When I got into my RV this morning it wouldn't start. I had to use the battery boost from my coach batteries to get the engine started. My chassis battery is a self contained Gel Cell battery around a year old that is dead and seems not to be taking a charge. I've been charging the Gel Cell battery for about 8 hours and it reads that it is still in the red (red indicator light means battery is not fully charged) on my battery charger. The green light on my battery charger indicates a full charge. I talked to my son and he told me Gel Cell batteries are very good batteries but, they need to be ran all the time not here and there (I've had my coach out twice in the last year). Has anyone experienced using a Gel Cell battery in a RV?

I've had Optima gel cell batteries for years. They take a long time to fully charge and like to be charged at a low current rate. Whenever I have a dead one, I charge it for 24 hours or more at trickle rate and that fully charges it, without overheating it during charging.

i've never seen Gel batteries in an RVare you sure you don't mean AGMand Optima is a spiral wound AGMAbsorbed Glass Matt aka AGM is different from Gelboth are sealed, but gel requires special charging

Thanks guy's I'll slow charge it all day tomorrow.

I very seriously doubt that it is a gel Cell.Optima are NOT gel cells (though they false advertise they are)What Optimas are is AGM.. Your starting battery is likely either Maintenance Free wet cell (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) or AGM (Also Valve Regulated Lead Acid, however with the addition of Starved Electrolytic) There is a lot of things about two (GEL and AGM) that are alike, they both are VLRA, they both can be mounted in odd configurations (On end, side, angle or puside down) They are both able to co-exist with some electronicsBut where as AGM's are one of the best, GEL is about the worst for RV or ENgine use. You need to be very very very careful charging a GEL, AGM's are able to accept a much faster charge. GEL's are very hard to find in Automotive/RV sizes... Last device I had that used GEL was purachased in about 1970. Last Gell cell I purchased about 8 years later.

Clean up the label and post the actual battery model and brand etc. for best answers.How does your house battery stay charged? Are you plugged in or solar? Very easy to pass some of this power to the chassis battery.Depending on the battery and trickle charge it could take a week to charge. Then it is hard to tell if the battery will charge at all. Best to have a 10 to 40 amp charger.

Gel Cell Battery | Good Sam Community

time2roll
Nomad
Aug 31, 2016
Pretty sure the factory Optima website is very clear that they make AGM batteries.
Nothing else. No gel unless to explain that the battery is not a gel battery.

Sometimes these are referred to SLA because they do fall into the Sealed Lead Acid group same as gel.
rgatijnet1
Explorer III
Aug 31, 2016
J-Rooster wrote:
Thanks for everyone's help! Battery is charging at 14.5 and everything is working!

That's great. According to my OBDII gauge, when the engine alternator on my coach needs to charge the batteries, it is usually at 14.4-14.5 volts. Sounds like everything is under control now.
J-Rooster
Explorer
Sep 01, 2016
rgatijnet1 wrote:
J-Rooster wrote:
Thanks for everyone's help! Battery is charging at 14.5 and everything is working!

That's great. According to my OBDII gauge, when the engine alternator on my coach needs to charge the batteries, it is usually at 14.4-14.5 volts. Sounds like everything is under control now.
Thanks, Ron
J-Rooster
Explorer
Sep 01, 2016
usersmanual wrote:
The whole top of the battery is Red! And it says Optima, AGM, High Performance Battery!

well then its a Absorbed glass mat battery not a gel cell as Optima claim there AGM
Thanks, The red top battery is completely self contained, I didn't mention that!
J-Rooster
Explorer
Sep 01, 2016
smkettner wrote:
Pretty sure the factory Optima website is very clear that they make AGM batteries.
Nothing else. No gel unless to explain that the battery is not a gel battery.

Sometimes these are referred to SLA because they do fall into the Sealed Lead Acid group same as gel.
Thanks for explaining that term to me (SLA).

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