To gel-cell or not?

[bellalove]

My car is in need of a new battery which I've been putting off buying pending my research into which kind of battery I wanted to buy! I've read the differences between the gel cell and the flooded batterys and lets just say the electrical jargon makes things a lil sketchy in my book. I'm not an electrical major...

My buddy running a too big turbo, all sorts of audio equipment and lights threw a yellow top optima into his Audi and has not had any problems since. So his opinion is the gel cells are better since his old flooded battery couldn't keep a charge for all his goodies. I'm looking for other's opinions who've used these batteries. At this point im looking at the red tops though, since my car isn't putting out as much performace yet.

Any info, pros and cons, would be greatly appreciated since I need to decide soon! Thanks

[theprodigy79]

I used to run in audio competitions, and I have used many types of batteries over the years...

First; unless your buddy is running one of these (below), his turbo has nothing to do with the electrical system (and if he is running one of these, 100% of his credibility is shot):


Second; the MAIN advantage of using a gel cell over a wet type battery is mounting versatility... Because gel cells are 'sealed' type batteries, they can be mounted in practically any position and in any location (ie. trunk), without worry of spillage or vapors (unless overcharged), which is why many people use them in higher end audio installs. Some people claim them to be more 'stable' than wet types, however I have not found that to be true, or any significant proof that supports those claims... While there are varying qualities of batteries, the concept is pretty much the same for all lead acid batteries... If treated properly they will run whatever they're rated for; if treated improperly or run outside of spec, they will be destroyed or not function properly.

Sooo... basically, if you are seeking a 'plug and play' battery to slide into your factory location, you don't really need a gel cell...

More importantly, however, you will need to determine the power requirements that will suit your vehicle's future needs and purchase a good quality battery that meets / exceeds those needs.

[bellalove]

Yeah I know what size and amps about batterys. Just not too sure about the dif types. Thanks for the info btw.

And the turbos definiately legit. I just personally think its going to blow his engine with the power its putting out so I like to put it all over that its too big so when he's buying a new engine I can print it all out and post it around the house...hehehe

[wkbrdr91]

My dad replaced our yacht's 6 batterys with ONE gel battery and it works just fine, in fact I think he said it works better. Our yacht has 2 double barrel 454 V8 engines in it, plus the built in generator.

[bellalove]

Thanks for the replies! Unfortunately my battery straight died today and I wasn't in the mood to charge it so I figured id just try the optima and see for myself what I thought, they were out of the one I needed and I didn't feel like running around so I got the flooded one. Oh well...
And naw my boys turbos legit I just keep tellin him its too powerful for his engine so the more places its written the more I can print out and throw it in his face when it blows...evil game I know...
Well thanks again!

[theprodigy79]

My dad replaced our yacht's 6 batterys with ONE gel battery and it works just fine, in fact I think he said it works better. Our yacht has 2 double barrel 454 V8 engines in it, plus the built in generator.

That's an interesting concept... replacing six batteries with one... I guess if the six replaced were relatively tiny batteries being replaced with one huge battery that would work, but otherwise that's not quite how the gel cell concept works..

Generally, moderate to large boats have a single, sometimes two starter batteries (I've seen more, but usually it's overkill), along with a separate group of storage batteries to run power from when engine(s) and generator(s) are off... If your dad replaced six starter batteries with one, that would make sense, as six batteries would be overkill and much less efficient in the first place, since the starter would have to call on six separate wired batteries to turn over... One large battery for this usage would offer much quicker response time and would still offer enough juice to crank the starter(s) with ease... So, if this is the case, it's not because your dad switched to a gel-cell, it's due to the simple fact that he streamlined a process that should have been that way from the start - any good battery with a sufficient CCA rating could do that.

If your dad replaced six storage cells with one gel-cell, I don't really know what to say... Seems kinda foolish to me, unless (as previously stated) the storage cells were tiny from the start and merged into one mammoth battery... Even then I don't know why anyone would want to do this as there is a huge advantage to redundancy, especially in the marine environment... I've actually found that pairs of large 6V marine grade batteries wired in series, then paralleled with other pairs actually perform better for storage than practically anything else... This certainly adds a lot of weight, but for larger boats it doesn't matter as much... For moderate boats, or ones that the added weight would affect, a group of good quality marine grade 12Vs work just fine.

We tried gel-cells in ours and didn't have very good long term results vs good quality wets that have lasted for several years thus far with a good amount of abuse...

[wkbrdr91]

My dad replaced our yacht's 6 batterys with ONE gel battery and it works just fine, in fact I think he said it works better. Our yacht has 2 double barrel 454 V8 engines in it, plus the built in generator.

That's an interesting concept... replacing six batteries with one... I guess if the six replaced were relatively tiny batteries being replaced with one huge battery that would work, but otherwise that's not quite how the gel cell concept works..

