Batteries Terminology

Battery- The electric supplier to the vehicle, its main mission is to start the engine, which means activating it by using a high electricity current. In most modern vehicles the energy in the battery is created by a chemical reaction, which transforms to electrical energy inside the battery cells. The battery uses this electrical energy to activate the starter, after ignition the battery provides electricity to the electrical components in the vehicle while the engine uses the alternator for energy, additionally the battery is used for stabilizing the energy that the engine produces.

In fact the battery is the beating heart of the vehicle, and without it you can’t drive the vehicle because it won’t operate. Batteries time of service are usually between 3-5 years roughly, depends on driving habits climate and other factors.

Massive usage and repetitive engine starts can shorten the battery’s service life significantly. While using in any vehicle it’s important to notice the engine function and the battery’s fucntion in order to prevent a late discovery of an empty battery or of acid leakage. In those cases it will be best to consult with VOLTA authorized distributors, in order to locate the source of the malfunction and to fit an appropriate battery for your vehicle.

A conducting material usually a liquid or gel but sometimes a solid, which allows the flow of electricity in the battery. Every device which creates energy or requires the making of energy uses an electrolyte kind material, with the most common usage of electrolyte is in batteries.

The electrolyte is a liquid or gel that fills the gap between the plates and is made out of purified water and sulfuric acid.

Volt- marked with the letter V is a unit of measure for electrical current and potential, sometimes referred to as voltage. Volt is the unit that measures the potential differences while spending an electro motive force on a power source. Most batteries output is 12V but when it comes to bigger vehicles it can be even batteries of 24V or 48V.

Amps, marked with the letter A is the base unit of measure for electric current. Amp capacity is one of the most important things to look for while choosing a battery. Batteries CCA are being measured by amp/hour (marked as Ah), which measures how long can a device run based only on its battery. Modern batteries can start from several amps to dozens and even hundreds of Ah. In most modern vehicles the common batteries are between 45-55 Ah. In bigger vehicles like trucks and buses the battery can have a capacity of more than 100 AH.   

Reserve capacity marked as RC is the unit of measure that specifies the current discharge of a battery that was charged fully by minutes. Which means it measures how long a new battery will last, while providing 25 amp and is in a temperature of 26.7 degrees Celsius until its voltage will drop under 10.5V and a recharge will be required.

Than if a new battery has a reserve capacity of 100RC, it means that in a temperature of 26.7 degrees while providing 25 amps in the proper voltage the battery will last 100 minutes. The ratio between amps and minutes isn’t linear- while providing 50 amps (double than measuring) you can expect about 40 minutes of activity before a recharge will be required.

The plate in the battery is an element which makes the cells in the battery. The plate is made of a penetrable grid (usually lead acid with different substances). The grid conducts electrons from the battery’s cells.

Each battery is made from some positively charged plates and some negatively charged plates, which are separated by a shortage preventing “envelope” inside the battery. Each cell includes between 9-33 plates according to the size and kind of the battery.

A deep cycle battery is a kind of battery that has the ability to discharge its capacity for a long time, unlike other batteries that release short bursts of energy at once. This ability is allowed thanks to thicker plates than in normal batteries which are installed in deep cycle batteries. Deep Cycle batteries reuse the energy that builded up inside them during usage, and have a self-charge ability which decreases their need in external charging. Those batteries are being used for wheelchairs, caravans, boats, golf carts and more.