Page 5 - ImpactBattery

I was reading about an innovative company known as Advanced Battery Concepts (ABC for short) out of Clare, MI. They have developed a BiPolar battery technology that promises to propel the lead acid battery industry into the limelight once again. For this age old industry, thought to be in its twilight years, fighting against competing technologies, such as lithium-ion and NIMH Cobalt, this truly is remarkable. But what makes this technology so extraordinary? And perhaps more importantly, what is a bipolar battery and why should we care?

A Short Historical Foundation

I will attempt to keep my terminology and definitions ultra-simple and relate examples of them to names and brands you may recognize. To begin, let’s start with the inventor.

The concept of a bipolar battery has been around for nearly 100 years! Pyotr Kapitsa, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978, first introduced the theory behind bipolar batteries back in 1924. This Russian born scientist is famous for many discoveries

How many of you know the history of Power Wheels? They have quite the colorful past that spans over 30 years. Included in this history lesson is the rise of a global giant and the black eye of numerous product recalls. We will also provide a quick link to our What’s What in the battery world helping you select the correct 12 volt battery for your toy.

Power Wheels Origins

Does the name Pines of America ring any bells? Probably not, but this innovative company from the early 80’s pioneered the battery powered ride on toy. This pioneer, which invented and ushered in the multi-billion industry, was purchased in 1984 by a company called Kransco.  A couple years later they settled on the Power Wheels brand name to market their investment. They licensed the rights to use popular attractions and adult vehicles, such as the Jeep Wrangler, to help bolster their appeal. Within six years Kransco Power Wheels was selling 1,000,000 plus battery-powered vehicles per year.

Then in 1994, the hundred

I had the privilege this week of speaking with a gentleman from Minnesota, let’s call him Iron Man because A) Avengers is currently playing in theaters and B) the length of time his battery lasted is worthy of the title. He called in inquiring if we sold the YTX14-BS battery made by Yuasa. To which I replied, “Yes, we have some batteries that are made by Yuasa.” He then went on to explain that he needed two batteries and shared a story I just couldn’t pass up sharing with all of you. To say this man is just a supporter of the Yuasa Battery Inc. brand may be putting it a little too mildly. And rightly so after the track record he has had! The fascinating part is what he does to extend battery life.

Pause For Battery Life Statistics

Before I go any further it would be negligent of me if I did not stop and share some facts about power sport battery failure rates. Otherwise, you would have no frame of reference to base your own conclusion. Once you see the average life span you will also see

Ironic! I left my pocket-sized lithium Weego jump starter battery+ plugged into my cigarette lighter socket and 13 hours later, as I was leaving work, discovered my car battery was drained. The last few mornings my Subaru started rather slow and I knew my car battery was getting low and needed a good Pulse Charge. As a safety net, I grabbed the Weego. If I was not in such a rush and so utterly distracted, I would have unplugged the device and brought it inside to charge while I was at work. But, I suppose, if life went as planned I would not have a good story to tell you today…

Many installers use the L16 solar battery in their renewable energy projects. However, most tend to use the old flooded conventional deep cycle batteries rather than the newer more versatile sealed AGM solar batteries. What is the rationale for this decision? The question begs to be asked, why not use a sealed L16 solar battery?

Mike Chose the Sealed UB63800 L16 Solar Battery

A few weeks ago a customer of ours purchased 24 of the 6 volt 380 amp hour sealed L16 solar battery made by Universal Power Group. This workhorse of a battery, part number UB63800, has very favorable specs when comparing to some of the traditional flooded batteries