Types of Batteries

There are several types of batteries used for leisure pursuits, such as motor home camping and boating. These activities are far more pleasurable when the right power is available, not only to run the motor home or boat, but to power other appliances that provide comfort as well.

Most of these appliances can be run off the engine when you have the engine running, but when you need to run these appliances without the engine you depend on battery power. Batteries used for these leisure activities are referred to as Leisure Batteries. They are usually standby batteries and are not used for starting the engine. Their construction differs from that of starting batteries.

It is best to use deep discharge batteries rather than the cheaper type of leisure batteries:

• Deep discharge batteries can be discharged to 80% rather than just 50%.
• As a result these types of batteries last longer between recharging.
• This means that you get more for your money.

Three types of batteries

There are mainly three types of leisure batteries:

• the standard wet cell
• the gel battery
• the AGM or absorbed glass mat battery

Types of batteries: wet cell

The wet cell battery is the most common of the different types of batteries as well the cheapest. Wet cell batteries are made of plates that form cells. These cells are then filled with an electrolyte of sulphuric acid. When these batteries are being charged they give off explosive gasses and therefore need well ventilated places where they can be charged.

These types of batteries are not sealed and therefore need to be stored in an upright position with care being taken that they do not spill their electrolyte. They need regular maintenance to keep them in top condition. You have to check the fluid in the cells regularly as it evaporates and needs to be topped up.

Types of batteries: gel battery

The gel battery has its electrolyte in gel form. This is a sealed battery and requires no maintenance. It is constructed so that when it is being charged and it gives off hydrogen and oxygen gas they recombine in the battery to form water, thus replenishing the electrolyte. Since this battery does not give out any gas when it is being charged, it does not require ventilation. Also, since the liquid is in a gel form and will not spill from the battery, these types of batteries can be placed in any position, which could save space.

The drawbacks of these types of batteries are that they need a longer time to be recharged as they need low voltage; over charging could render them useless; and the charger has to be a totally different charging profile and therefore a bespoke charger. Deep cycle gel batteries can only be discharged to 60% not 80%. Leisure gel batteries can only be discharged to about 45%.

They are also much more expensive than wet cell batteries.

Types of batteries: absorbed glass mat

The AGM or absorbed glass mat battery, like the gel battery, is sealed, with the electrolyte absorbed in glass mats. These batteries have all the advantages of gel batteries along with the ability to be charged at the same rate as the wet cell battery, and heavy charges or discharges do not cause this battery to heat. They can also withstand freezing temperatures which would damage other types of batteries.

One of the down sides to these types of batteries is that they cost about 3 to 5 times as comparable wet cell batteries. They also cannot be charged with a deep cycle charger as this would cause excessive heat and dry them out, therefore a charger similar to a gel charger is required. The discharge rate is the same as for gel batteries.

Please take a look at the different types of batteries Pb Batteries supplies for leisure use, and feel free to contact us if you need any further advice.