AGM's V's Gel cells

Lyndon,

A lot depends on how you intend to use them and then charge them. If I am not mistaken, 'gel-cells' don't charge very well from the car alternator, whilst AGM's will accept alternator charge quite well. I would go the AGM's, unless you plan on charging them at home with 240v.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm on the wrong track here....
Cheers,

Mark

3 AGMs already and you ask the question ?? what was the old saying aka Rolf Harris for british paints ?? "When onto a good thing ,stick to it "

Hi Lyndon, the type of battery going into your Tvan really depends on both your intended use and storage.

Your alternator is capable of fully charging ANY type of automotive battery given the correct set up and the driving time to do it.

If you plan to use the Tvan every few weeks and each time you use it if you plan to do a good few hours driving, pretty well any type of battery will work for you.

If on the other hand, you only plan to use the Tvan every few months, it would probably pay you to fit AGM and you will only have to top them up every few months whereas if you fit gels you will need to charge them far more regularly and it would probably be better to keep them on a charge maintenance cycle.

The other problem I see, again depending on how you use them, if you stop somewhere for a while and use a few bit of power from all your batteries, your alternators maximum is probably not going to be able to charge all the batteries too quickly so some VERY long driving might be needed and if again you have stopped for a few days, used a few bit of power from all the batteries and then head home and if you only taking a few hours to get there, then you are going to have to put the Tvan’s batteries on a charger pretty well as soon as you get home, no matter what type of batteries it has fitted.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg when you run so many batteries.

Cheers

Hi Lyndon

I would use AGM's as you already have the Christies unit that will charge them up quickly. Gel batteries will take on charge a bit slower and the AGM's will be the best bet.

Regards

Derek.

You have nearly answered your own question.......if you can afford it...go agm's..so easy!!

When comparing VRLA Gel Batteries to VRLA AGM Batteries the Gel batteries charging volts 'required' are slightly lower than with AGM batteries.

Therefore Gel batteries will recharge more efficiently at a larger distance from the (Alternator) due to the lower current charge required (eg; Voltage loss in system)

The two types of batteries general PERFORMANCE is similar when FULLY charged.

Hi again Lyndon, You didn’t post you had a Christie battery charger, if you do and you go with Gel batteries, as this type of battery self regulates, there will be no problems, but if you go with AGMs, make sure you check that the brand of AGMs being supplied can be charged with a high current charger.

Contrary to all the hype out there many AGMs are not specifically designed for automotive use and as such, one of the drawbacks is that the battery may not be constructed to be able to tolerate full inrush currents.

Just about all AGMs will take full inrush currents but for many, this will actually damage the battery and doing so on a regular basis will very quickly shorten the battery’s operating life.

If you decide to go with AGMs, before you have them installed, contact your Tvan’s supplier and see what brand they are going to use.

A number of AGMs, including a well known brand, must not be charged with anything like full inrush current and some manufacturers specifically state not to charge their AGMs with anything more than 20% current of the battery’s A/H.

So if you have two 100 A/H AGMs, the maximum charge current for each battery is only 20 amps and the Christie battery charger can putout 80+ amps, so do some checking before you decide on type and BRAND of battery.

Cheers.

Hi
Sorry i forgot to mention in had a 80 amp Christies charger(fantastic machine).
Ok, so if i go Agm's which one's? The one's i have in the car are Excide Orbitals, great batteries but dearer than i wish to spend on camper trailer batteries. Hoping i can get something good for around $200 a piece(100-120amp hr), if they have to be smaller to get better quality thats ok due to our charging capacity.
Cheers Lyndon