Car Batteries

[CB22]

This car does not need the best battery. It’s a SB V8 with no power options ‘cept power windows & a stereo. And seldom even driven at night to need turning on the headlights. No AC nor a security system nor all of the sensors the modern vehicles have to warrant a more powerful battery.

I’m not asking the opinions of others of which battery I should get, I am looking fo better information than the internet as to the internals of batteries and what makes the battery have higher output. Is it how many lead plates each cell has?...or how thick each plate is? What make one battery 600 cca vs 800 cca vs 1000 cca?

I understand that, but When you need quality, such as US made, all of the other rating go higher as well.

East Penn is not the best, but Imo, is the best for the money. most others are made in Mexico, or US made with imported parts.

You'll never use 200 amps in your home, but you've got it. A battery with better specs is better for your starter and alternator.

I run Odyssey batteries in my rides at a round $350. a piece. I like quality, what ever the cost. I also keep my cars for a very long time.

 

[JHZR2]

17 years, that's an impressive lifespan for a battery. Might be hard to find the equivalent in quality now (watching this thread).

My parents got >10 years out of the OE Panasonic on their Previa. Im not sure they ever replaced the battery on the 97 Breeze, which was 15 years. Both were exceptionally simple cars and they never draw from the battery after shutoff (manual locks on the breeze, never use dome light/door option, radio after shutoff, etc).

My 1981 240D has an OE Mercedes battery (Believe it was Varta from Spain) that is going on 14 years and works perfectly for diesel glow plugs and cranking. It also charges the battery very low and slow. The alternator puts out lower voltage than modern ones, and is only a 55A unit to begin with.

MY QUESTION IS:
Can someone tell me the difference in batteries, for example, the difference between the Economy vs, Plus vs Silver vs GOLD vs PLAT.(not AGM).
I mean, what is the difference in the lead plates in the inside because I don't believe that I need a more powerful battery that only sees 6 mo/yr.

Many knobs to turn, including the plate number and thickness, plate alloy used, quality of the plate and lead, how large the plates are compared to the battery case (plates do shed material and that can cause internal shorts itself), quality of the recombination design.

Different "grades" of battery can be because these knobs are turned, i.e. batteries are designed for higher power vs energy, lower impedance, etc. Often the gold/high end ones have thinner plates and lower resistance, so they can give more current and more energy at lower draw. The mid grade ones in some circumstances have the same energy but lower current/power ratings, but sometimes less energy too. Sometimes you can see that the only difference is the warranty!

Best you can really do is review the CCA and CA values, the Reserve Capacity (RC) and/or Amp Hours (Ah) ratings, and the warranty.

I went with the value line from WM on one of my Dodge Cummins trucks a few years back and have been happy. For the difference in price, I can buy new when the warranty expires. The caveat is that I had a dual battery system for cranking a diesel, and the CA ratings were slightly below spec. If I had gotten the higher end ones that would not have been the case and the ratings would be much higher. For me and my non-critical use, that was a decision I was willing to make. I suspect for a pleasure use vehicle that may be a good consideration for you as well!


Then there's also how well it is maintaned, how well the alternator charges it, how long it spends at conditions below 100% SOC.

 

[CharBaby]

Yes this car is pleasure use only and will be well maintained by keeping the acid level up and kept on a maintainer.

 

[Silver]

I’m not asking the opinions of others

Well, that's why we came to this party so you just need to relax and let us all tell you what we want to say!

I have seen some guy chime in a couple times on here and say a larger, smaller capacity battery is the most durable battery. Something about plates and how the higher capacity has more thinner plates shoved into the case which is not good, etc.

Regarding Duracell batteries, I purchased two deep cycles and they have both lost unusual amounts of capacity between charges ever since I bought them. At 5 years old they are now just about shot. Guess I'll stick with Wal-Mart. You don't always "get what you pay for " anymore. So why pay...

 

[measureman]

My 2002 Blazer needed a battery and I went to Advance Auto and got a $100 Diehard Red.
It starts when the temp is below zero,good enough for me.
Dont over think it,it's a battery.

 

[CharBaby]

Thanks Silver however...
What my statement said is that, I am not asking the opinions of others of which battery to purchase. This I already know. I am asking about the difference of the innards of batteries that give the their different CCA/CA/RC ratings?
This I said in my opening statement and again in my reply above.

Thanks,
CB

 

[brianl703]

Thanks Silver however...
What my statement said is that, I am not asking the opinions of others of which battery to purchase. This I already know. I am asking about the difference of the innards of batteries that give the their different CCA/CA/RC ratings?
This I said in my opening statement and again in my reply above.

Thanks,
CB

More surface area to the plates increases their CCA ratings.

Thicker plates increases the RC / amp-hour ratings.

You'll find that batteries with higher CCA ratings tend to weigh more, per the spec sheets (for the same group size).

You'd expect that batteries with higher amp-hour or RC ratings would also weigh more, but for some reason they don't always put that info on the spec sheets.

 

[y_p_w]

I have seen some guy chime in a couple times on here and say a larger, smaller capacity battery is the most durable battery. Something about plates and how the higher capacity has more thinner plates shoved into the case which is not good, etc.

Thinner plates don't provide higher capacity per se. But thinner plates to shove more plates in the same battery mean it can produce higher output. It should theoretically be about the same capacity as with a battery with thicker plates. But the thinner plates are probably going to be more vulnerable to degredation.