Brent Geery wrote:

Charging at
say 14.5 volts (standard for solar charging) and letting them gas
a little shaves a heck of allot of time off the charging time-
thus the costs as well.

It is unclear what costs saving accrue with solar charging.

Controlled slight gassing is also good for the batteries as it
prevents the electrolyte for stratifying in the cells. Battery
manufactures recommend that the batteries are charged at voltages
that will do just this, when in cycled service. The only time
you don't want to charge above gassing voltage is batteries used
in float/standby service.

True.

Hydrocaps also solve the problems of loosing water to evaporation
and the problem of losing the acid, thus weakening the
electrolyte.

Losing acid? Elaborate.

They also virtually eliminate dirty acid covered
and dirty battery tops.

Hydrocaps are expensive, but well worth the costs. Shop around,
as there can be a significant discount at some shops.

Surely a *significant* discount could alter the picture in terms of
eliminating periodic cleaning problems alone - an ongoing contamination
& labor item worth getting rid of. Yet Hydrocaps are not seen in
industrial banks, and one would reasonably expect competitive versions
of a simple platium catalyst vented & draining knob, yes?