The issue of choosing a new battery continues to be relevant for a huge number of car owners. This is a consumable, the service life of which depends on a number of factors.
In order for the battery to last as long as possible, you should approach the issue of choice wisely. It is generally accepted that everything new is much better than old solutions made using outdated technologies. In many ways this is a fair statement.
Increasingly, motorists prefer to use gel batteries. They have their own characteristics and obvious advantages, but it is also worth highlighting some disadvantages. It will be useful for many to learn more about this type of battery, take a look at their characteristics, charging and maintenance features.
What it is
In fact, gel batteries for cars are called lead-acid batteries, the main distinguishing feature of which is the use of a thick absorbed electrolyte instead of traditional liquid. Special additives give the electrolyte a gel-like state. They are labeled as GEL batteries.
This technology involves the production of completely sealed and maintenance-free batteries. Moreover, their operating principle is no different from all other lead-acid power supplies.
To thicken the electrolyte, silicone filler is added to it.
Design features
If we talk about what a standard gel car battery consists of, then we can highlight several elements. Namely:
- positive electrodes;
- negative plates;
- electrolyte in the form of a gel;
- overpressure relief valves;
- terminals;
- plastic sealed case;
- separator plates.
The operating principle is the same as other lead-acid batteries. That is, the battery, when charged, supplies the accumulated current to start the engine and power consumers when the generator is inactive. When a charge is released, the voltage gradually drops, and the density of the electrolyte decreases.
Therefore, it cannot be said that a gel battery is in fact significantly different from the acid version of the battery, where there is not a gel inside, but a liquid medium. In addition to sulfuric acid and distilled water, a thickener is also added to gel batteries.
Because of this, many are interested in how to distinguish a gel battery from a liquid lead-acid battery. Everything is simple here. Focus on the markings. On the gel ones you can see the inscription GEL. Plus, all GEL batteries are maintenance-free, their housing is completely sealed.
Recovery
In order to revive such a battery, you need to remove the covers from the battery compartments and start pouring distilled water into each jar. Despite the fact that these batteries are classified as maintenance-free, it is always possible to remove their covers. Add water using a syringe, two milliliters into each “jar.” After half an hour, remove excess water with a rubber bulb - it should slightly cover the plates. Close the battery, place a weight on top (to prevent the caps from being knocked out by high pressure) and start charging.
You can revive the battery by applying a voltage of more than 14 volts. To restore it, at the beginning of charging you will need a voltage of at least 15 volts. It is necessary to keep it on charge for about 14 hours, first waiting for the moment when it begins to consume current. If the battery does not respond to a voltage of 15 volts, it can be raised to 30. When the battery finally “swings”, after two or three such cycles, charge it in the usual way - with a current of 10 percent of its capacity, reducing the voltage to 14 volts.
However, many experts do not recommend reconditioning batteries of this type. Often the effect is only temporary.
Main characteristics
When choosing a gel starter battery, the buyer usually pays attention to several main characteristics:
- Capacity. The unit of measurement is Ampere/hour. Indicates the number of hours during which the battery can supply energy equal to 1 A.
- Charge current. Indicates the maximum permissible current that can be used while charging the battery. Typically this is about 10% of capacity.
- Discharge current. This is the starting current. The maximum current that the battery is capable of delivering for 30 seconds. Directly affects engine starting.
- Operating voltage. Everything here is standard, 12 V.
- Weight. The mass depends mainly on the capacity, since as it increases, the amount of lead used increases.
When choosing, you need to focus on the battery characteristics required for a particular car. They are determined by the manufacturer. But the parameters can be varied.
Marking
In the case of gel batteries, the corresponding marking in the form of GEL is applied to the device body.
It is a mistake to call AGM batteries gel batteries, since different technologies are used for their production.
There is also a marking that displays the main parameters of the battery, its production date, service life, etc. But here, each manufacturer has its own marking principle. Therefore, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the nuances of the designation of batteries from the manufacturer you decide to give preference to.
Life time
As for the service life of gel batteries, it is worth highlighting the stated and actual figures.
For example, many manufacturers claim that their GEL batteries can last about 10 years. But this does not guarantee that in your specific case such a battery will be able to work out the entire specified period without problems.
Actual service life depends on exposure to extremely low and extremely high temperatures. At less than -30 degrees Celsius, electrochemical processes in the GEL battery will slow down, and at more than 50 degrees their intensity will increase. High temperatures also accelerate plate corrosion. If you do not maintain a constant high charge, you may encounter a sulfation problem. But you can’t keep such batteries on charge either.
Therefore, in order to bring the actual service life closer to the declared one, it is important to avoid deep discharge and overcharging, choose only dry rooms for battery storage and operate the battery in a temperature range from -35 to 50 degrees Celsius.
Cleaning the terminals
Over time, white salt deposits appear on the terminals. As a result, contact deteriorates, which often leads to a break in the circuit between the battery and the vehicle's on-board network. To avoid such problems, terminals and fastenings must be promptly cleaned of salts and deposits.
Fine-grained sandpaper is optimal for these purposes (clean without fanaticism). For prevention, after removing plaque and connecting the battery back to the wires, the terminals and fastenings can be treated with Vaseline or grease (also without fanaticism). The goal is to limit the access of moisture and oxygen to lead.
