A Starting Battery May Not Be Enough
By Earl Kauffman
Today's equipment is providing a host of electrical options
challenging the
traditional starting battery with continuous ultra-deep
discharges. Machines have come
from a simple starting system to an intricate panel of
monitoring systems increasing
communication, performance, and visibility.
A battery does three things. It supplies power to start the
engine through the
starter and ignition system. Extra power is supplied when the
electrical load is greater
than the supply from the charging system. A battery also
prevents component damage
from voltage spikes. Capacity and charging is reduced as the
batteries temperature
goes down and increased as the temperature goes up. That is why
your battery may die
on a cold winter morning, though it worked well the previous
day.
Cold cranking amps are considered when choosing a starting
battery. The
objective is providing the maximum available cranking power to
the terminals. Deka
made by East Penn manufacturing in East Lyon, Pennsylvania,
building batteries for
over 58 years, has a starting battery that uses calcium lead
alloy plates.
(
http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/)
Placing the computer designed power flow grid inside a
deep pock envelope separator; elements are then glued to the
bottom of the case to
extend battery life in off-road or extreme service applications.
If you are working in offroad
conditions use rough-duty or extended-service batteries because
of the additional
measures taken to keep electrical components in their places, as
well as providing a
tough, durable outer case. Deep cycle batteries; designed to be
discharged as low as
80%, generally provide lower cranking amps compared to a similar
size starting battery.
If you intend to use the battery as a starting battery, it is
recommended to use an
oversized battery by about 20-percent making it similar to
replacing a group 24 with a
group 31. The biggest difference between a true deep-cycle
battery and others is that
the plates are heavier and thicker. Separators not only insulate
the positive plates form
the negative plates to prevent short circuits, but may also
contain a fiberglass mat that
is layered against the positive plate, acting as reinforcement
for longer life. Many
industrial deep-cycle batteries use Lead-Antimony plates rather
than the Lead-Calcium
used in AGM (absorbed glass mats) or gelled deep-cycle
batteries.
Today's batteries start with a plastic or polypropylene case and
cover. Divided
into 6-sections, each cell contains grids or plates made of lead
or an alloy. These plates
have a negative and positive charge. Positive grid corrosion
ranks among the top 3-
reasons for battery failure. The positive (+) plate is what
eventually gets eaten away
over time thus the thicker the plate, the longer the life.
These grids are coated with a paste mixture of lead oxide and
other materials.
Sulfuric acid and water is then applied. Negative plates are
made of powdered sulfates
added to the paste. Thin sheets of porous insulating material
are used as spacers
between positive and negative plates. Electricity will flow
between the plates through the
fine pores in the separators. Positive plates are then paired
with negative plates and a
separator making an element for each cell. These elements are
then connected with a
metal that conducts electricity. Posts or lead terminals are
welded and the battery is
filled with battery acid or an electrolyte gel. After the
battery is fully charged, the case is
cleaned and the labels attached.
Many batteries have
group sizes
based on the physical size and where the
terminals are placed. These groups have nothing to do with
measuring a battery's
capacity. For equipment using continuous electric power,
consider a flooded or gel
deep- cycle battery to lengthen battery life and your
satisfaction.