once the battery is fully charged, equalizing doesn't require a lot of amps. On a 4D Lifeline that I tried, 3-4 amps was all it took. You are turning most of this into heat after all, the chemical reaction is pretty much stopped. A modest solar array would to that, once they are charged. Many charge controllers with an equalizing function are set at a voltage appropriate for flooded cells, way to high for AGMs, so one must be careful.

I am surprised by your Mastervolt charger not meeting specs. This is quite common with Xantrex products, but my Mastervolt 100A (24V) charger will do just that. The problem is I cannot get that much power out of the typical dockside 30 amp service, so I have cut the output to 80 amps.

I note that the Lifeline engineer says that their batteries like to be charged at a high rate. That might be another reason for some people's poor experience with them, most alternators and chargers aren't capable of that. On my boat, the alternator is rated at - and will produce continuously by measurement - 280 amps at 24V. When the battery bank (440 AH @ 24V) is down near 50% they will take about 200 amps once they get warmed up.

I have no argument with Dave wanting flooded cell batteries in his situation. If your charging system is not designed for it, and you are in a remote location where replacements are unavailable or expensive, it makes perfect sense. What I like about the Lifelines is not first about the expected life, though my experience has been good. It is about no acid corrosion leaking all over, no stinking outgassing and so no ventilation, a very high rate of charge acceptance during bulk charging which cuts charging times about in half, and a very low self discharge rate. When my bank is charging at 200 amps, the AH used meter ticks backwards at over 3/min (and that is at 24V so double that for 12V equivalent). The biggest advantage I see in lithium iron batteries is that they will take this rate of charge right up to 100%.