When I bought my previous van in 2002 it came with a gel battery that the previous owner said he paid nearly £200 for. It performed well on sites with EHU',s but when my son used it for a week on a non-electric pitch it went flat. After that it never held a charge well and would struggle to move the van on the remote mover even after a full charge supposedly.
I replaced it with a traditional 110amp leisure battery costing £55 my thinking been that if it lasted a season I could buy a new one for each of the next three years and still be in pocket. As it is the battery has lasted two seasons and is still holding a full charge whilst in storage so far this winter.
When I bought my previous van in 2002 it came with a gel battery that the previous owner said he paid nearly £200 for. It performed well on sites with EHU',s but when my son used it for a week on a non-electric pitch it went flat. After that it never held a charge well and would struggle to move the van on the remote mover even after a full charge supposedly.
I replaced it with a traditional 110amp leisure battery costing £55 my thinking been that if it lasted a season I could buy a new one for each of the next three years and still be in pocket. As it is the battery has lasted two seasons and is still holding a full charge whilst in storage so far this winter.
So why buy a Gel battery?
I don't have a battery compartment in my van so I have been advised to get a GEL battery as they do not omit any gasses when charging.
Simple as that!
------------- People think I'm gullible, but at least I have this magic fish!
I have a Deta gel battery supplied with my van,there are several advantages, one is the very low self discharge rate which means if it is fully charged and disconnected it will retain upto 90% charge for 6 months and can be used straight away without charging,a fully charged gel battery
is frostproof and can be left in the van safely overwinter provided it is fully charged and it is very low gassing (not totally gas free).It should be situated in a place in the van without any spark producing relays or switches immediately adjacent it does not need to be housed in it's own battery box.
A gel battery requires a charger with a minimum of 14.1 volts and maximum 14.4 volts.
All deep discharged batteries should be recharged immediatley a gel battery can be deep discharged to 20% capacity and recover whereas a normal lead acid battery can be knackered if discharged below 50% of it's capacity.
The disadvantages are the cost and the need for a charger designed to charge gel batteries.
I searched for a Deta supplier but the only supplier www.rthursby.co.uk/ that I could find doesn't have a price list on line.
Saxo1
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Topic: Gel Leisure Battery
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