In this video, I review an Ampere Time 200Ah 12V lithium battery with self-heating capability. Low temperature charging down to -4F/-18C. I also test out one of their 20-amp lithium battery chargers.
Overall I found the battery to be pretty well built and performed well, given the comparatively low cost. See my Pros & Cons List below for more details.
Everything tested OK except for an issue with the max-rated discharge current of 100A. In my test, I could go as high as 200 amps. Ampere Time tech support told me that the lithium cells are rated at 200 amps, and the BMS may allow up to that if it's not running too hot. But it's not recommended to preserve long-term cell life. The BMS will stop charging if it senses its temperature is too high.
*Fair Disclosure* I received complimentary review samples at no charge.
Pros
:
Economical Price and Free Shipping
Self Heating for Charging as low as -4F
Popular Brand on Amazon with thousands of reviews
Detailed Manual with excellent illustrations
Sell their own Lithium chargers
Cons:
No Bluetooth app
Only a 5-year warranty with a China-based company
The case lid is glued shut
Lithium Cells are embedded in foam epoxy
Only tape holding BMS in place
Max rated discharge amperage is only 100A
Thanks Ray.
Timely review. I'm seriously thinking about getting the 400Ah version of this battery. Very tempting to get that much capacity in such a small package.
Also, if you see this reply, on a somewhat related issue, do you know where I can get a schematic for the 2011 cougar. I happen to own the exact Keystone model you do. I'm just getting into the electrical system and any assistance would be helpful. As an example, I see two 40-amp fuses in the converter box without a description. All the other fuses and breakers have descriptive names.
I've been testing out the Ampere Time 200Ah with low-temperature heating, and it has worked well so far. Here was the initial testing and review https://www.loveyourrv.com/demos-review-ampere-time-12v-200ah-self-heating-lithium-battery/
Personally, though I think I'd prefer to have 4 - 100Ah versus one large 400Ah unless you are building a huge system of multiple 400Ah. Redundancy and easier to move around.
In this video, I show you an issue I've been having with the Ampere Time 200Ah 12V battery I reviewed in November 2022. Intermittently the output power dies, and the voltage drops to a volt or less. My feeling is the BMS is defective. I'll see what Ampere Time, now LiTime, says about it.
In this video, I test out a replacement Ampere Time 200Ah self-heating battery to see if it solves a problem with the BMS cutting off when charging is disconnected. I'm happy to say the problem was solved. Unfortunately, though, it still won't start my ALFFAA 1500W inverter unless I parallel two of them together.