(ET) Specific Gavity

[Dick Both <dboth bmts com>]

After charging my 3 deep cycle marine batteries (180amp/hr) I get a SG
of over 1.300 after the voltage settles to 12.96-13.04 terminal
voltage.  This is on all cells. Water is up. Use only distilled water. A
few months ago they topped out at ~1.280.  When I turn on the PTO
switch(3 mower motors) the voltage drops to 12.45V. The electrolyte is a
bit murky. I know I should get 6 golf cart batteries but $600 CDN is a
major investment - as much as I paid for the whole rig. You'd think
after using commercial lead acid batteries over 100 years that this
would be down to a science.