Living with 600ah 6v GEL batteries

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  • nomadros
    Member
    • May 2018
    • 48
    #1

    Living with 600ah 6v GEL batteries

    I bought a couple of these batteries a couple of months ago, so I'd thought I'd share.

    They are American (UPower) and bright green; a colour my girlfriend hates.
    I'm running them in series and I bought them at a time when AGM batteries were nearly twice the price of these.
    I did order them on the 9th Dec 2021 (in time for the solstice) but they took 3 months to get to me.

    Anyway, so far I haven't come across any bad points.

    I had 250Ah 12v GEL batteries before and the problem I had was on windy afternoons with clouds and sun, when the batteries were around the 14.2v mark.
    The sudden flash of sunlight coming out of a cloud would set off the alarms on my inverters and sometimes down the power for a few seconds.
    My charge controllers are MPPT but even they could react fast enough.
    This was no problem for the likes of the fridge, but when your Teams call drops whilst the router reboots, it was an issue.
    Also, they could be very "sensitive" at times and sulk.

    Being 600Ah these batteries seem to have more "depth" and I've had no alarms due to the above.
    Subjectively they seem more stable and react better to discharge/charge events than the 250Ah ones.

    If all goes well, I'll buy another couple and make a 24v system in the autumn.

    My other batteries are being moved to light my warehouse / power electric harvesting equipment etc.
    Tags: None
    • SunEagle
      Super Moderator
      • Oct 2012
      • 15126
      #2
      Originally posted by nomadros
      I bought a couple of these batteries a couple of months ago, so I'd thought I'd share.

      They are American (UPower) and bright green; a colour my girlfriend hates.
      I'm running them in series and I bought them at a time when AGM batteries were nearly twice the price of these.
      I did order them on the 9th Dec 2021 (in time for the solstice) but they took 3 months to get to me.

      Anyway, so far I haven't come across any bad points.

      I had 250Ah 12v GEL batteries before and the problem I had was on windy afternoons with clouds and sun, when the batteries were around the 14.2v mark.
      The sudden flash of sunlight coming out of a cloud would set off the alarms on my inverters and sometimes down the power for a few seconds.
      My charge controllers are MPPT but even they could react fast enough.
      This was no problem for the likes of the fridge, but when your Teams call drops whilst the router reboots, it was an issue.
      Also, they could be very "sensitive" at times and sulk.

      Being 600Ah these batteries seem to have more "depth" and I've had no alarms due to the above.
      Subjectively they seem more stable and react better to discharge/charge events than the 250Ah ones.

      If all goes well, I'll buy another couple and make a 24v system in the autumn.

      My other batteries are being moved to light my warehouse / power electric harvesting equipment etc.
      You might have gotten a good price on those Gels but my question is how many "cycles" will they get you before they start to lose capacity?

        Comment

        • nomadros
          Member
          • May 2018
          • 48
          #3
          Hi...well I've been running these Upower batteries for just over a year now and I really like them. They haven't taken a really deep dive yet mind you, but they suit my needs. I had 6 weeks of cloudy weather back last November/December and they sailed through that running Starlink and Teams all day. They're not "neurotic" like the 250ah GEL batteries I have and just mind their own business in the corner. Realy can't fault them.

            Comment

            • nomadros
              Member
              • May 2018
              • 48
              #4
              Update on these 660ah 6V batteries. I'm coming up on having these for 2 years now and they went from being totally awesome to absolute crap. SunEagle is right.

              Using the same panels, charge controller, inverter and load, I've got a "been in constant use", 6 year old 250Ah 12v GEL battery that now outperforms these things by a long way.

              One minute they were fine and then their capacity fell off a cliff.

              Not a good buy.

                Comment

                • azdave
                  Moderator
                  • Oct 2014
                  • 765
                  #5
                  Originally posted by nomadros
                  Not a good buy.
                  Thanks for updating your thread. Sorry the value was not what you had hoped for.

                  Dave W. Gilbert AZ
                  6.63kW grid-tie owner

                    Comment

                    • SunEagle
                      Super Moderator
                      • Oct 2012
                      • 15126
                      #6
                      Originally posted by nomadros
                      Update on these 660ah 6V batteries. I'm coming up on having these for 2 years now and they went from being totally awesome to absolute crap. SunEagle is right.

                      Using the same panels, charge controller, inverter and load, I've got a "been in constant use", 6 year old 250Ah 12v GEL battery that now outperforms these things by a long way.

                      One minute they were fine and then their capacity fell off a cliff.

                      Not a good buy.
                      Sorry to hear about your issue. I know from experience that Gel batteries just don't have a long life in them.

                        Comment

                        • nomadros
                          Member
                          • May 2018
                          • 48
                          #7
                          Thank you both for the replies. For me it was worth the try just to see how far I could push things. I would change if I could but my permit for solar panels states GEL storage and between the council, my insurers and the nature reserve people I'd get done for "involuntary arson" should there be a fire, so I'll stick with what's been agreed.

                          *Involuntary arson is a thing in Spain.

                            Comment

                            • J.P.M.
                              Solar Fanatic
                              • Aug 2013
                              • 14939
                              #8
                              Originally posted by nomadros
                              *Involuntary arson is a thing in Spain.
                              Maybe a little off topic but that sounds like a polite way of saying people will be held responsible in some statutory way for doing stupid chit (or at least what some possibly more aware people consider stupid).

                                Comment

                                • nomadros
                                  Member
                                  • May 2018
                                  • 48
                                  #9
                                  Yup. Bloke around here started a bonfire in a force 8 and woosh!

                                  Had no fire licence, so didn't get the "don't even think about it" SMS sent from the rangers that day.

                                  Result: 4 years in jug, 250,000 euro fine and cost of putting blaze out (2 helicopters, 4 planes, 16 fire engines and assorted firemen for 4 hours).

                                  There's always a smart one who thinks stuff does not apply to him.

                                    Comment

                                    • J.P.M.
                                      Solar Fanatic
                                      • Aug 2013
                                      • 14939
                                      #10
                                      Originally posted by nomadros
                                      Yup. Bloke around here started a bonfire in a force 8 and woosh!

                                      Had no fire licence, so didn't get the "don't even think about it" SMS sent from the rangers that day.

                                      Result: 4 years in jug, 250,000 euro fine and cost of putting blaze out (2 helicopters, 4 planes, 16 fire engines and assorted firemen for 4 hours).

                                      There's always a smart one who thinks stuff does not apply to him.
                                      Well, actions have consequences, or at least ought to.

                                        Comment

                                        • nomadros
                                          Member
                                          • May 2018
                                          • 48
                                          #11
                                          Anyhoo... My big storage strategy for batteries is over as it takes too long to test and prove, so I need another power source. I've only got a permit for 5.2m2 of panels ( I could go up to 2 x 550w at 24v from 4 x (2 series) 220w at 24v), so I'm thinking wind (not turbines as I need another permit) or water (not out my borehole as that's metered and I would need another permit for that too), so I'm thinking a ground level tube for wind and/or a 2 tank gravity fed + pump return solution for water. I'll tyoe back when I've got a test completed.

                                            Comment

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