aware of the size difference (L x W x H):

• LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery: 19 x 6.7 x 9.5 inches (483 x 170 x 240 mm),
• BCI 4D Group batteries: 20.75 x 8.75 x 9.875 inches (527 x 222 x 250 mm).

As one can see, the LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery can easily fit any battery compartment intended for 4D group batteries - actually, with its width of only 6.7 inches (170 mm), 5 (five) LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus batteries can fit into the battery compartment intended for 4 (four) 4D batteries and very often 4 (four) LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus batteries can fit into the battery compartment intended for 3 (three) 4D batteries:

• 4 (four) LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus batteries width: 26.8 inches (~681 mm),
• 5 (five) LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus batteries width: 33.5 inches (~851 mm),
• 3 (three) 4D batteries max. width: 26.25 inches (~667 mm) - 0.55 inches (~14 mm) less than the width of 4 (four) LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus batteries,
• 4 (four) 4D batteries max. width: 35 inches (~889 mm) - 1.5 inches (~38 mm) more than the width if 5 (five) LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus batteries.

LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery internally features 4S1P construction - it comes with 4 (four) 3.2V 230Ah rectangular cells connected in series.

To protect the battery from unwanted events, the battery also features a built-in BMS that protects the battery from over-charging, over-discharging, short-circuiting, too-strong charging/discharging currents, and too-low and too-high temperatures.

The battery's temperature limits are:

• Charge temperature: 32°F to 122°F (0°C to 50°C),
• Discharge temperature: 4°F to 140°F (-20°C to 60°C),
• Storage temperature: 14°F to 122°F (-10°C to 50°C).

Generally, like any similar Lithium Iron Phosphate battery, the LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery should be stored, charged, and discharged at room temperature or slightly less (15-20°C).

Recommended charging and discharging settings are:

Maximum continuous charging/discharging currents are 200 Amps, allowing the battery to power various systems up to 2400 Watts.

Note: the manufacturer doesn't provide actual constant current and constant power discharge charts, but when the battery is discharged at a 200A rate, its voltage drops below the nominal voltage of 12.8V. Thanks to LiFePO₄ chemistry, the battery doesn't feature capacity loss due to the high discharge current (at least not as lead-acid batteries), and it doesn't feature a memory effect like older NiCd batteries.

For systems requiring even more power and energy, LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus batteries support connecting in parallel and series, up to 4S4P battery packs - 51.2V, 920Ah, and ~47 kWh of stored energy.

Such a battery pack can provide 1kW of electricity for 47 hours, which is almost 2 days - an excellent solution for RVs, yachts, electric boats, large backup systems, and similar automotive, marine, and light industrial applications.

Note: when connecting lithium deep cycle batteries in series and/or parallel, always connect them as recommended by their manufacturer. In this case, it means that the batteries must be of the same model and similar age, fully charged to the same voltage - personally, the batteries should be of the same age, preferably from the same batch.

Expected lifetime of the LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery is ~10 years, or:

• 15000 cycles @60% DoD (Depth of Discharge),
• 6000 cycles @80% DoD,
• 4000 cycles @100% DoD.

As one can see, the LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery support at least 10x more charging/discharging cycles than the similar lead-acid (wet/flooded, AGM, or Gel-cell) battery.

LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery comes with a 5-year limited warranty.

How To Charge LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus Battery

The maximum continuous charging current of the battery is 200 Amps, while the maximum recommended charging current manufacturer doesn't state - personally, keep the charging current around 40-50 Amps, and the battery will last for a very long time.

LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery can be recharged using the following:

• solar panels with MPPT solar charge controller,
• dedicated lithium battery charger,
• advanced AGM battery charger with a dedicated lithium battery charging mode,
• power generator combined with a suitable AC/DC battery charger.

Solar Panels

Solar panels, combined with an MPPT solar charge controller, can recharge LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery even when completely off the grid.

For example, 12V 30A solar charge controller can recharge the LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery discharged down to 100% DoD in ~8 hours of sunlight, requiring at least ~450W of power.

Since solar panels never operate at their designed maximum, one should consider solar panels in the 600-800 Watts range due to weather issues (clouds, for example), season (winter, summer, etc.), solar panels orientation, etc.

One of the recommended models is LiTime 30 Amp MPPT 12V/24V Solar Charge Controller (Amazon link opens in the new window), which also comes with a Bluetooth adapter, allowing the user to monitor it via a smartphone.

