Battery size identification ?

[Cruzer4326]

When did the battery industry change the idenification method ? Or did they just add a foreign/metric methodology to the BCI group method?
My question comes from reading about H-x battery identification in threads. Is this used only in automotive battery sizing?
I sold batteries 30+ years ago and at that time we used the BCI Group indentification such as group 24, 24F, 27, 34, 70, 78, 30H, 31, 3EH, 3ET, etc...
BTW "back in the day", we sold East Penn made batteries under the Deka name. At the time they made a 1000 cca battery in the group 24 size that was the diesel owners replacement go to. Back then, the GM 5.7L and 6.2L and the Ford 7.3L were the popular diesel autos.
We later changed to Interstate batteries and back then the Megatron was their best.

 

[Hall]

Don't know when it changed or if the "H", "L", and "T" sizes have always existed, just that they weren't used in North America.

 

[RitcheyRch]

No idea when it changed but are the new "H-X" batteries only used on vehicles with start/stop technology?

 

[FowVay]

The classifications are BCI (battery council international) and DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung) and they are simply two methods of stating battery size. A BCI 47 would cross over to a DIN H5 for example. I don't believe it's anything new.

 

[Cruzer4326]

No idea when it changed but are the new "H-X" batteries only used on vehicles with start/stop technology?

I don't know about that. My 2017 Chevy Cruze with the (dumb) stop/start calls for a BCI group 94R. Just checked on Rockauto.com. Boy, the prices for car batteries is crazy!!

 

[Cruzer4326]

The classifications are BCI (battery council international) and DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung) and they are simply two methods of stating battery size. A BCI 47 would cross over to a DIN H5 for example. I don't believe it's anything new.

Great explanation. I've just been away from the industry since 1991 and the DIN system wasn't used back then.

 

[mk378]

The specification usually associated with start stop is EFB (Enhanced Flooded Battery), which is separate from the size. The EFB is intended to provide AGM-like high demand performance at a lower cost than AGM. An ordinary battery for start-once cars is rated STD (Standard) vs EFB. On the label of a recent production flooded battery, there should be an icon with an outline of a battery and either "STD" or "EFB" inside.

 

[RitcheyRch]

The classifications are BCI (battery council international) and DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung) and they are simply two methods of stating battery size. A BCI 47 would cross over to a DIN H5 for example. I don't believe it's anything new.

Good information and thank you.

 

[Duffyjr]

The classifications are BCI (battery council international) and DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung) and they are simply two methods of stating battery size. A BCI 47 would cross over to a DIN H5 for example. I don't believe it's anything new.

I wondered about that when I put a new battery in my Buick, it called for a 48/H6, first time I seen it.

Thanks.

 

[Cruzer4326]

This is awesome!!
With information from mk378 about EFB, I have been challenged to search for battery information online and I have learned about battery technology advances. For example; AGM vs EFB and the application each technology excels in.
Also, there are battery size charts which include BCI group sizes , DIN and EN.
It seems that I've found the answer to my own question; with the increase of import vehicles in the US in the last 35 years, the countries' respective ISO standards (which are global) have been recognized/accepted by US. It is indeed a global world in which we live!!

 

[JohnnyG]

How about posting a link to that info?

 

[Cruzer4326]

How about posting a link to that info?

I simply Googled EFB vs AGM and read several articles at random.
Also BCI vs DIN and I read several random article on this as well.
I don't want to post a specific link because there are many that you can shoose from.

 

[Rand]

I don't know about that. My 2017 Chevy Cruze with the (dumb) stop/start calls for a BCI group 94R. Just checked on Rockauto.com. Boy, the prices for car batteries is crazy!!

That is H7, I've seen AGM and non AGM..

 

[Carmudgeon]

EP has long included the DIN and EN designations along with BCI; I'm looking at a Deka spec sheet from 2005 that lists them.

But it is a bit surprising how quickly the DIN codes have become mainstream, and taken priority over BCI in marketing those applications. Logical, I guess, as the formerly Euro-centric application sizes have been more widely adopted by others, includiing the Koreans, as well.

Hx/Tx is also more distinctive than a two-digit number.

The EN codes can be even more descriptive, but I wouldn't expect people to be asking for an EN 66L3, instead of a DIN H6 or BCI 48, any more than they'd look for packs of LR6 cells on shelves, instead of AA.