deeply discharged gel house batteries

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deeply discharged gel house batteries

October 15, 2018, 06:36:42 am

House 3 DEKA 8g8d gel cells discharged down to 5.3 volts due to ac power loss at storage lot for two weeks. Can these batteries be restored back to life? I tried recharging each of them (Schumacher charger on gel setting) separately several times over the last few days each time only reaching ~12.1v on one and ~11.2v on the other 2. The batteries are 9 yrs old.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #1 – October 15, 2018, 06:42:56 am

Sounds like they be toast

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #2 – October 15, 2018, 07:45:43 am

Uh-oh!

I replaced my Gels with these for less money, made by East Penn/Deka;
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b/fleet---heavy-duty-5000/battery-accessories-16452/deep-cycle---marine-batteries-17354/220f7dcd7121/super-start-fleet-heavy-duty-group-size-8d-top-post-battery/agm8d/4742645/2001/chevrolet/silverado-2500-hd?pos=3

If my 8d's were outside in free air like the chassis batteries are I would probably go with something like this for even greater savings;
Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

If you find a battery that you like at Advace Auto parts they offer 25% off of your first on-line order. I found that out
a couple of weeks ago when I did a brake job on my pickup, buying the parts on-line and picking them up at my local store.
Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance\

They also offer a $10.00 referral fee, with the buyer getting $30.00 off his initial order. (bottom of page)
I am not affiliated with Advance.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #3 – October 15, 2018, 08:36:50 am

Quote from: Fiddler – October 15, 2018, 06:36:42 am

House 3 DEKA 8g8d gel cells discharged down to 5.3 volts due to ac power loss at storage lot for two weeks.

3 8Ds totally dead in only two weeks? Before you (most likely scenario) buy new batteries, you need to look into what, exactly, is using so much battery power while coach is being stored. This sounds, to me, like higher than normal parasitic drain.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #4 – October 15, 2018, 08:42:18 am

T-Man, were the batteries you bought deep cycle or starting? Your first link goes to a start battery.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #5 – October 15, 2018, 09:08:03 am

Here is an alarm that sends you a text message alert for low or high temperature or humidity, AC and DC power. You can call it for a report or set it up to report on a scheduled basis. No wifi, landline, cell charges or account needed. Pretty neat.

Amazon.com : 3G AC/DC Power Monitoring SMS Alarm Panel Power Lose/Failure...

As an Amazon Associate Foretravel Owners' Forum earns from qualifying purchases.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #6 – October 15, 2018, 09:41:41 am

Quote from: folivier – October 15, 2018, 08:42:18 am

T-Man, were the batteries you bought deep cycle or starting? Your first link goes to a start battery.

Not T-Man, but can answer your question. The O'Reilly AGM8D battery, in spite of its name, is a excellent all purpose battery. It has been used with great success by numerous Forum members for both "house" and "start" applications, and has a good reputation for delivering long service life at a competitive price. We have 3 of them on our coach - two for house and one for start.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #7 – October 15, 2018, 10:43:18 am

Before you toss them out, use a pulse/high frequency charger but run the main engine first for a while. I've taken some "dead" batteries and brought them back to life after a few days. Your batteries are too big but I have put a second battery in the car and driven it for a week with good results. Check YouTube or online for some tips.

Pierce

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #8 – October 15, 2018, 11:04:56 am

Just replaced house batteries with the O'reilly batteries the old batteries were put on in Dec of 07 and would be drained down to below 12v in a couple of hours, so I bit the bullet and got 3 of them to replace the 3 I had. FYI my son was with me and he is a veteran so they gave me another 150.00 off. By the time these are done I will either be done RV'in or have switched to lithium!!!
Chris

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #9 – October 15, 2018, 12:02:58 pm

Quote from: folivier – October 15, 2018, 08:42:18 am

T-Man, were the batteries you bought deep cycle or starting? Your first link goes to a start battery.

