Pick the best AGM battery charger in 3 steps
Shopping for an AGM battery charger?
Follow the three steps below to help you choose the best AGM battery charger.
Step 1: determine your battery type
There are a number of battery types such as AGM, VRLA, wet cell and gel. You first need to check that you are actually working with an AGM battery. More importantly, you need to ensure that you are not working with a gel battery. This is because all of the batteries mentioned above, except for gel batteries, can be charged with an AGM battery charger. Gel batteries are more sensitive to charging and require specially designed chargers. For this reason, gel batteries should not be charged with an AGM battery charger. It is not that an AGM battery charger cannot charge a gel battery, because technically it can, but it is not recommended because it will harm the gel battery in the long-run. After confirming that you are dealing with an AGM battery and not a gel battery, move on to the next step.
Step 2: determine your battery size
We don’t mean the physical size of the battery, as in the dimensions, but rather how many amp hours your battery stores. For example, a typical solar AGM battery is 100 amp hours, so a 10 amp AGM battery charger would take about 6 hours to completely charge it, assuming it is 50% discharged. Alternatively, you can double the amp of the charger from 10 amp to 20 amp, cutting the charging time in half to only 3 hours. How did we calculate the time it takes to charge the battery? Well, it’s very simple actually. Take the amp hour rating of your AGM battery and divide it by the charger’s rating (amps), and then add about 15% for the additional time to entirely top off the battery.
If you want an AGM battery charger that can quickly recharge your battery, you should look for a charger with more amps. If you are not in a rush, you should select a battery charger with less amps. In fact, charging a battery with less amps will help you maintain the health of your battery in the long term. Furthermore, an AGM battery charger with less amps will surely cost you less money, so that is another benefit of using a smaller charger.
Step 3: determine the desired charging performance
In this final step, you will need to determine the level of charging performance you have in mind. For example, if you just need a charger to keep your motorcycle, boat, classic car or aircraft charged during the off season, then a smaller charger with less amps is fine. Charging a battery with a smaller charger would require more time, but that shouldn’t be a problem since you won’t need to use your off-season battery for a while. However, if you are looking for a charger that can quickly restore a battery in a vehicle you regularly use, such a wheel chair, then a more powerful charger with higher amps would be required. It’s probably safe to assume that nobody wants to wait all day for their wheelchair battery to recharge.
After reading the three steps, you should now be able to determine how to find the best AGM battery charger. Let’s quickly summarize the three steps:
- Determine the type of your battery in order to find out what type of charger is required.
- Determine the size of your battery to determine the size of the charger required.
- Determine how fast you want to charge your battery to find the right charger for you.
Now that you’re ready to buy an AGM battery charger, let’s see where you can buy one.
Where to buy?
AGM battery chargers are widely available in brick and mortar stores and online. Generally speaking, the best place to buy a battery charger is from the same place you bought your AGM battery. If you purchased your battery from a store, the same store should have battery chargers. Similarly, if you purchased your battery online, then the online store should also have battery chargers.
If you don’t remember where you purchased the battery from, or if you bought the battery second-hand from someone else, then we suggest you to buy a charger online. Websites such as eBay and Amazon offer a wide selection of chargers. Following the three steps to buying an AGM battery charger above will be a great guide for you. An extra step to helping you select the best battery charger is looking up customer reviews online. Making a purchasing decision online has never been easier. Verified customer reviews will give you real feedback, so make good use of it. Here is an example of a website reviewing deep cycle battery chargers.
Note: deep cycle batteries are a type of AGM batteries, click here to learn more.
If you have any other questions regarding AGM battery chargers, leave a comment below.
Does Canbat manufacture AGM battery chargers?
If yes, where can I find your charger catalogues?
If no, which AGM battery charger brand do you suggest?
Canbat is a battery manufacturer. Unfortunately, we do not manufacture battery chargers at this time. However, it is something in our bucket list, so stay tuned!
which charger brand do you suggest?
There are many excellent AGM battery chargers in the market. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend any specific brands. However, as mentioned in the article above, there are many websites that offer product reviews. You can even view customer reviews on platforms such Amazon and Ebay, and you can buy the chargers online from them. Hope this has been helpful.
I have a kinetik hc2400blu 110ah and I’m looking for a charger, I got it from a shop and installed so i don’t know the max charging amps and have not had any success contacting them. What do you recommended for charging amp in a charger.
Although we cannot comment on other battery brands not manufactured by Canbat, we will provide you with general advice to help you out. In order to maintain the health of your battery and to ensure long-term operation, your AGM battery charger shouldn’t exceed 10% of your battery’s capacity. So since your Kinetik battery is 110Ah, your charger’s amps should not exceed 11Ah, which is 10% of 110Ah. Please note that this is general advice for reference only. It’s always best to contact the battery manufacturer directly.
I have read your awesome article. Perfect information with detail pics.
I want to buy a gel battery for my inverter. What is the specifically designed charger for gel batteries so that I wouldn’t damage the battery with my current charger?
Normally, you should decide what type of battery you need first depending on your application, then you would buy a suitable charger for that specific battery, whether it’s gel, agm, flooded…etc. However, since you already have an inverter or charger designed for a gel battery, then it would make more sense, at least financially, to just buy a gel battery instead of having to buy both a battery and a charger. This is of course assuming that your application accepts gel batteries. In order to ensure you’re buying the right charger, you don’t need to be tech savvy. Chargers normally indicate what type of batteries they are designed for. As mentioned above, some chargers are designed to charge multiple types of batteries. Just make sure you read the labels on the charger’s packaging to ensure you’re buying the right charger. You should also consult the user manual which comes with the charger before you start using the charger.
I’m thinking of buying a grid tie inverter for our solar panels that support a battery backup for overproduction. The documentation states a 150 to 500V battery pack. Could you build those with LiFePO4 cells? Like 50 cells in series?
Custom lithium battery solutions are available. Please send us your requirements and one of our battery experts will get back to you.
Where can we buy/order canbat?
Our lead-acid and lithium-iron batteries are distributed worldwide through our extensive network of battery distributors. Please send us your inquiry and let us know where you are located. We will forward your details to a nearby battery supplier and they will get in touch with you.
I want to buy a battery charger which charges fast, easy to use and has a reasonable price. Can you recommend for me? Thanks so much!!
There are a number of excellent lead-acid battery chargers on the market. If you’re based in Vancouver, we can suggest a few local charger suppliers. One of our battery experts will follow up with you via email.
That’s great. I received your email and read it. It helped me a lot. thanks so much and I would be following more of your post.
Hi there, Very informative post, thank you for taking the time to write this all out
Thank you for all the information ! It’s great. Can I use a standard car battery charger at the lower amp setting to charge an AGM ? The charger shows that it has an overcharge protection.
Thank you very much !!
The concern is not only the amps but also the voltage. Car battery chargers are typically designed to charge at a higher voltage, as this is what is required by flooded batteries, commonly referred to as wet cells. Of course, not all cars come with wet cells. Some newer cars come with AGM batteries. If your car battery charger is designed for AGM car batteries, then you can use it. However, if it’s designed for flooded or wet cell batteries, then it’s not recommended that you use it. In the short run, you won’t notice any negative effects, so you can use it temporarily if you have no other charger. However, continued use of the wrong charger will damage your AGM battery and shorten its lifespan.