Generally, moderate to large boats have a single, sometimes two starter batteries (I've seen more, but usually it's overkill), along with a separate group of storage batteries to run power from when engine(s) and generator(s) are off... If your dad replaced six starter batteries with one, that would make sense, as six batteries would be overkill and much less efficient in the first place, since the starter would have to call on six separate wired batteries to turn over... One large battery for this usage would offer much quicker response time and would still offer enough juice to crank the starter(s) with ease... So, if this is the case, it's not because your dad switched to a gel-cell, it's due to the simple fact that he streamlined a process that should have been that way from the start - any good battery with a sufficient CCA rating could do that.

If your dad replaced six storage cells with one gel-cell, I don't really know what to say... Seems kinda foolish to me, unless (as previously stated) the storage cells were tiny from the start and merged into one mammoth battery... Even then I don't know why anyone would want to do this as there is a huge advantage to redundancy, especially in the marine environment... I've actually found that pairs of large 6V marine grade batteries wired in series, then paralleled with other pairs actually perform better for storage than practically anything else... This certainly adds a lot of weight, but for larger boats it doesn't matter as much... For moderate boats, or ones that the added weight would affect, a group of good quality marine grade 12Vs work just fine.

We tried gel-cells in ours and didn't have very good long term results vs good quality wets that have lasted for several years thus far with a good amount of abuse...

The boat weighs 10 TONS, were not exactly counting the pounds we add to that. The boat used 6 average sized batteries (same size as a car) and the new gel cell is about the size of 2 car batteries if I remember correctly, a friend of ours is a truck mechanic and ordered it for us, he also used to have a similar size, same brand yacht as ours. The battery is used as power when the generator isnt on and the boat isnt plugged in... but that situation rarely happens.

[theprodigy79]

That's fine and dandy dude, our boat displaces around 44,000lbs (22 tons) but weight distribution is still an issue... Unless we're talking VERY LARGE boats, it usually is.

I guess we just prefer to keep the engine / generator off for some peace on occasion...

Point is, what your dad did could have been done just as effectively with a marine flooded. Any lead acid battery (whether flooded or gel) can only produce the amperage they're rated to produce, and store what they are rated to store...

I used to live by and endorse gel-cells until I actually began to understand the concept of what a battery truly is and what it actually does... Now I find that gel-cells, for 'regular' usage, are almost always wastes of money.

You can argue all you want, but I can put up a good 17 years experience putting many different auto / marine batteries through various amounts of abuse (including running a 2000+ Watt RMS system in my Solara, installing 10K+ Watt RMS systems in other competition vehicles, and boating since I was born) along with a substantial amount of actual research (not hear-say) to support my knowledge...

Tell your dad to go buy a comparably rated, good quality marine flooded battery for half the price and see how it does...

**edit**

I just noticed you stated the previously used batteries in the boat were 'regular, car-sized' batteries... For marine 'yachts' those are, indeed, considered to be tiny... Reserve batteries can weigh a good couple hundred lbs a piece... If I recall, ours are around 140-160lbs each (x4)...

Also... just to acknowledge... there is certainly benefit to using gel or AGM batteries in a marine environment when the batteries are located near electronics that the vented gasses can corrode, or when factoring in the effects of healing or chopping...

HOWEVER, my entire point is based upon the reliability and productivity of the batteries placed against each other, as the battery of subject is intended for auto use in a drop-in situation.

One other big factor in the auto world is that gel-cells don't really like to be overcharged, which happens more frequently than people realize... Flooded batteries can at least take it and keep going...

[wkbrdr91]

Dude relax. I'm not arguing with anyone here. Just stating my dad was very happy with his gel battery purchase. No need to get heated up over a battery.

What type of boat do you have? And where is your generator that it could bother you? Ours produces a very quiet hum, you can barely hear it. Though recently the boat hasn't been taken on any trips so we just start the generator whenever we take the boat for a cruise down the st johns river.

[yaddadaimsayin]

dang prodigy.. that's some solid knowledge! I've actually learned a few things from this thread.

[theprodigy79]

Dude relax. I'm not arguing with anyone here. Just stating my dad was very happy with his gel battery purchase. No need to get heated up over a battery.

What type of boat do you have? And where is your generator that it could bother you? Ours produces a very quiet hum, you can barely hear it. Though recently the boat hasn't been taken on any trips so we just start the generator whenever we take the boat for a cruise down the st johns river.

Sorry man, just kinda a stressful day...

We've actually been on a sailing kick for quite a while now... The generator is down in the engine room and only produces a quiet hum as well, but we like to go to places that are pretty serene, and when there's no other noise around it's audible... We also try to respect the boaters anchored near us, as the humming carries through the water.