What is the life of gel batteries? (55 Viewers)

[TheLifeofBrian]

Hi all,
Anyone any idea what could kill my gel batteries in only 18 months?
April last year I changed both batteries as the old AGMs had died - we got 110ah gel batteries from Alpha & they have been absolutely great all year but got to the Lincoln show Thursday (no ehu) & by Friday night they had both dropped to 11v
When the sun comes out they read up to 14v but turn a tap on & they drop like a brick to 12v
I've tried disconnecting one of them to see if it's just one dragging the other down but last night (Saturday) it dropped so low it turned the control panel off & the sun had been shining all day & the only thing plugged in was our 2 phones.

This is virtually the same thing that happened to the last pair of AGM batteries!
The only thing I can think is I tried the inverter (that is wired in) with a coffee machine but it wasn't big enough so turned it off.
It's a 600w pure sine inverter with a remote switch:

Other than that the Lincoln show is great

Any ideas anyone please?
Cheers Chris

 

[Richard n Ann]

Sounds like something could be draining them. Are they maintained at home?

Have you got a decent battery monitor that uses a shunt?

 

[DavidG58]

When you disconnected the batteries did you check the individual voltages with a meter. I suspect one has failed but that will drag them both down, if you connect the good one only it should see you through another night if you are staying

 

[StillGoing]

Hi all,
Anyone any idea what could kill my gel batteries in only 18 months?
April last year I changed both batteries as the old AGMs had died - we got 110ah gel batteries from Alpha & they have been absolutely great all year but got to the Lincoln show Thursday (no ehu) & by Friday night they had both dropped to 11v
When the sun comes out they read up to 14v but turn a tap on & they drop like a brick to 12v
I've tried disconnecting one of them to see if it's just one dragging the other down but last night (Saturday) it dropped so low it turned the control panel off & the sun had been shining all day & the only thing plugged in was our 2 phones.

This is virtually the same thing that happened to the last pair of AGM batteries!
The only thing I can think is I tried the inverter (that is wired in) with a coffee machine but it wasn't big enough so turned it off.
It's a 600w pure sine inverter with a remote switch:
View attachment 953502

Other than that the Lincoln show is great

Any ideas anyone please?
Cheers Chris

I don’t think 600W is enough to power a coffee machine. What is the power rating printed on the coffee machine?

 

[TheLifeofBrian]

At home it normally keeps topped up from the solar but it was plugged in the last week or so & a 2+ hour drive would have topped them up anyway, but we did watch the TV for a couple of hours Thursday night & then I noticed the voltage had dropped.
We spent 3 months away in it without ehu 50% of the time with no problems at all in the summer.
I can't find anything different draining them now that wasn't plugged in before....
It's all controlled by a CTEK system:

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[TheLifeofBrian]

I don’t think 600W is enough to power a coffee machine. What is the power rating printed on the coffee machine?

1300w
You are completely correct!
I plugged it in before I checked the wattage of the inverter the controller just buzzed & turned red

 

[Richard n Ann]

My 80ah gel is now over 5 years old and still going strong. It's main job is the compressor fridge then ceiling fan, water pump and phone charging x2

With the ceiling fan on all night in August it was discharging more, 45% I think was typical. But now it's cooled off at night it's managing great.

Your 2 gels should last years

 

[TheLifeofBrian]

When you disconnected the batteries did you check the individual voltages with a meter. I suspect one has failed but that will drag them both down, if you connect the good one only it should see you through another night if you are staying

Yes I tried that & they both read 12.7v so neither obviously bad. it's currently just on the one battery which turned the controller off last night.
I'm going to try the other battery today.

 

[Richard n Ann]

When the sun comes out they read up to 14v but turn a tap on & they drop like a brick to 12v

My solar is charging at 13.7v at the moment. Turned the pump on and it dropped to 13.6v
Looks like your solar can't supply enough current for the pump. How much solar have you got? Do you know what amperage it charges at?

 

[TheLifeofBrian]

My solar is charging at 13.7v at the moment. Turned the pump on and it dropped to 13.6v
Looks like your solar can't supply enough current for the pump. How much solar have you got? Do you know what amperage it charges at?

140w solar apparently which I think is working fine, we've lasted over a week recently without hookup & never run out of power before.
The symptoms are exactly the same as when the old batteries died - they show full voltage but just drop as soon as any load is on them.
I will test them on Monday when we get home as my lad has a proper battery tester.
I'm not sure on amperage & haven't got a clamp meter but it's now on my list of things to buy!

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[mitzimad]

Remember not all clamp meters do DC amps so check carefully

 

[TheLifeofBrian]

Remember not all clamp meters do DC amps so check carefully

Thanks - good advice

 

[Richard n Ann]

they show full voltage but just drop as soon as any load is on them.

You're probably seeing the solar charging voltage the batteries will be flat.

You can't test a leisure battery with a starter battery tester as it won't show you the capacity which is the important bit.

This is the clamp meter most of us use:

UNI-T DIGITAL UT210E 100Amp 600V AC DC CLAMP METER Multimeter True RMS VFC diode | eBay

1 Cloth Bag. 1 Gift Box.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[EuroTrotters]

ours lasted 8 years, still some life left but upgraded to lithium to save a lot of weight

 

[Richard n Ann]

140w solar apparently which I think is working fine

You should get a charging rate of about 8 amps on a sunny day when the batteries are low.

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