knowing your car batteries condition in just easy 8 steps

We all know that when something electrical is working properly, it is definitely running through the help of a battery or several batteries depending on the object whether it’s a remote control car or an actual physical car. You might be wondering that not all electrical machinery requires a battery such as a computer or a fan.

However, you will notice that those kinds of objects have a wire that directly connects to the electrical socket, which provides electricity at that exact moment without any interference or storage. A battery is basically a type of electricity storage that can be used later on when electricity isn’t available nearby or kinds of objects that are meant to be portable.

We all know that a car is a portable media, which means it needs a battery to operate because you definitely can’t plug it into an electrical socket and expect the car to run for several kilometers while being plugged.

Now, a car definitely runs with the help of a battery. Now, you might be wondering what kind of battery it runs on and you have every right to wonder as there are various different types of car batteries out there. Therefore, without wasting any more time, let us get started on the different types of batteries that cars run on.

The battery is a very essential part of the car, Sometimes overheating is also appears due to a bad battery, so we suggest you to read the article on EFFECTIVE WAYS TO DEAL WITH A OVERHEATING CAR carefully

 Car Battery #1: Flooded Lead Acid Battery

This is one of the oldest types of batteries created and has been used for several decades. This is also one of the most common type of batteries used in all kinds of cars due to it’s cheap price. Now, you might be wondering why or how this battery is known as the cheapest? Well, that is due it being a wet-cell battery that consists of 6 cells in an electrolyte solution.

However, during the installation process, you must be very care as you need to install it in a vertical direction to prevent any kind of spillage of the solution but you don’t have to worry much as they are pretty easy and simple to install.

A flooded lead acid battery requires to be coated with the electrolyte solution as to preserve it’s potency. Now, you might be wondering why this must be done since there’s already electrolyte solution present inside. Even though there’s water present inside the battery, it will be used up by the battery while it functions properly, hence the need to coat again.

These batteries can generate a total of 12.6V as their maximum output capacity. However, due to several other factors, some batteries might generate a bit more or less as their maximum output capacity.

If you are looking for buying them on your own, you can simply just to a car batteries store and you can find them around $200. Price isn’t the only thing you should be looking out for as you should also know how much they weigh because they aren’t very light-weight. A Lead acid battery weighs around 39 pounds or in simple words, 17 kgs. That’s almost the same mass as an average human leg.

Car Battery #2: Absorbent Glass mat battery

Here is another one of the common car batteries and that is called the Absorbent Glass Mat battery. However, this battery isn’t a wet cell battery and doesn’t use electrolyte solution but instead uses absorbent fiberglass whose purpose is to hold the electrolyte solution and thus fabricating a spill-proof and a more optimizing battery for several purposes.

Now, let us get into its specifications and its specialties. Firstly, it’s mass and you will definitely be surprised how much it weighs given the fact it’s a car battery. Well, it only weighs 31 pounds or 14kgs and that is definitely surprising. The reason why they are so much light-weight when compared to wet-cell batteries is due to it’s physically smaller size.

Secondly, aside from the mass advantage, they are also very long lasting as their life expectancy is almost 6 years and you can add 4 more years if your car isn’t used much. Thirdly, they are very good when it comes to handling vibrations as they are vibration resistant and on the same ground, they are also very good shock resistant so you don’t have any worry about getting zapped.

However, in light of such good news, I come to bear bad news and it’s about it’s cost. Well, they aren’t that cheap to begin with as they are all above $200 and that’s just the starting price. Well, even tho it’s very expensive, it still is worth your money with all it’s perks so why not just get it then?

Car Battery #3: Enhanced flooded battery

This one right over here is another wet cell battery and it’s called Enhanced Flooded Battery and you might be wondering what makes it enhanced?  

For starters, it is a high-performance version of all the other wet cell batteries as it operates on narrow grids. That’s not all as it’s battery cells contain extra plates which helps in increasing the reactive surface of the battery. This is why it’s called the Enhanced Flooded Battery.

Now let’s talk about it’s weight and it isn’t light-weight at all. It weighs somewhere between 38 to 45 pounds as it varies on different types of cars. Well, lets just take 40 pounds as it’s weight and it still doesn’t sound light at all. If you convert it to kilograms, then it’s around 17 kgs which does feel slightly lighter but not enough. It’s almost as heavy as an elephant’s heart. Next up, we have the life span for an Enhanced Flooded Battery and it’s actually pretty good as it can go up to a total of six years and that is a long time.

Lastly, let us now discuss how much an Enhanced Flooded battery costs. Well, just like the rest of them, it also is pretty expensive. It’s price is $200 per engine but the good part is that it’s maintenance-free so you save some time and money on that part. However, it is still going to cost you a fortune either ways due to it’s high price

Car Battery #4: Lithium Ion Battery

This is a newer kind of battery that is used nowadays mostly on electric cars and other portable devices, but we aren’t here for portable devices now but instead to discuss Lithium-Ion battery on cars. Therefore, let’s get right to it.

These kinds of batteries have a high density when compared to lead-acid batteries, which helps in saving space and making it physically smaller. In the periodic table, Lithium is known as the lightest metal but you won’t find any lithium in this battery instead you will find ions.

Now, when it comes to their weight, they weigh exactly 26 pounds or 11.7 kg making them the lightest car battery compared to the previous three. This is due to the manufacturers using lightweight lithium cathodes as an alternative for heavier graphite cathodes.

While it may be lightweight, they certainly aren’t long-lasting as their lifespan can be somewhere between two and three years, which isn’t much for considering the fact that it’s a car battery. You will need to replace it every once in a while to make sure your car is up and running.

Lastly, how much does a Lithium-Ion car battery cost? Well, you might be relieved at this point as it isn’t that expensive as it only costs $132 kilowatts per hour according to price charts from last year. You might think that it’s a lot but it has recently decreased as the average price back in 2010 was $1,200 kilowatts per hour and that’s enough to make you go bankrupt. Therefore, the new price lets everyone use the battery and experience something unique.

Since we’ve now discussed the four different types of car batteries, let us now check the chart below and see which car uses what kind of battery.

In light of these facts, you now have enough knowledge about all sorts of car batteries out there and their perks and their drawbacks. While some might prefer the old flooded acid lead batteries, we all know that AGM batteries are now the most efficient and the popular kind of batteries used.

Since 1980s, they have been used in all kind of aircrafts, military vehicles and now recently have been used in most kinds of cars and trucks. Therefore, I think that Absorbent Glass Mat batteries are superior at this point.

So, look for AGM batteries the next time you go out to buy a car or need to replace your car battery. Hope this piece of article was able to inform you on the various types of batteries. If you have any other questions about cars, you can refer to our other articles which might help you.