[Elecraft] Care of deep cycle batterys

[Tim, N9PUZ]

This past week at our local club meeting there was a battery=
 presentation by 
the owner of a local battery manufacturer and distributor. These=
 questions 
and others were asked.

First, as someone else mentioned, you should not use a flooded=
 type battery 
indoors or in any enclosed space because of explosion concerns=
 with the 
hydrogen and oxygen gases given off during charging.

Second, our presenter also said that they advise against normal=
 battery 
maintainers, etc. He said the service life of a flooded battery=
 is much 
greater if you monitor the voltage and recharge it when necessary=
 rather than 
using a battery tender type product or leaving an "automatic"=
 type charger 
connected all the time.

Another item I found interesting is he said that a charged=
 battery is much 
better off in a cool or cold spot that it is in a warm or hot=
 location. 
Someone asked about problems with freezing. He said that a=
 discharged battery 
will freeze around 20F but that a fully charged battery is okay=
 at much lower 
temperatures (I don't recall the exact temperature, I think it=
 was something 
around -30F or so.)

Last he said the biggest difference between high quality=
 batteries and the 
"bargain" types in some of the big name discount stores is the=
 number of 
plates and the amount of lead. The internal elements of a battery=
 slowly wear 
away and degrade with use. More stuff inside means longer life.=
 His example 
was the typical discount store riding mower battery that only=
 lasts one 
season--there's a reason it's only $10-$12 instead of $35-$50.

Tim,  N9PUZ