lead acid verse gel batterys ? Forums

Anonymous

hi all you techno people,
just a quick question what are the bennefits for and against using gel batteries over standard acid leisure batt`s.
we have the chance to upgrade to gel batt`s at a once in a life time price [they feel off the back of a lorry] Rolling Eyes

do you need special chargers and i think you can`t use the two types of batt`s together?

tramp

Anonymous

Hi there Tramp,
You might find this useful:

[url]http://www.sterling-power.com/htm/faqmain.htm[/url]

Charles Sterling (the owner of Sterling Power and maker of all sorts of battery related gear) knows a thing or two about batteries and this page is a no-nonsense look at battery types.

cheers
Matt

GeorgeTelford

Lead Acid everytime. If the Gels are free OK use em and put up with the naff slow charging. they would have to be far cheaper than lead acid to make them worthwhile.

I have 10 X 110 ah batteries (1100 ah battery bank) with a sterling Charger I can visit a campsite once every 10 days (ish) and recharge the whole lot in under a day, if I had gel I would need to be there for 2 days to charge.

Like Matt said read the link its very illuminating.

George

MandyandDave

Buy 'em,..then sell them to a boaty type person! Very Happy

make a killing!!! Shocked

PamNPete

According to a large car & whatever retailer.
For vehicles with exrta electrical equipment such as: lights, air conditioning, etc Gel Batteries re recommended

For normal cars lead acid is recommended

However reading above I dont know

Anonymous

[quote:44efd473df="PamNPete"]According to a large car & whatever retailer.
For vehicles with exrta electrical equipment such as: lights, air conditioning, etc Gel Batteries re recommended

For normal cars lead acid is recommended

However reading above I dont know[/quote:44efd473df]

Hmm.... I think that sometimes this sort of thing is just recommended because the profits are higher. As far as I understand, the only advantage of gel batteries are that they are not affected by movement / inversion etc. If you don't need that feature (i.e. if they're not in a boat or an aircraft Smile

) then their many disadvantages (not least their cost!) mean they're just not worth it.
best
Matt

Anonymous

Hi Mandyand dave,

The boaties wont want your gel batteries, they found out about 3 years ago that gel batteries are a con.

Doug...

Anonymous

Hi Tramp,

With out a doubt ordnary lead-acid batteries will give you best value for your money.

I bought 2 X 100amp batteries in Spain for 36 euro´s each (the cheapest I could find) 4 years ago and they are still going strong.

But one thing you MUST DO, learn how to look after them and never, Never, NEVER let them go under 11.8 volts, better still 12 volts.

Doug...

jabber

Well worth reading the Sterling link, I have seen the same information elsewhere. I have used normal 'leisure'batteries, the cheapest I could get for years of caravanning and even had ten years out of one.

If you don't need the Gel ones leave them alone, I believe they do not even take the same amount of charge as the ordinary lead acid, no doubt George will be able to confirm this!

John Cool

Anonymous

hi everybody,
thanks for all the advice the wife says it`s the same old Embarassed

thing I get offered something for nothing through grovelling [must come naturally to truck drivers] and want to throw something out that is working properly just to see if the new thing is better:moto if it works ok dont mess Confused

tramp