On Mon, 07 Jul 2014 19:37:42 -0700, josephkk
wrote:

Lead acid batteries are kind of strange. They share a property with
NiCads in that they can be (re)conditioned. This consists of taking them
up to full charge then running them down to about 75% and bringing then
back to full again. Do this 3 or 4 cycles and it will improve capacity
and longevity. Nicads like being discharged to near 0 better though.

Rubbish. I have to deal with lead-acid batteries of various types
constantly. The only sure way to kill them is to discharge the
battery below some percent of full charge, which varies with battery
chemistry. Run a gel cell battery in a UPS below about 30% of full
charge and you will have a very dead battery in a few weeks.

I'm in a rush, so no authoritative URLs today. Instead, think about
how a lead acid battery works. When you discharge it, some of the
lead goes into solution in the electrolyte. When you recharge it, the
lead gets plated back onto the plates. Pull off too much lead, and
there's not enough surface for the lead in solution to go during
recharge. Eventually, you get a "warped" plate, which is a crude term
for uneven plating.

In my never humble opinion:
1. There's no such thing as NiCd "memory effect", except in very
unique conditions found only in sintered plate batteries (found in
airplane starter batteries).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_effect
2. Charge cycling (conditioning) *ANY* battery might produce a short
term increase in capacity, but will also accelerate its demise.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558