John

 

 

Barry

 

 

Well, gel cell technology is pretty much prehistoric, however the name does continue, Optima's and their "cousins"(other brand AGMs) are AGM batteries, Absorbed Glass Mat batteries... instead of a gel there is a layer of fiberglass material between the plate(in spiral cells, there is but one lead plate per cell, instead of 20-30 plates for a normal wet-acid battery).  Gel batteries cannot handle the vibration that an AGM can. 

 

Optima's may not boil out per say, but they can be overcharged..usually resulting in bumps or swelling in the case.  We've seen a few that were basically "creamated", along with the swelling and waves in the top case, they were about 2-3 pounds lighter, which means, the acid within had basically been "boiled" out...

John

 

Barry

 

the only real advantage i've seen with Optima type batteries is that they withstand vibration much much better than a normal type battery.  I guess they are also neater in a since under the hood/rear compartment.  But, if you are refering to corrosion on the posts, then, possibly they do resist the white powdery build up sometimes found on top post batteries. That type of corrosion is caused by the gassing action(BEANO!!! anyone?) of a normal wet acid battery.  As a battery is being charged by the alternator the process creates electrolysis and hydrogen gas and sulphur gases are released through the vents, typically it causes that white powdery build up on the posts and cable connectors.  Side post batteries dont have that problem as much as a top post cause the vents are further away from the side posts...   however if you tend to get a lot of this type build up then, you've probably got other issues than corrosion, such as a bad cell(or upcomming bad cell) or possibly an overcharging problem (bad regulator,etc) ...  AGM batteries  dont usually have much of a gassing problem....  hmmm, i've rambled on enough to have forgotten the question.... oh yeah, that powdery stuff, can be cleaned off easily enough with baking soda and water.. seen clear cola work well too, might get sticky though

John