Batteries: Sealed Gel Cell

Gelled lead acid batteries actually predated the AGM type but are losing market share to the AGM's. They have many of the same advantages over flooded lead acid batteries including ease of transportation, as the AGM type, except the gelled electrolyte in these batteries is highly viscous and recombination of the gases generated while charging, occurs at a much slower rate. This means that they typically have to be charged slower than either flooded lead acid or AGM batteries. In a solar electric system you have a fixed amount of sun hours every day and need to store every solar watt you can before the sun goes down. If charged at too high a rate, gas pockets form on the plates and force the gelled electrolyte away from the plates, decreasing the capacity until the gas finds its way to the top of the battery and is recombined with the electrolyte. For use in a grid-tie with back up system or any system where discharge rates are less than severe, gel batteries could be a good choice.