Forgot to say. The "Track Air system" is designed to keep the battery cool so unlike a normal battery you can do an element of "opportunity charging" which I presume is the "quick charge " mentioned? Also has environmental benefits over a conventional battery. Would suggest you contact Hoppecke for more info. Plus these are a lot cheaper than a Gell Battery. In my opinion Gel batteries are only any good on 12v machines were people don't top convential batteries up leading to premature failure.
My experience with Gel Batteries from around 5 years ago unless the products have improved is there expensive, unreliable. ie Cells failing. Whilst these were be replaced under Warranty were applicable took weeks to get cells. Chargers expensive to repair.
Only problem with conventional batteries is over and under filling and charging. Hoppecke Track Air batteries are good reliable batteries but service can be a bit hit and miss depending on area. But generaly good Warranty cover. So would suggest going for a Track Air battery with a good Autofill system with Blinky Low level warning light and daily check and top up regime. Hope attached helps.
Gel are more sensitive to temp then flooded. Also more sensitive to charge voltage
What about gel vs. flooded?
The batteries will never be "fully" charged when they are stored in less than 50 degrees- this is the magic temperature for batteries- below this, as swoop stated- the chemical reaction becomes to slow for a full charge to occur. If you turn up the settings on the charger to try to "push" in a full charge you'll ruin the battery. Short cycling the battery because of a cold situation will shorten it's life, but it's not as hard on the battery as pushing in extra voltage.
In cold situations I've installed battery warmers designed for large truck batteries in large trucks. They have a built in thermostat that keeps the battery at about 70 degrees. The customer plugs in the battery warmer at the same time the battery is charged. So far they have extended battery life & extended the life of each charge.
Thanks. That,s what I've been told by battery people> I've also been told that gel batteries have been a major issue in motive power applications but not so bad in stationary applications. This does not only apply to cold applications but basically all applications... I've got a customer who has a Edison system and they love it but it,s just a general warehouse. I've also been told that in a freezer application, the batteries never com up to full charge because of misreadings on the charger.
based on what i know about batteries and how they are affected by heat and cold and doing a bit of googling and research i have come to the conclusion that gel batteries in a freezer environment would be a bad thing as well. Cold temps tend to slow down the process of electron transfer during charging and discharging in normal lead acid batteries so based on that information a gel battery would be even worse imo.
The best description i could find on how batteries react in either environment i found here:
h t t p://72.10.52.249/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=1 (Industrial Battery Products aka: IBP) just copy and paste this url in your browser address bar and remove the spaces i added so it would post on here.
you can do more research or even call any industrial battery provider and you will probably get the same explanation or something similar.
Freezer applications have always been a very harsh environment for electric powered trucks and generally require many special alterations to help keep the trucks running and not freeze up. Heaters on the controls and special batteries, special hydraulic oil, etc.
good luck