Which onboard battery charger?

Submitted: Sunday, Jun 26, 2016 at 09:37
ThreadID: 132857 Views:2832 Replies:4 FollowUps:0
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G'day all, I am in the process of replacing the lead/acid battery in my friends MDC camper trailer with 2 x 150 gell batteries, I noticed on the small mounted charger a sticker stating "only for use on lead /acid batteries" so which is the correct charger to replace it with? thanks in advance, dingo
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Reply By: tazbaz - Sunday, Jun 26, 2016 at 09:41

Sunday, Jun 26, 2016 at 09:41
Gel batteries are 'dry' lead acid batteries, so no need to replace the existing charger
AnswerID: 601829

Reply By: Frank P (NSW) - Sunday, Jun 26, 2016 at 09:48

Sunday, Jun 26, 2016 at 09:48
Gel batteries are one of the many "flavours" or types of lead-acid batteries.

Different types of lead acid batteries require different charging profiles to get the best life out of them.

You need to find the specs for the charger and compare them with the charging specs for the batteries you have bought.

The charger will undoubtedly work, but it may not be ideal. Too much current or wrong voltage, especially if it is too high, can lead to reduced gel battery life.

If you decide to replace the charger find one that has a gel setting.

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Reply By: HKB Electronics - Sunday, Jun 26, 2016 at 09:58

Sunday, Jun 26, 2016 at 09:58
Gel batteries have specific charger requirements as Frank pointed out.
Some GEL batteries only like maximum charge voltages of around 14.1V and a charger that can handle this such as the Projecta intelli chargers have a gel setting. Some gel batteries can handle 14.4V and the usual AGM seting can be used for these, check your batteries specs. Also worth checking out the float voltage too.

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Reply By: Member - Bigfish - Sunday, Jun 26, 2016 at 18:54

Sunday, Jun 26, 2016 at 18:54
Would also pay to make sure you get a charger of decent charge output..Say 25 or 40 amps for the 2 x 150 amp/hour batteries.Check the old charger and see what its output is. The new chargers have a switch for selecting the type of battery you wish to charge.
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