> you can.  I can recall one bit of training material that talked about
> golf cart batteries, and they compared the overall number of cycles you'd
> get out of a set if they were charged after every 9 holes or after 18...
> The former lasted a *lot* longer.
 
That's all very true, Roy, but how they are charged is also going to
make a lot of difference. There is a lot of difference between
constant voltage charging and constant current charging. The
temperature at which they are charged can also make or break a
battery. There are quite a few parameters that need attention in
designing a good battery charge system and off the shelf chargers
are seldom if ever designed to help get the most life out of a
battery. I've never fooled with golf cart batteries or their
chargers. How are they designed? Constant current or constant
voltage?
 
I would like to build my chargers so that they started out as
constant current devices and would cut off after the batteries
reached 90% of charge and then shut off so that I could then put
them on a constant voltage charger.
 
Another factor is how long they are charged. Most people won't
let a battery charge long enough nor at high enough charging rates
to drive the acid out of the plates and back into the solution.
Proper charging rate and time are important too. A battery that
is charged according to it's AH rating can be charged in say 4
hours. For instance, a 60 AH battery can be charged in about 4
hours at a constant charging rate of 65 to 70 amps at rated voltage
and so on. Few chargers are designed to do this.
 
Bill Bauer
--- DB 1.58/004358
---------------