Thread: Anyone used Gel batteries?

For what it's worth, I have a "pulse" gel battery in as an accessories power supply. It's my first gel type battery I've used and after the first wet cell lasted about 2 years, the gel is now 3 years old and going fine.
It's rigged up to take direct charge from the alternator and not at a reduced rate, which became a concern to me after I bought the thing as I found that they prefer a lower rate of charge.
On the face of the battery, it says that it's suitable for taking direct charge from an alternator so I thought I might as well give it a shot, and to date I've had no dramas.
As a side note, my fridge cuts out at 10.5 volts so the battery doesn't end up completely flat.
Cheers, Matt.

thats the rub....

you cant put full amps onto a flat gel (say less than 10 volts or so)that will cook them.

So long as you keep them at a resonable voltage they will deal with a full load of amps from an alternator because under those circumstances its not really the full output of the alternator.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

thats the rub....

you cant put full amps onto a flat gel (say less than 10 volts or so)that will cook them.

So long as you keep them at a resonable voltage they will deal with a full load of amps from an alternator because under those circumstances its not really the full output of the alternator.

So as drivesafe said,no good for cars. Pat

in theory they're fine for cars providing you dont let them get too flat.

the problem is... what happens if you do let them get too flat. OK for someone who monitors their batteries and knows the old trick of wiring a headlight bulb to the output of an alternator to limit its amps and how to impliment it on the side of the road after checking the voltages prior to starting the car but what about the average punter who wants start n go n no caring about it.

my main reasons for not reccomending them arent that they arent suitable, with proper setup they're fine and can be setup to be used as setnforget batteries its three fold

1. They give very little to no warning when they are going to let go.
2, They dont always fail completely sometimes they'll work fine driving a fridge and then charging up but they wont pump any serious amps, sometimes they wont take a full charge (stopping at say 11V) and wont deliver for very long but they will still start the car and take charge (these ones occasionally come back to life with deep cycling and re-orientating)
3. Very very occasionally they go pop cracking the casing and spitting bad stuff everywhere.



I'm sure that drivesafe has his own specific reasons for not reccomending them. The batteries are getting better and cheaper. It was the same deal with the spiral wound AGM's when they came out.

Ring the manufacturer of the battery (not necessarily the place that sold it to you) you might find that they may come to the party in helping you get a replacement.

So you have to take more care of them than with another type, and if you're out in the bush it's another hassle you don't need. What an educational thread.

I’m not as specific as Blknight, I just don’t think they are anywhere near as robust as the standard flooded wet cell and while I agree with Blknight regarding spiral AGMs being the bees knees, the price is also way over the top for them.

And conventional AGMs, being as you can’t put them under the bonnet, are just to limited in their use, for the prices being asked.

This is what always brings me back to flooded wet cells, the price.

There are ex UPS gel cells all over ebay; I bought a set of six 2 Volt 300 AH ones for a back-up solar power supply at home and they are going great guns. However if they aren't rated for vibration, then 4WD/truck rated wet cells would have to be the go. Just that wet cell batteries are a pain to use inside a vehicle without a properly constructed battery compartment.

Originally Posted by Davo

So you have to take more care of them than with another type, and if you're out in the bush it's another hassle you don't need. What an educational thread.

more or less yes... If you invest in a decent battery management setup they are set and forget look after them and they will return up to 15 years of service possibley more (I still have a small one ratted from a UPS that drives an emergancy light thats now on its 12th year and still makes book specs) If you tried to treat them the way I treat the n70's in fozzy theyd last a week, two tops.

Originally Posted by drivesafe

I’m not as specific as Blknight, I just don’t think they are anywhere near as robust as the standard flooded wet cell and while I agree with Blknight regarding spiral AGMs being the bees knees, the price is also way over the top for them.

Thats actually pretty much where I stand.

Flooded cells give you the best bang for buck. For the standard asking price of one spiral wound AGM I got 3 N70's 2 for fozzy, one for the black thing.

Spiral AGMS give you your best performance. If I was specing up an emergency vehicle or a comp vehicle thats what I'd put in.

I think this will be an interesting thread to have again in about 5 years time.