EFB - great product or a ripoff?

[97prizm]

I took pictures of my rental in Phoenix over MLK weekend.

Had I observed a unique battery, I might have taken a closer shot of it.

View attachment 86299

and as a teaser, what the car looked like 2 miles from the airport after an encounter with a hit-and-run driver who left the scene on foot:

View attachment 86300

Too bad, it was a nice car. We got it with 3 miles on the clock.

I'll give a more detailed review and an account of the accident after it is all settled.

Phoenix sky harbor airport?

 

[f355spider]

Yes. Thicker and fewer plates, as long as it has the cca of the vehicle spec. I try not to buy more cca than the vehicle spec. More cca means more plates that have to be thinner to fit in the same size group case.
In my opinion, that's higher quality.

The issue is the plates are packed closer together to get more CCA. The means if the battery is subject to sulfation, it will short out sooner. Not all batteries are subject to sulfation, it kind of depends on how they are used. But in general terms, yes a lower output battery of the same dimensions will likely have fewer plates. But with lower capacity, it is likely to be worked harder as well, which may shorten its life. Its all kind of a balance. And as we all see, batteries are kind of a fickle product....some from seemingly the same batch work for years, and others fail in 10 months. I read the Consumer Reports reviews and no one brand excels in performance and life. In one size they are #1, and it another, they can be bottom of the barrel. I know East Penn are well regarded, yet I had two fail, each within two years, for their premium flooded Group 49/H8 size.

 

[javacontour]

Phoenix sky harbor airport?

Yes, about two years ago now.

 

[SHOZ]

FWIW when a battery is rated for amps, it's per positive plate x the total positive plates per cell.

Looks to me like the smaller/slimmer grid allows more plates. The dendrite talk is smoke as it's always been a problem and the separator material is the usual cure. And grid alloys are the secret tool.

AGMs are compressed to fit in the cell very tight with no bottom space. This forces the acid that is held in suspension in the fiberglass mat to react with the active lead. The fiberglass mats hold a tremendous amount of liquid without feeling wet or dripping out. The usually have a stronger/higher gravity acid which gives the higher voltage.

 

[97prizm]

Yes, about two years ago now.

My parents live in Phoenix I've been there many a time.

 

[javacontour]

My parents live in Phoenix I've been there many a time.

We enjoyed it, until the last few hours in town.

We did make our flight.

My wife's been back. I've not yet returned.