Ready for IMPACT Battery Blog
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April 14, 2018
What changed with the Power Wheels 12 Volt battery? Back in the fall of 2017 we were grumbling over the enormous price increase instituted by Fisher Price for their Power Wheels batteries. Prices rose a jaw dropping 30% to 80%. As battery specialists this price increase was not unexpected; lead prices rose steadily over the previous 18 months. But ultimately, the price increase was not the big shocker. It is what they DIDN’T tell us about the 12V Power Wheels battery that came as a shock!
Power Wheels 12 Volt Battery Discovery
As we received our latest Power Wheels battery shipment I thought I noticed something different. The cartons, each containing six 12-volt batteries, seemed to be heavier. I initially wrote that off as me getting older and weaker.
As the team started packing the individual orders, I immediately homed in on a visible alteration—the
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April 07, 2018
The BatteryMINDer Plus 12117 was replaced by model 1500 and 1510 several years ago. So what’s the difference between the BatteryMINDer 1500 and 1510?
Essentially nothing as it pertains to the actual charge, maintenance and desulfating functionality. Both units are a 12-volt 1500 mA charger maintainer with SmarTECHnology® built in. They both have Hi/Lo temperature compensation with auto-temp sensor and automatic pulse desulfation. All the normal safety features, such as wrong polarity detection and spark free use come standard. The 1500 and 1510 are guaranteed to never overcharge your batteries. And the best part, there are no buttons to push!
The difference between the two new replacement models is in the packaging, warranty and included
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August 12, 2017
The Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle series has a rich tradition spanning four decades. We thought it would be interesting to highlight how the Vulcan battery has changed with the bike as we explore the history of this iconic name. Continue reading to learn something about these Kawasaki bikes or to discover which battery you should buy next. Each Vulcan series is listed in order of when it was first introduced.
1985 to 2006 Vulcan 750 Series
It all started in 1984/85 when Kawasaki launched the Vulcan VN700A as its first cruiser sold worldwide. To avoid American tariffs placed on Japanese motorcycles over 700cc Kawasaki actually introduced this bike as a 699cc. The tariff was lifted in 1986 and they increased the engine capacity to 750cc. The Kawasaki VN750 remained virtually unchanged throughout its 22-year production run.
The original battery was the Yuasa YB14L-A2 conventional style lead acid with the annoying acid drip tube. If you are tired of dealing with acid you can always upgrade to a sealed AGM by Moto Classic (YTX14AHL), East Penn Deka (ETX15L) or MotoBatt (MBTX14AU).
1985 to 1990 Vulcan 400 Series
There were two series versions to the Vulcan 400 bikes. The first series was a belt driven liquid-cooled twin engine. The second series used a V-twin chain driven system produced in both the Classic and Drifter variations. The EN450 known better as the 454 LTD is considered by some as the forerunner to the Kawasaki Vulcan.
Interestingly enough the VN400 Vulcan motorcycle does not appear in the Yuasa battery application catalogue. From what we can determine from a national sales store it may use the YTX12-BS battery. That battery originally boasted 10Ah and 180CCA.
The Kawasaki 454 LTD called for the YB12A-A conventional battery. It is a 12Ah 165CCA battery.
1990 to 2010 Vulcan 500 Series
The Vulcan 500 had a 20 year production run. It was the successor to the 454 LTD and boasted an engine nearly identical to the Kawasaki Ninja 500R. The 500 series had two production runs. The EN500-A was produced between 1990 and 1996. The EN500-C or perhaps better known as the Vulcan 500 LTD ran from 1996 thru 2010.
Like many bike manufactures, Kawasaki thought it necessary to tweak the battery polarity between production runs. Yep, instead of leaving the polarity as a left side positive they flipped to left side negative for the 500 LTD. The EN500-A uses the YB12A-A. The EN500-C uses the YB12AL-A2. Of course you can avoid worrying about polarity and leaking acid altogether by purchasing MotoBatt’s MB12U sealed AGM. It was four terminals guaranteeing the correct polarity.
1987 to 2008 Vulcan 1500 series
The Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 was a beast of a machine when first introduced in 1987. The 1500 series had a 22 year production run spanning several versions. To read more about the 1500 check out MotorcycleCruiser.com and their article titled Big Twin Rumble: Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic.
To help simplify what battery you need for your Vulcan 1500 we have created the chart below.
VN1500 Vulcan 88, SE 1987 - 1998 Y50-N18L-A VN1500-C -
June 15, 2017
Intuitively people realize they can connect batteries together to increase voltage or capacity, but far too often they are not entirely confident on how to exactly configure the batteries to achieve the desired result. In some cases, as it turns out, they actually do know how to accomplish the desired goal, but just seem to get the terminology a little mixed up.
