4 Types of car battery
The car battery is the primary source of electrical energy on most modern vehicles. The car battery provides energy to start the engine, operating lights and accessories and other electrical components in your car while the engine is not running.
There are many car battery models, but most cars use "lead acid battery" except for Electric vehicles or Hybrid cars. Common lead-acid batteries use two different metals. Both lead compounds are covered in acid, so the chemical reaction produced provides electrical energy.
The lead-acid battery has several types, so that it can be confusing. Many people say it's a flooded battery, free maintenance battery, sealed battery, AGM battery or another term. This blog post will simplify the various types of the car battery to be four major types. Here they are different types of car batteries.
1. Wet cell (or Flooded) Battery
This type of car battery is the most widely used on vehicles. A wet cell (or Flooded) battery is called so because it has a liquid combined from sulfuric acid and distilled water known as "electrolyte". This liquid submerges the two lead plates (positive and negative lead) so that there is a chemical reaction and can produce electrical energy.
The simplest way to know if this is the wet cell battery type is to have six ventilated vent holes with caps that serve as a place to add battery water. Yes, most wet cell battery types have six caps that can be open and close to add distilled water regularly.
We have to keep the battery water level at a properly level regularly by adding water to car battery to replace lost of electrolytes.
2. Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) Battery
Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) Battery is the second type of car battery and becoming more popular with modern cars. AGM battery is like a wet cell battery, but the electrolyte liquid is absorbed and held in glass mats not to flood the plates freely.
As the electrolytes are absorbed and held in glass mats, the AGM battery has no liquid to spill off. Thus, we can't find any vent caps above the case because this AGM battery does not need regular battery water. The AGM batteries are used VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) in design, so the batteries case are completely sealed off. It is why the AGM batteries are classified as "Free Maintenance" batteries.
There are two types of AGM batteries held in the markets today. The first is a conventional AGM battery. The AGM construction design is just the same way as a wet cell battery but use mats. The second is AGM Spiral Battery, which the absorbed glass mats constructed as a spiral coil.
Read also:3. Gel Cell Battery
Another type of car battery is Gel Cell Battery. Gel cell batteries contain acid that has been formulated into a solid mass that looks like hard jelly. The lead-acid "gelled", so the batteries can operate in any orientation without ever having to worry about spillage.
All Gel cell batteries are VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) in design like the AGM battery. So the battery case is completely sealed off and remains a "Free Maintenance" battery.
Unfortunately, gel cell batteries aren't used in most car models. It is because these types of car batteries are difficult to make, and they can be expensive.
4. Calcium Battery
A calcium battery is a lead-acid battery with no antimony in its grids. Instead, a calcium component is added to both the negative and positive plates. Calcium battery is the last type of car battery that we know. They stand out for their resistance to corrosion and the destructive effects of high temperatures. It results in double the shelf life and virtually no gassing in the battery, resulting fully sealed and free maintenance battery.
Calcium batteries require a higher charge voltage than a conventional batteries. If used in a deep cycle situation, it is advisable to use a charger designed for a calcium battery or has a calcium charging mode to get the maximum life out of the battery.
Like the gel cell battery, calcium is the less popular battery in most car models. So it's rather challenging to find the fits battery for your car requirement.