Craig Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Has anybody experience of gel batteries? Websites are confusing, some state they are different and some state they are the same! I'm looking at my options for getting a decent battery sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rooster Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 They are very similar component wise, but generally require a little more care than, say a car battery. This is because the batteries are designed to vent very little gas, so can be used in enclosed places etc, and as such cannot be brutally charged or discharged, as can a car battery (which uses wet electrolyte and can change chemically much faster... But produces lot more gas during charge/discharge) Basically, as long as you use a charger designed for a gel battery you will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted November 11, 2012 Author Share Posted November 11, 2012 Are there any gains to be had by using one over another? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Gel batteries r supposed to last longer under cold conditions But our battery guy is unconvinced of this. For our stuff he suggest 70ah lead acid Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rooster Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 I'd say gel cells are a LOT safer for use outside cars.. They are not full of clothes eating acid, can be used laying down (best to use upright though) and unlikely to go bang if shorted out. As they release less gas, they could be housed in a cool box, hence insulating them from the cold! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) Liquid lead acid battery are the type similar to the ones you have in your car, (Le Planche type with lead plates in liquid acid) and require vents and can be messy and somewhat hazardous for our use as a spill will eventually eat through clothes, papers, scopes, you etc. Most of the battery packs we use, including the Baz batteries are sealed lead acid gel batteries. E.g they are still Le Planche type but instead of liquid acid they have an acid gel. They have no vents, dont gas (maybe but they are sealed) and are completely seald so are ideal for carting about, throwing in the back of the car, tripping over in the dark and generally mucking about with. As for performance a 12 ampere hour lead acid will give the same as a 12 ampere hour gel, e.g will run 1 amp for 12 hours or 12 amps for 1 hour. @Sheila, 70 Ah is a bit on the heavy side from a weight point of view and if your drawing 1 amp it'll last 70 hours. Most of the jump start battery packs are around the 17 Ah and are more than capable of keeping most rigs running all night with dew heaters as well. Keeping them off the cold ground is a good tip for keeping the performance on an all nighter Edited November 12, 2012 by philjay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Liquid lead acid battery are the type similar to the ones you have in your car, (Le Planche type with lead plates in liquid acid) and require vents and can be messy and somewhat hazardous for our use as a spill will eventually eat through clothes, papers, scopes, you etc. Most of the battery packs we use, including the Baz batteries are sealed lead acid gel batteries. E.g they are still Le Planche type but instead of liquid acid they have an acid gel. They have no vents, dont gas (maybe but they are sealed) and are completely seald so are ideal for carting about, throwing in the back of the car, tripping over in the dark and generally mucking about with. As for performance a 12 ampere hour lead acid will give the same as a 12 ampere hour gel, e.g will run 1 amp for 12 hours or 12 amps for 1 hour. @Sheila, 70 Ah is a bit on the heavy side from a weight point of view and if your drawing 1 amp it'll last 70 hours. Most of the jump start battery packs are around the 17 Ah and are more than capable of keeping most rigs running all night with dew heaters as well. Keeping them off the cold ground is a good tip for keeping the performance on an all nighter i asked them for 10a for 10 hours plus to keep the weight reasonable, and they came up with 70ah sealed battery, 20 kgs, which i can lift, and it will run all imaging kit, heaters camera etc and Laptop as well. Thats why they suggested this one for me. They are currently testing it out to make sure it does the job Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 10 amps, crikey thats alot of power. If you can lift it then fine any battery will do but the typical 17 Ah is manageable and runs alot of kit. My imaging rig in the observatory runs on 2 off 17 Ah packs although 1 will do in the field Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) Just like to be sure Phil, better more than less i think Sheila :-) Edited November 13, 2012 by Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I think the main current draw there Sheila would be the Lappy, they are power hungry, as a lot energy is wasted from the heat the components generate, which is just blown out into fresh air. For about the same weight, you could get a 85a/hr leisure battery, which will tolerate deep discharging better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Martyn, checked all the stuff I have on battery and Laptop draws same as mount, was surprised really but they do have good power saving stuff now on them in the settings. The problem I have is the mount as its so sensitive to voltage, as ,ong as voltage dont drop everything should be OK. battery guy testing it at moment. he pushing battery at 11 amps and monitoring it on voltage. All looks promising Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Yep lappy's are a bit power hungry, I have a 9 hour battery on my netbook so that relieves some of the drain on any battery packs. Ive also made my own low wattage dew system but even with my old system I was running at only 4 ish amps on my CGE when imaging with DSLR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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