What Is The Life Of A Gel Cell Battery
The electrolyte in a gel cell battery has a silica additive that causes it to set up or stiffen.
What is the life of a gel cell battery. In fact if you discharge a gel battery to 90 it will give 700 cycles which is more cycles than an agm battery discharged at only 50. Gel battery life expectancy good quality tubular gel batteries have a designed service life of up to 20 years and a cyclic life rating of 5500. There are some agm batteries we sell that offer excellent 80 deep cycle abilities. Gel cell batteries aren t that way.
Since gel batteries never spill they are sometimes referred to as non spillable batteries dry cell batteries or maintenance free gel batteries. Of course a higher cycle life doesn t come for free. They are leak proof and because of this they work well for marine applications. The batteries are often used in.
Gel cell batteries are deep cycle batteries that contain an electrolyte which is suspended in a gel solution between lead plates. There is a direct correlation between the depth of discharge dod and the cycle life of the battery with differences between 500 and 1300 cycles depending on depth of discharge. They are deep cycle batteries which means that they can discharge more and still be recharged like new. Gel batteries are more expensive than standard agm batteries but they might be worth the investment when used properly.
The gel cell battery is similar to the agm battery style because the electrolyte is suspended but different because technically the agm battery is still considered to be a wet cell. While the benefits of a gel battery are pretty hefty so is the price tag. Gel batteries are generally the same as regular lead acid batteries you use to start your car except the battery cells contain a gel rather than a fluid. As previously stated this is dependent on how well the battery is maintained.
Measured as cycle life or years remains excellent in most agm batteries if the batteries are not discharged more than 60 between recharge. Properly cared for a gel cell battery can provide many years of reliable service. There are several disadvantages to gel cell batteries for rv applications. The cons the price.
Many people looking to switch from wet cell to gel batteries see this as the biggest drawback. Gel cell batteries use battery acid in the form of a gel. The recharge voltages on this type of cell are lower than the. Gel batteries are considered to be safer because if the casing gets damaged the gel doesn t spill but fluid based batteries can leak sulfuric acid if the casing gets damaged.