Of course, there are other models on the market as well.

Dedicated Lithium Battery Charger

Lithium batteries are charged using different charging algorithms than lead-acid batteries.

A typical charging algorithm is CC/CV (Constant Current/Constant Voltage) algorithm, ensuring safe and relatively quick charging.

One of the recommended dedicated lithium battery chargers is LiTime 14.6V 40A LiFePO4 Battery Charger (Amazon link opens in the new window).

As its label suggests, its maximum charging current is 40 Amps, allowing the charger to recharge the 12.8V 230Ah battery discharged down to 100% DoD in ~6-6.5 hours.

AC power source for this battery charger may be an AC wall power socket or a power generator with at least 700-800 Running Watts.

Advanced AGM Battery Chargers

Advanced AGM battery chargers can be used to recharge lithium batteries only if they feature dedicated lithium battery charging mode - if not, do NOT use them to recharge the lithium batteries, or the battery can overheat, the BMS battery may get damaged, etc.

One of the recommended models is the NOCO GENIUSPRO50 50A Smart Car Battery Charger (Amazon link opens in the new window), which supports charging of the lead-acid, AGM, and lithium batteries at 6V, 12V, and 24V, with maximum currents of 50A (@6V, @12V) and 25A (@24V).

Also, it can decrease the charging current down to 10 Amps.

NOCO GENIUSPRO50 battery charger may also be used to repair deeply discharged batteries, can be used as 12V and 24V power supply, etc.

Loaded with necessary safety features, the NOCO GENIUSPRO50 battery charger is not cheap, but neither are the batteries it is intended to charge.

If You are looking for a serious battery charger at a reasonable price, consider this unit.

With its maximum charging current of 50 Amps, the NOCO GENIUSPRO50 battery charger can recharge a fully discharged LiTime 12.8V 230Ah battery in ~5-5.5 hours.

If the power generator is used to recharge the battery, it must provide at least 900-1000 Running Watts.

LiTime 12V 200Ah Plus Battery vs. LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus Battery

LiTime 12V 200Ah Plus and LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus batteries are two very similar batteries, with the 230Ah model being an improvement over the somewhat older 200Ah model.

These batteries don't differ just in capacity but also in:

• Dimensions: 200Ah model dimensions are (L x W x H) 20.5 x 9.37 x 8.54 inches (~521 x 238 x 217 mm; BCI 6D group battery), while 230Ah model dimensions are 19 x 6.7 x 9.5 inches (~483 x 170 x 240 mm). 230Ah model is a more compact model.
• Weight: 200Ah model weighs 52.3 pounds, while the 230Ah model weighs 45.29 pounds - that is 7 pounds (~3.17 kg) less.
• Both models feature M8 battery terminals, but their position is different: the 200Ah model has both terminals on the left side of the battery, while the 230Ah model has terminals on the front side spaced much more apart (positive to the left-front side, negative to the right-front side of the battery).

Other features (charging and discharging currents, for example) are practically the same. So, if You are looking for a lithium 12V deep cycle battery in the 200+ Ah range, consider the newer 230Ah model.

LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus Battery As Power Inverter Battery

Unfortunately, the manufacturer doesn't provide exact constant current and constant power discharge charts, but that is not required to approximate the battery's behavior when used to power a power inverter.

As a power inverter battery, the LiTime 12V 230Ah Plus battery can provide at least the following:

P_Bat = 10.8V * 200A = 2160 Watts

Such output power is ideal for power inverters with 1000W maximum output power and 2000W surge power and energy efficiency of at least 90%.

Note: if the power inverter continuously runs at more than 60-70% of its nominal Watts, the power inverter is underpowered for such an application.

Long Story Short: LiTime (former Ampere Time) 12V 230Ah Plus battery is lightweight and relatively compact Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery intended for deep cycle applications, including automotive, marine, light industrial, etc. applications.

Thanks to the maximum charging/discharging currents of 200A, the battery may provide plenty of power and can be recharged relatively quickly.

Also, for systems requiring more power (higher voltage, larger capacity), the battery supports connecting in series and parallel up to 4S4P (51.2V 920Ah).

If You are looking for a 4D-sized lithium deep-cycle battery, consider this model.

For more reviews and recommendations, feel free to check the LiTime (Ampere Time) 12V 230Ah Plus LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery Amazon link (the link opens in the new window).