Changing from GEL Batteries

[Hobby Dazzlers]

Hi,

 

We have a 2005 Hobby 750FML. At present it as 1 x 80amp GEL leisure battery. We have purchased 2 x 110amp sealed acid batteries to replace the Gel.

We have been advised that we need to change a switch from Gel to Acid on the charger but we cannot find a switch on the Toptron Charger.

Are we right in presuming therefore that we should be ok then just to change the batteries?

[Derek Uzzell]

You may well find that the charger's outer casing needs to be removed to gain access to the switch - that's certainly the case with the CBE charger fitted to my Hobby T-600.

 

The Hobby User Manual advises "Use only the same kind of batteries when exchanging the battery (same capacity and voltage, cycle-proof, maintenance-free and leakproof)". Although some of these strictures can be safely ignored, if you swap gel to lead-acid and your charger needs to be matched to battery-type, you are going to end up with the wrong charging regimen unless you alter the charger's setting. Obviously, if Hobby are advising owners to stick with gel batteries, they are not going to tell them how to tweak the charger for lead-acid ones!

 

A follow-up...

 

I notice that you asked about this on the motorhomefacts forum (pity you didn't mention this) and that a response from Toptron was quoted saying that Toptron chargers did not need their settings altered.

 

As I said earlier the charger on Ford-based Hobby T-Series models (like my T-600) does need switching for gel or lead-acid as appropriate, but these vehicles have CBE-made chargers not Toptron ones. "Gaspode", who mentioned on motorhomefacts that his Hobby's charger needed switching also has a T-600 and, hence, a completely different charger to the one fitted to your 750.

 

As Toptron seem prepared to answer questions like yours, I'd be very tempted to e-mail them (quoting your charger's identification details) and double-check that "Karl's" advice is correct. Better safe than sorry!

[Nobby]

Long content removed in edit as it merely duplicated Dereks post, posted almost simultaneously!

 

Nobby

[JohnP]

If you are using solar panels for charging you may have to change the settings on the solar panel regulator. This is usually done by changing "jumper pins"

[Nobby]

Hi,

 

I've looked into this quite a bit as I also have a 5yrs old Hobby 650 with a Toptron charger that has no GEL/WET switch. I have two gel leisure batteries and anticipate that I will eventually have to change and may well look for a less expensive option, as has the original poster.

 

I am open to correction on this but as far as I can make out, the difference between a gel and wet battery charge cycle is that the second stage should be at 14.4v for wet or 14.2v for gel batteries. Thsi means that a lead acid battery on the Toptron charger will receive a second stage charge of 0.2v less than the ideal. While not being perfection, this may well be adequate and Toptron's own advice seems to support this. If anybody thinks differently, then please interject. I am not a battery anorak and will be more than happy to learn in advance of my future dilemma.

 

JohnP raises an interesting aside - the issue of solar charging to different battery types. Many common or garden solar regulators do not have GEL/WET switching. This is true of my own Solsum 8.8 which is one of the more popular regulators and which gives a full charge of 14.4v before relaxing into float mode at 13.8v. Of course, all the advice is not to charge a gell battery higher than 14.2v.

The original installers of my solar system advised me 5 years ago that this would be fine for my gel batteries and this has proved to be the case as they are still in excellent condition and the whole thing works well. Indeed, the notes with the regulator also state that it is suitable for both gel and lead acid batteries.

The purist would probably say that this regulator should not be used with gel batteries - but it works! It occurs to me that voltage drop on the fairly long run from regulator to batteries may in practice account for the 0.2v discrepancy - any views on this?

 

Thanks,

Nobby