Super Start Marine batteries are available in both Starting and Deep Cycle varieties.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #10 – October 15, 2018, 02:26:01 pm

Quote from: Travelin' Man – October 15, 2018, 07:45:43 am

Uh-oh!

I replaced my Gels with these for less money, made by East Penn/Deka;
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b/fleet---heavy-duty-5000/battery-accessories-16452/deep-cycle---marine-batteries-17354/220f7dcd7121/super-start-fleet-heavy-duty-group-size-8d-top-post-battery/agm8d/4742645/2001/chevrolet/silverado-2500-hd?pos=3

If my 8d's were outside in free air like the chassis batteries are I would probably go with something like this for even greater savings;
Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

Funny because I had the same exact problem with my gel batteries and replaced them with these from O'Reilly's.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #11 – October 15, 2018, 07:12:30 pm

Maybe this will help you Fiddler;

https://www.napaonline.com/en/offers/20-off?cid=EMAIL-2018_1004_NAPABAG_NONREWARDS-HERO_CTA&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=2018_1004_NAPABAG_NONREWARDS&utm_source=HERO_CTA

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #12 – October 15, 2018, 07:29:00 pm

Join FMCA Diesel Club. Get a significant O'Reily's discount.

Time to Replace Red Tops

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #13 – October 15, 2018, 08:58:40 pm

Still the best price on red tops I could find with free shipping @ $207

OPTIMA Red Top Battery, Group Size: 34/78, 8004-003

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #14 – October 15, 2018, 10:42:33 pm

Diesel RV Club - Valued Partners & Discounts

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #15 – October 16, 2018, 11:05:35 am

Any tips on the technique used to install the (3) very heavy 157lb house batteries.? They're not on a sliding tray unfortunately; the top battery is on a swing down shelf; and the bottom 2 rest on the bay floor.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #16 – October 16, 2018, 11:22:10 am

How about some 8 foot wooden planks made into a ramp with laundry detergent/water used to lubricate and make sliding easy?

P

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #17 – October 16, 2018, 11:32:47 am

Hire a couple burly high school football players. $20 each for 10 minutes of manual labor would do the trick in our neighborhood.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #18 – October 17, 2018, 04:13:25 pm

No hope for my 3 deeply discharged Gel batteries; recharged (1) to 12.6v but the other (2) only made it to 11.2v.

Purchased new (3)AGM's at O'Reilly's; thx to recommendations from the Forum team. Good deal w/Military discount; priced each at $409.49 + tax and $22 core charge (refundable)

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #19 – October 17, 2018, 04:46:03 pm

Quote from: Fiddler – October 17, 2018, 04:13:25 pm

$22 core charge (refundable)

At ~160lb each for an 8D battery, you might get more $ from a local salvage yard than from Oreilly, depending on the current value of lead.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #20 – October 17, 2018, 04:47:39 pm

Quote from: bdale – October 17, 2018, 04:46:03 pm

At ~160lb each for an 8D battery, you might get more $ from a local salvage yard than from Oreilly, depending on the current value of lead. I've turned in small scooter or lawn mower batteries that qualify for the core charge return, then sell the 8d's for salvage.

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #21 – October 17, 2018, 05:46:14 pm

We have a flat bed garden cart that when a piece of plywood was laid on top was just the right height to slide the battery from there into the battery bay. Getting the one on the upper rack and then pivoting the rack up into place required some wooden blocks and 2x4 levers. The two batteries on the lower rack were pretty much a slide in sort of thing. Some of those battery posts will be close to each another. Wear protective eyewear. Tape up your wrench handle and cover up the nearby posts with something non-conductive. I use a piece of fake grass door mat, grass side down, rubbery back side up. Sparks in that small space will be exciting. 💥💥

Re: deeply discharged gel house batteries

Reply #22 – October 17, 2018, 09:46:07 pm

Yes, call the places that recycle batteries, like a metal recycler, probably get double what the box stores offer. I did.

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