Photo by Evgeny Tchebotarev on Unsplash.
Price is a big factor in choosing a battery, but it’s about more than just price.
This article will discuss some factors impacting the cost of a car battery and how to get the best one at a price you can afford.
Type and Size of your Vehicle
A bigger engine usually needs a bigger battery. To understand how big or small a car’s battery is, one simply must learn the size of the engine. The size of your battery directly correlates to the amp-hour rating, which means a larger truck/car sized vehicle will generally have a higher amp-hour rating than a compact car. A larger battery takes up more space inside the vehicle and will also cost more due to the significant components that go into making a large-sized electric vehicle-specific/larger batteries.
Technology Used in the Car Battery
If you’re in the market for a new battery, then you’ve probably noticed that there are dozens if not hundreds of batteries available to purchase. As with many things, when you make an investment in something like this, quality matters. And often if quality is lacking in one area; multiple areas will be affected. So before making your decision, it’s crucial to look at all possible options and how they will affect cost because you want to get more bang for your buck dollar!
Lead-acid flooded batteries
Until recently, a majority of batteries were this type in terms of what they were constructed out of. These batteries use lead plates submerged in acid to produce a charge and these are also termed as wet cell batteries. This technology is still around, but many of the newer models have vents which allows them to get rid of excess gases that can affect both how much power they produce and their ability to hold that power.
In wet cell batteries, the electrolytes are held in a liquid or semi-liquid state as opposed to being completely solid. There is some type of seal between the electrodes and the solution, but they have been known to leak, causing damage which will shorten battery life. Other types of batteries you might be familiar with are called dry cell batteries. These do not include a liquid acid. Instead it’s a paste mixture of zinc chloride and manganese dioxide suspended in a cardboard container which can dry out over time due to exposure to air.
These batteries cost less than other options, but they have a shorter life span. This is not a problem with newer technology, but if you’re looking for a cheap battery that’s still good for your needs, this might be an option worth considering.
AGM batteries
AGM stands for Absorbent Glass Mat. AGM is a revolutionary type of deep cycle battery. The Absorbed Glass Mat is an internal structure that allows the electrolyte to be suspended between the lead plates, not absorbed by them. This improves efficiency and longevity, as well as safety. They are an improvement over flooded batteries and work on the same principle. Both of these types use lead plates and produce their energy through a chemical reaction between acid and lead.
AGM batteries use glass mats, or more accurately glass microfiber, to replace the gelled electrolyte found in more conventional lead acid batteries which are far more common. Some concerns with AGM batteries include cost and concerns about quality control affecting the inherent safety of these types of batteries.
This lead acid battery contains absorbent glass material instead of flowing liquid to ensure better contact with the lead plates. Because it’s maintenance-free and spill-proof, you won’t need to worry about high vibration and extreme temperature conditions and can trust these batteries will work especially well for longer even in harsh conditions. We should mention, however, that this model is more expensive than a traditional flooded lead acid type battery. What’s important to remember is that while some customers say they can find similar pricing from other companies, look at the battery “capacity ratings” because they may actually be getting different capacity batteries but aren’t aware of it.
