Thanks
GBZ, although I'm not sure about the forum reference stuff.
Gel batteries mainly differ in one key point, but before I get to that, I'll cap the standard care:
1) All batteries like to maintain a high state of charge, no battery benefits by being discharged, especially for prolonged periods of time.
2) Keep the terminals clean to prevent corrosion. (much less of a problem with gel).
3) Take care not to overcharge your battery. All batteries have an inbuilt upper limit for both charge voltage and charge amperage, exceeding either may heat up the battery and cause a loss of water from the electrolyte. In this example 'over charging' does not refer to the length of time a battery is charged as the battery will self regulate its own charging - if the charging system is within manufacturers specifications - simply by accepting less and less charge as it nears its charge capacity.
This is the area where gel batteries differ from standard lead acid batteries. Most gel batteries are sealed, given that they are designed to fit into places and positions that cannot tolerate acid spillage, one good example is the gel (or Sealed Lead Acid <SLA>) batteries commonly found in those electric shopping carts that the elderly use to terrorize the rest of us pedestrians. When over charged gel batteries, along with any type of sealed battery, will heat up and cause high internal pressure, due to heat and vaporisation of electrolyte - be it gel or not - which often causes either the hard outer case of the battery to soften and expand or simply burst.
When I was manager of Battery World I always kept just such an example on my counter top as a visual reminder to customers not to over charge, one of my counter top batteries had, due to the conditions described above, expanded to roughly basketball size and shape, having started out half the size and square, another example on my counter top was two batteries installed in a uninterrupted power supply (UPS) that provided power to a business computer system, due to a charger malfunction these two batteries had been over charged, distorted considerably and fused together.
Needless to say the batteries on my counter top generated much discussion with our customers!
Short answer to your question GBZ, use them in the manner they were designed for and be particular that you don't over charge and it should be fine.
Cheers mate.