# Gel v Wet setting Electro block would this damage if wrong?



## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

Hi I would be grateful for advice. Trying out recently privately bought 2004 Hymer. Hookup fine, but have tried 2 nights wild and am having big probs with the batteries. 

Setup is 3 100 ah that are not very old at all, 2 80w solars. I have a 300w inverter that I use to power a sky box and LCD tv. Lost power on emergency shutdown first night (surprised but put it down to profligate use of power) second night very careful, one halogen light and TV on at dark. By 8’oclock again shutdown as voltage had dropped below 10.5. Something is definitely wrong. Voltage shows 14+ when charging, 12.3-13 after standing for day or to in mucky weather under no load.

Chap I bought from said that, although he used mainly hookup, he had recently changed the batteries, from gel to wet. He said that he had been quoted a “lot of money” to install them so had done so himself. 

Now in the battery slide out there is a prominent notice that says in 6 languages DO NOT change gel batteries for wet. 

I am unsure what to do. He did say that he had altered something on the electro block to accommodate this but can’t remember what it was. Any suggestions or a recommendation for specialist electrician in the Marches or West Midlands?


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## bigfoot (May 16, 2005)

electroblocks have a switch to change from 'gel' to 'wet',if yours has this why not move it and try it out. I emailed Electrobloc and they emailed a pdf for the instruction manual.
Failing that try Dave Newell in Telford.


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## JeanLuc (Jan 13, 2007)

It is possible to use either Gel or "Wet" lead-acid batteries (6-cell 12V).

The reason there is a warning not to change from Gel is to do with German safety concerns regarding accidents (you can turn a gel battery upside down and it doesn't leak).

The Elektroblock has a small selector switch marked as "Batterie-Wahl". It has two settings:
Blei-Säure = "wet" lead-acid
Blei-Gel = gel

N.b. if you have Elecsol batteries, these require the Blei-Säure setting, NOT gel.

The main effect of the switch is to alter the length of time of the second stage of charging. In the case of Gel, stage 2 lasts for 8 hours; for wet lead acid it lasts for 1 hour. The setting is important.

It occurs to me that you may not be allowing enough time to charge the batteries fully. The Elektroblock has a maximum charging current of 18 amps. You are trying to re-charge 300 amp-hours of battery capacity. A simple division suggests that will take 17 hours. In fact, it is not so simple because the charging current falls as the batteries become more charged. I would have thought you will need to allow at least 24 hours, and possibly 48 hours to ensure full charging.
Your particular Elektroblock might have a different output, but I doubt it. Many models (e.g. EBL 99 / 100) share the same charging module (called LAS 1218) and this, as the number suggests, puts out 12V and 18 amps. I think I have read somewhere that the maximum recommended capacity for the EBL is 180 Ah. Above that it will work perfectly well, but it will take quite a long time to re-charge an exhausted battery bank. It is possible to buy an additional, stand-alone, LAS1218 module that can be plugged into the exiting Elektroblock, in order to speed up the charging process. Not a cheap solution though.

Of course, all the above may not be relevant if you have dud batteries, but at least check the EBL setting first. Then, leave it on EHU charge for 48 hours, let it settle for a hour without drawing any current, then check the charge in the batteries, it should register over 13v and with 300 Ah of capacity, you should last for 4 days or more even at this time of year. (A multi-meter is best for checking this, rather than the panel in the Hymer.)

Hope this helps a bit - if not, I also recommend Dave Newell in Telford.

Philip

p.s. we have 2 x 110 Ah Elecsol batteries charged by a standard EBL99. It all works fine.


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

I would go with what is said above, you have 300ah of batteries and these will take a long time to charge.

Also I presume that the solar regulator is working and the blocker diode is also functioning, otherwise your batteries will be discharging through the panels at night.


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## clive1821 (Mar 27, 2010)

The reason in my view is not to replace for wet is simpley if the batteries are located in the living area, there's an issue with gassing from the batteries into the living area.... the above information regarding the ELB99 etc is correct. I use my tv from the 12v supply and also the sky box with the tv running, etc there is a load of about 10amps and therefore after 10hours for example you have used 100amps, (even if you have say 200HR batteries there's only a usefull supply of about 160amps) just for an example, if you have a solar panel (I have 2 x 120W units) and I'm luckey to get 2 amps charge this time of year and only for say 3/4 hours so it will take days of charge, in the summer when the sun is over head I'm getting around 12 amps which makes a difference, so in our winter you'll need some serious chargers to recharge the batteries, you will need time to recharge, even when driving you would normaley only be chargeing around 20 amps... the replacement of your lights to LCD will help you for every one halagen you can used 8 LCD lamps for the same current. if you use a inverter and say its a 500watt unit you would be useing about 40amps its worth just thinking on that...


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## JeanLuc (Jan 13, 2007)

Just a small point regarding Clive's post.
Even Gel batteries can gas upon charging and so, it is wise to vent them if they are in the living area. The problem occurs if one (or more) of a battery's cells fails, normally due to age. I had this very problem with the original Exide Gel batteries. One cell failed in a battery and the van filled with Hydrogen Sulphide (and no doubt some other gases) whilst it was plugged in to the mains.

Now I have Elecsols, which are sealed units, and they are vented for safety. The chap at Elecsol recommended doing this as a precaution.

Philip


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