Advantages and disadvantages
Separately, it is worth taking a look at the pros and cons of gel batteries for vehicles. This will greatly help some motorists understand whether they should buy such batteries or not.
Strengths include:
- long service life;
- a significant number of withstand charge-discharge cycles;
- ability to withstand about 400 full discharges;
- minor loss of capacity when the battery is idle without operation;
- strength and reliability;
- use of modern technologies;
- low internal resistance;
- high efficiency indicators;
- completely maintenance-free type of battery;
- safety during operation.
But that's not all. Such batteries also have disadvantages.
The disadvantages are as follows:
- charging parameters must be strictly regulated and not go beyond the prescribed values, otherwise processes of destruction of internal components will begin;
- such batteries are more sensitive to severe frosts, since when the gel hardens, the characteristics of the electrolyte deteriorate and the electrochemical efficiency decreases;
- gel batteries are not characterized by the highest short circuit resistance;
- When compared with conventional lead-acid batteries, gel batteries are noticeably more expensive.
Everyone can now draw the appropriate conclusions for themselves and make a final decision regarding the purchase of a gel power source.
How to charge correctly
Now directly about charging gel batteries, since this procedure has its own characteristics.
The devices are sensitive to voltage and force then. Because of this, the motorist simply must know how to properly charge his gel battery, so that at the first charge he does not send it for recycling.
This also relates to the question of whether they can be charged with a regular charger. No. Here we need modern automatic memory devices with parameter adjustment.
Car enthusiasts also often wonder whether it is possible to charge gel batteries at all. Of course you can. And sometimes this is simply necessary if it is not possible to restore the charge through the operation of the vehicle’s generator. Then the GEL battery should be disconnected from the on-board network, connected to the automatic charger, select the necessary parameters and start charging.
Regarding how to charge gel batteries, you can give several important recommendations:
- To charge GEL batteries, the DC charging method is used;
- charging them at constant voltage is not a good idea;
- the strength of the supplied charging current should be 10% of the specified capacity;
- if the battery capacity is 70 Ah, then the charge current will be no more than 10%;
- if it is necessary to urgently recharge a gel-type battery, short-term exposure to a current equal to 30% of the capacity is allowed;
- the manufacturer is required to indicate the maximum charging current on the case of a particular battery;
- charging at a voltage of more than 14.5 V is considered unacceptable, otherwise the gel will gradually begin to lose its thickness and become more liquid, causing its properties and characteristics to change;
- the recommended charge voltage is also regulated by the manufacturer and is indicated on the product body;
- a full charge usually takes about 10–12 hours.
This largely allows you to understand how to properly charge a gel type battery and what motorists need to know about it.
It is also worth noting that many gel-based batteries from the manufacturer provide the ability to recharge in energy saving mode. It is used for maintenance and is recommended to be used for periodic recharging when the battery is idle. The voltage parameters for such charging are also written on the case by the manufacturer. This is usually the Standby Use label.
Charge level control
If the car is idle for a long time, used mainly for short trips, at sub-zero temperatures and at night, the battery may not have time to recover the energy expended from the generator. As a result, over time it will be completely discharged, which will “delight” the owner one early winter morning.
To avoid this, you need to regularly monitor the battery charge level and recharge it in a timely manner using a stationary charger. The charge level of a gel battery can be checked by measuring the voltage at its terminals. If it is 12.7 V, the battery is 100% charged, if 12.6 V is 90% charged, and so on.
It is necessary to measure the voltage with the battery standing for at least 8 hours. If you do this procedure immediately after the engine is turned off, the readings will be false and will not show anything informative about the state of charge.
What memory devices are used?
As for what chargers need to be used to charge gel batteries, manufacturers give their recommendations.
In fact, the range of memory devices is now simply huge. But not all of them can be used specifically for batteries manufactured using GEL technology.
If you are interested in the question of what kind of charging will be needed for gel batteries, then there are several points to consider. Such batteries are extremely demanding in terms of voltage and supplied current. If the charger does not have adjustments for these parameters, then there is a high probability of battery failure.
Therefore, the correct charger must meet the following requirements:
- have an automatic shutdown function to protect against overheating;
- automatically turn off after completing the charging procedure;
- maintain a stable voltage and adjust it as necessary;
- provide temperature compensation, that is, charging parameters will change depending on the temperature in the room and how many degrees the battery itself is warmed up to;
- have a current control function.
The thing is that if there is a sudden change in one of these characteristics, that is, temperature, voltage or current, the gel battery runs the risk of instantly failing. Or its performance characteristics will change significantly for the worse, and such a battery will no longer be able to serve for a long time.
Experienced experts advise adhering to the step-by-step principle of charging gel batteries. First, the voltage increases, then the current decreases, and then the minimum current and voltage are applied.
Requirements for a charger for gel batteries
In conclusion, let's list the main wishes for a charger for a gel battery.
- Ability to adjust the charge current;
- The charger (charger) must be designed for gel batteries or have a separate mode for working with them;
- The device must have a temperature compensation function;
- There must be a range of operating temperatures (usually from +5 to +40);
- It is highly desirable to carry out the charging process in stages in automatic mode (3-4 stages).
