I put a Gel Cell on "Audasea" last year, and had no trouble with it. I could go for 3 or 4 days just running anchor light, GPS and recharging cell phone and hand held VHF. It never ran out so I don't know how long it would go, but it's not a bottomless pit of energy.

From what I could gather, for deep cycle use, the Gel Cell is the best of the 3 choices....price not being an issue. I liked the idea that it can tolerate complete discharges without losing much if any of the batter capacity when you charge it back. Lead acids do.

BUT, Gel Cells are said to be very sensitive to charge rates. So when I put the battery in, I also installed a permanent mounted Guest brand charger...like those found on fishing boats. It's a 3 phase charger that is programmed to handle the gel cell. That works really well. Pull out the extension cord and plug it in. I usually did it at a marina dock during an overnight stay. It was always fully charged by morning. Howard On 11/5/03 8:20 PM, "MC Carpenter" <southisland2@earthlink.net> wrote:

how critical is that 14.1 volts for charging gel cell , can it be raising to a higher voltage for quicker charging

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