subject: What's The Deal With AGM Batteries? [print this page] What's The Deal With AGM Batteries? What's The Deal With AGM Batteries?
You likely have an AGM battery helping it out, if you own a motorcycle or a quality car. Do not fret if you've never ever heard of this kind of battery prior to this. It's not an uncommon occurrence, because anyone outside of mechanics courses is more than likely in the same situation. It is not a negative thing to understand the particular kind of battery your car utilizes and exactly how it keeps your vehicle ticking however.
The primary step is to understand the battery classification structure and where AGM batteries fit into it all. VRLA batteries are the type of battery of which AGM batteries are a sub-class. The VRLA battery is a category of minimal maintenance lead-acid rechargeable batteries, and its acronym stands for valve-regulated lead-acid battery. Due to their construction, VRLA batteries don't require water to be put into the cells on a regular basis. The technology behind these batteries has been refined over time, as these specific types of batteries have been commercially available now for about a century.
VRLA batteries are part of the premium class, while AGM batteries are a class create within them. These specific batteries were created in the end of the 1980s in Northern California, and AGM stands for absorbed glass mat. Capillary action binds the electrolyte onto the glass mat separator in these kinds of VLRA batteries.
There are several benefits to AGM batteries that make them stand out from traditional flooded lead-acid cells. Since the load of each plate doesn't have to be held up by its own weight, purer lead is allowed onto the plates, for one. Because the plates aren't held in place by a flood of lead-acid cells, there's also no potential way to dump an AGM battery.
Because of the purer lead, AGM also holds almost one and a half as much of the power density than a conventional flooded battery. It is easier to take care of as well because it never requires any added water to operate.
Involved with the manufacture of AGM batteries is also the higher amount of cost. Motorcycles or top of the line cars like the BMW are where these specific kinds of batteries are usually found as a result. They also end up being used time and time again on luxury sports powered automobiles and the like since AGM batteries reduce the automobile's overall weight.
