[alchemy]

I'd love to clear up contradictions about maintaining batteries if we could do so and maybe address the reasons why once and for all. For example, I am aware that club car or trojan, I forget, mentions "just keeping the plates a little covered" for example. One person recently in the forum mentioned that as also a way to keep electrolyte from venting from the caps. However, there are also professional sources, that say to fill them to the base of the cylinder. I think that goes way back to the first time I ever encountered a battery maybe 45 years ago and when I worked in a gas station. I've seen that recently as well from professional sources or manufacturers and for golf cart batteries. That's just one thing of maybe 4 contradictions and maybe the problem is it just gets too involved. For example also in this one I suspect variation of voltage per cell should be as minimal as possible, I think, and voltage will vary if they are not the same level or concentration. I'd guess it wouldn't matter if you just kept the cells covered. Your voltage is higher than if they were filled to the base of the cylinder but that's not going to mean more amp hrs. Also you run more risk of getting them down to the plates . For me I'm fine just filling them every 4-6 months, which brings up a main factor, how much you use it. For me it's hard to say. I mostly just drive around on the property hauling me and various stuff. Sometimes I might just go 1/4 mile a day with no load and others 5- 10 miles and pulling trees and pushing vehicles. Typically I go 3 or 4 days before I put it on the charger overnight when it reaches 80% SOC. Now of course that's another contradiction. Many are saying now and even including certain professionals that is wrong and should be charged at every chance. Granted, I can see a possible reason why but not sure if that's the reason or why the 80% SOC standard is being changed. When I first saw the 80& SOC standard everywhere about 10 years ago I thought well maybe that's good but wouldn't it even be better to keep it "topped" just like a car battery is. The reasoning was deep cycle vs. car battery and the meaning of "deep cycle." Still even though I understood that deep cycles were made to discharge more I thought they really aren't much different, just heavier plates to take it. But that also led me to think "well, even so, they would last longer if kept "topped" as much as possible ike a car battery?" So, I can see that as maybe one reason why the change. I also thought back then that "too many charges" maybe even 3-4X as many over the battery life, might take away from that. I'm personally reluctant to change because my batteries have done very well. For me I'd like to hear more stories behind this. These two and the other two I didn't mention yet. The 3rd, is what is the reasoning behind taking them way down 10-16 times or something when they are new? As stated elsewhere I have found reasoning for once or twice but not sure that is even the same reason. I forget the 4th one right now.