Battery Abbreviations can be Confusing?

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I must confess that although I have been in the new car battery business for at least 35 years

 There are still many things that I do not know or understand about the different batteries that are on the market, in today’s ever changing world.

I would also like to admit that at the same time I also know a lot about batteries, (confused). It only hit home to me when I promoted one of my female staff to be my depot manager. Debby is a very bright and competent member of my staff and has worked for me for many years in a part time capacity. Her children have now grown up now, so she asked if she could come back to work on a full time basis.

After weighing up one or two options, I offered Debby the job of depot manageress. All my previous

Typical AGM battery used for Start-Stop cars

managers have been male, so I thought it a good time to see what a woman could do. Debby now runs the garage and tyre part of my business, which is run separately from the battery business, which is run by myself and my wife Michelle. On a weekly basis the two sides of the business clash mainly because we offer cheap car batteries online, an these offers are taken up from the good people of Yorkshire, in other words we have customers calling in to buy our battery products, throughout the week.

This brings me to the point of the amount of knowledge that is needed when selling batteries and handling customer inquiries and problems. Both in house or on the telephone. We have also started to employ a couple of apprentices and they have the same problem. Like anything else it all takes time and if you are interested enough then the knowledge will slowly sink in.

New battery meanings, such as AGM and Gel come to mind.

I can actually remember when we diversified from just selling cheap car batteries online and started to diversify to other products such as the Lucas LX31MF battery and other cheap leisure batteries, we had a whole new phrase book to learn. What I am getting at is the fact that if we are finding out about different products and things are getting little more complicated?so how about the public, when they have to choose  a battery?

Terms that spring to mind are, AGM or VRLA? What does this stand for? Many different batteries, for many types of installation will have these letters showing somewhere on the battery and it will be important that you buy the correct one. Another common type of battery is one known as GEL, but these are becoming less common in favour of the AGM battery.

AGM battery will probably be seen as one of the commonest types of battery and comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes and power ratings. These batteries are made to supply electrical power to many different applications such as golf trolleys, solar energy storage, bait feeders for anglers, batteries that power stair lifts for the disabled, back-up power systems (also known as UPS batteries, just to confuse things even further), the list goes on and on.

The AGM battery can also be known as the VRLA battery, this stands for “valve regulated lead acid battery” and the two types are virtually the same battery. The AGM battery is sealed unit and will not spill out any acid, even if the battery is fitted on its side, the acid will not leak. This is because the acid is not free flowing, but is filled with a type of glass matting, hence the term AGM “absorbed glass matting”. By adding this glass fibre, then the batteries increased surface area gives them more power when compared with a standard 12 volt battery that we use on many of our cars.

These batteries are sealed and maintenance free and does not require any topping up, and will not give off any gasses. The battery also, has deeper cycles that the standard car battery and holds the charge for longer, making it suitable for multiple applications. These batteries are also fitted with an internal safety valve, which will operate in extremely hot temperature; this is the valve regulated part of the battery VRLA.

AGM batteries are generally more expensive than regular car batteries, but because they last longer, are more cost effective. Many car manufacturers are now using AGM batteries to power the new Start-Stop battery technology that is used to reduce emissions in today’s modern cars. They are also used in ships and boats, because they are sealed, they will not spill and mix with sea water. The mixture  of battery acid and sea water gives off a very poisonous gas, which is very dangerous to humans.

AGM sealed ODYSSEY battery

Solar energy storage is the next big thing for the AGM battery. As we build up a system of solar panels and wind turbines, then there is more need to store the energy from the sun and then release the electricity at night when the sun goes down. A bank of AGM batteries is perfectly suited for this job. This includes large banks of batteries in our towns and cities, to help reduce surges in power especially on sunny days.

GEL batteries are very similar to the AGM ones that I have explained about. The GEL battery has had gel added to the electrolyte instead of glass matting and so has different charging cycle. This is the main complication for people; we very often have golfers calling into us asking for a Gel battery when it is an AGM that they really want. The GEL was thought to be much stronger than the AGM batteries, but over time the AGM was proved to be a more resilient battery.

The two types of batteries also require different chargers, if you have a GEL battery fitted to your appliance, then you will have a different charging system and you must stick to the GEL battery, they will not intermix.

To finalise I feel that the AGM battery has still got a future, but the Lithium-Ion battery may be the one to finally replace it, only time will tell, the AGM battery has been around a long time now, and has been proved and tested and can be almost completely recycled. The Lithium-Ion battery has still yet to prove itself and the recycling position is still not known, so only time will tell.

 Disclaimer

Please note these are the words and opinion of the author (Eric Roberts) only. Neither the author nor the website can be held responsible for any errors or omissions. You should seek professional assistance if in doubt about your choice of battery. The article may contain a link to Batteriesontheweb where you can buy battery products online.