Gel or lithium batteries

[copyritejim]

I am considering upgrading my 12 volt wet cell batteries to either gel or lithium. Would one lithium work rather than using two gel batteries? My second question is can I use the converter that came on my 2018 Reflection 337rls? for the lithium battery. And my last question is does the gel batteries charge up faster than the wet cells? Thank you in advance for your opinions.


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[JKellerJr]

If you do a search you'll get more information than you know what to do with.

I don't think Gel would be much different than you have now. Maybe someone will have better information on those.

Lithium has lots of options from build your own to drop in replacements from battleborn or SOK. Lithium can use basically the whole capacity of the battery without damage and can be charged at a much faster rate. Your existing converter will probably work but you won't get anywhere near the performance without going to a lithium specific unit.

[Hoopy Frood]

What are your reasons for wanting to change? Those should be considered when choosing the type of battery.

[Ynot4me2]

I am considering upgrading my 12 volt wet cell batteries to either gel or lithium. Would one lithium work rather than using two gel batteries? My second question is can I use the converter that came on my 2018 Reflection 337rls? for the lithium battery. And my last question is does the gel batteries charge up faster than the wet cells? Thank you in advance for your opinions.


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I'm not sure I'd call going from LA batteries to gel an upgrade. AGM maybe. The big difference with lithium vs more traditional batteries is that you can use almost 100% of the lithium as oppose to 50-60% of LA. Yes you can use your original converter with lithium but it will only charge up to 80% which is still more power then LA.

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[copyritejim]

We do a lot of dry camping and was wondering if the gel batteries charge faster than the wet cells do. Also can one lithium do the same job as two of the gels?


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[copyritejim]

I’m assuming gel and AGM batteries are the same


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[JKellerJr]

We do a lot of dry camping and was wondering if the gel batteries charge faster than the wet cells do. Also can one lithium do the same job as two of the gels?


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It depends on the rating of each battery. A 100AH lithium will do the job of 2 100AH lead acid batteries. I cannot comment on if gel cells are much, if any different than wet cells but I don't think they are.

[sande005]

"Gel" batteries are just lead acid that are sealed, and normally need no checking of the electrolyte. AGM's are a variation of lead acids, essentially "improved" or "somewhat better" - slightly different voltage, and better at resisting damage from modest over discharging.
All batteries have an Amp Hour rating - although for many it can be hard to find. It can vary depending on the size and quality of the battery.
Let's assume your current lead acid is rated for 50AH, by going to two you will have 100AH to use. While batteries rated for "deep discharge" (some conventionals or gel, or most AGM's) can discharge most (but far from all) of their rated amps, it is pretty hard on them and can shorten their life. Hence the recommendations to only discharge to no lower than 50%. So now your two batteries would only routinely give you 50AH.
Lithium's can routinely give up 90% (or a bit more) of their capacity. So one rated for 100AH will give you 90AH useable. Some manufacturers use better cells, and their batteries are actually able to give more, so you end up with a full 100AH useable. So in this example, twice the useable capacity. Your actual mileage may vary.
Lithium's are much, much lighter than lead acids, in usually a somewhat smaller package.
Lithium's hold their charge much, much longer than lead acids when not in use. No need for 'trickle chargers" or other when not in use.
Lithium's put out a very consistent voltage level, and do not drop like acids do as they get used up.
Lithium's can be recharged extremely quickly (but almost all do not have that capability enabled by the internal circuitry) (nor do RV's have the huge power circuits that doing a 15-30 min. complete charge would entail).

The downsides to lithium's:
Initial cost. Some argue that the expected lifespan more than makes up for this by not having to replace very often.
If discharged to completely dead, just once, lithium's will be permanently ruined. Most come with safety circuitry to prevent this.
They can be used in below freezing weather, but not subzero.
They cannot be recharged if the temp is below freezing.
-Again, better ones have the circuitry to prevent temperature related issues. Some have internal heaters to get around problems with low temperatures.
For longest life, when not in use, they should be kept partially discharged, and topped off just before being put into use.
Standard RV converters can be used to charge them, but usually cannot fully charge them. For that, a new converter for lithium's has to be installed.
Lead batteries can use voltage as a rough indicator for how much capacity they have left. Lithium's have no direct way to estimate remaining capacity, so a separate device needs to be used to monitor. Some high end versions will have that built in, with bluetooth to a phone/etc.

Other question - no, gel and AGM do not charge up any faster than basic wet cells.

[copyritejim]

Thanks sande005. That answers every question I had. Really appreciate it.


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[seanmi96]

Everyone,

Just a little insight in regards to gel-cell batteries. I work for a major IS provider, and we do have many sites that use gel-cell batteries. Here is a list of issues that is part of using a gel-call battery

1. Thermal run-away
- Thermal runaway begins when the heat generated within a battery exceeds the amount of heat that is dissipated to its surroundings. ... The rise in temperature in a single battery will begin to affect other batteries in close proximity, and the pattern will continue, thus the term “runaway.”

2. Life-span of a gel-cell battery is around 3 to 5 years, and that's if the battery is used in monitored / stable environment. Heat and cold greatly effect the life-span of a gel-cell
3. Cost of recycling a gel-call battery is HUGELY expensive.
4. Bulging and over-heating is a major cause of replacement. Which this usually leads to thermal-runaway.

I hope this helps everyone.