The Lead Acid Battery

About Us

Products

Services

Battery Clinic

Home Contact Us

The Lead Acid Battery

Definitions:

A Battery is a series of two or more connected cells that convert chemical energy into electrical energy.

The Lead Acid Battery is a battery that consists of plates that are made from lead and lead oxide, submerged in a sulfuric acid electrolyte.

An Automotive Battery is a Lead Acid Battery that is used primarily to start the engine of a automobile, while keeping other processes such as the alarm system and clock functioning while the engine is not running. The capacity of the battery is measured in Ampere-hours (Ah).

A Maintenance-Free Automotive Battery is usually a sealed Lead Acid Battery. Small amounts of calcium or silver is added to the lead plates, ensuring a lower rate of water loss from the electrolyte.

Premature Failure - Sulfation

You throw your battery away too soon! Read on!

Charging	Discharging
2PbSO₄ + 2H₂0 → Pb + PbO₂ + 2H₂SO₄ Eq (1)	Pb + PbO₂ + 2H₂SO₄ → 2PbSO₄ + 2H₂0 Eq (2)

A battery tends to be discharging for much longer periods of time than when it is being charged. After all, a car sits for longer periods of time than when it is being driven. Hence, lead sulfate is produced faster than it can be reverted into lead, lead dioxide, and water (see equations 1 & 2). When the lead sulfate is left sitting for long periods of time, the initially spongy lead sulfate hardens and forms crystals. Unlike the spongy lead sulfate, these crystals cannot be reverted back to active material (lead and lead dioxide). More crystals on lead plates mean less active material is left to be used for the battery's chemical reaction. A battery is effectively dead when there is simply not enough active material left to start a vehicle!

Lead sulfate crystallization causes more than 3/4 of batteries to fail before their designed lifespan!!

Levels of Sulfation

	Spongy Sulfation The lead sulfate is still in its spongy form. In this form, the lead sulfate and water in the battery is converted back to lead, lead dioxide and water when the battery is charged. The internal impedance of the battery is very low (usually < 6 mΩ).

	Barrier Sulfation Covalent bonds form and small crystals start to appear on lead plates. The internal impedance of the battery would be higher than that of a battery with spongy sulfation. The battery may not be able to crank a car.

	Crystallized Sulfation Large crystals with very strong bonds have formed on the lead plates. There is very little surface area on the plates where chemical reactions can take place. The internal impedance of the battery is very high. The battery cannot crank a car.

Prevention of Premature Failure

The Sulfarid Desulfator prevents lead sulfate crystals from building up on your plates. This means more active material is available, ensuring a longer lifespan and higher efficiency.