Even with simple procedures such as changing a battery, people seem to hesitate trying to remember which terminal to connect first. This creates doubt and doubt leads to second guessing, and second guessing leads to unnecessary change which can lead to catastrophic failure! So let’s just take a quick second to remind everyone about the terminology and how to connect batteries and disconnect batteries in series, parallel and the dreaded series/parallel combination.
Exploring Battery Safety First
This is one area you don’t want to mix up. You may skate by once or twice or for a lifetime without incident,
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May 08, 2017
On May 16, 1986, the iconic movie Top Gun was released. Part way through the best-on-best flight school training Maverick turns to Goose and says (with Goose joining in to finish the line) “I feel the need—the need for speed!” This immortalized string of words seems to personify American thinking. Our insatiable need to go faster, work faster, be faster is intertwined into our DNA. The underpinning of this mindset brings us to an often-asked question, how fast can I charge my battery?
Yikes! That sounds like a simple question, right? But there is so much more wrapped into those eight words that makes answering harder than one may think! Not harder in the sense of complicated, but harder in the sense that you need to understand what type of battery you actually have before connecting the Godzilla of chargers to your car. A basic understanding of battery type and chemistry will go a long way to help prevent catastrophic battery failure.
Safe Rule
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March 24, 2017
About a week ago I had the privilege of attending the annual Ligonier conference in Orlando, Florida. Since arriving home, I find myself thinking about the comment, "we're not at the cool table anymore" that Stephen Nichols made as he reflected on the cultural shift in America over the last 20 to 30 years. I think he articulated the case with pin-point accuracy.
The idea of being at the cool table is rooted in the 1980's and 1990’s when going to church provided a certain social status or was considered to be socially acceptable. Many church attenders looked at it as an opportunity to promote ones self—a place to network and be entrepreneurial. It didn’t necessarily matter if they believed as the church believed. It was more important to be seen and by inference recognized as an upstanding honorable citizen. Church membership was the moral country club; somewhere you wanted your name circulated. Membership was on the rise. However, today, to make such a public profession
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March 10, 2017
I took my two boys to the Lowrider Hopping Nationals in Louisville KY over a week ago. We had a mission to learn as much as we could about lowriders and find out from those in the pits what batteries they used, why they use them and how they charge them. We—well, I (my boys did not find the “grown up talk” very exciting) had the privilege of chatting at length with a couple of guys from Those Dudes and Louisville Slugger. These guys were very accommodating and patient as they answered all my questions and educated me on what it takes to build a champion and best of all, how the competition works. I found it all very fascinating as I was ushered in to a part of the automotive world I really knew nothing about. I now have a good grasp on what the perfect lowrider battery should encompass.
Competition Goals
For those of you that may have been like me and know very little about lowriders, allow me to provide a quick overview of how it works. I may get
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February 22, 2017
I have to admit, I have been very hesitant to write this article and have delayed doing so for several years. My deferment in writing was essentially a giant rationalization to ‘protect’ this motorcycle battery brand (and I guess us as well) from unnecessary blow-back. Compromising thoughts like “it’s not really hurting anyone since the battery is actually pretty good” or “it’s not my place to shake the apple cart” or “so many high profile racing teams use their batteries so that has to speak for something” kept me from raising my concern sooner. In all honesty, what we are about to share regarding this certain battery brand may impact our sales negatively and sour our relationship with the manufacturer. Nonetheless, we feel the questions raised have not been satisfactorily answered. Believe me when I tell you, it is not easy sticking your neck out. Frankly, it is down right uncomfortable. But I refuse to be beholden to the allure
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February 04, 2017
The Skull Crusher Project, which Impact Battery sponsors, is heading to Louisville, KY February 24-26 to participate in the 2017 Carl Casper’s Auto Show. As I read through the exhibitors section outlining this year’s attractions, something caught my eye: The Low Rider Hopping Nationals. I have never seen a low rider competition in person before. And if I were to be completely honest, I really have no idea how the competition is judged. But aside from the intrigue of seeing what these guys can create from essentially nothing, a question jumped into my head. Which batteries are the best for lower riders? And with that, it was decided. My boys and I will be driving north in a few weeks to check out some incredible cars and see firsthand what batteries are being used at the Hopping Nationals. More importantly I want to discover why these folks selected the brand of battery strapped in the trunk. What drove them to make that decision?
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January 13, 2017
Back in the summer of 2013, we sang the praises of the Drakon labeled Pure Lead Acid AGM battery. It was indeed among the best AGM batteries in the world and went head-to-head with the undisputed king-of-the-hill EnerSys and their Odyssey Extreme battery. However, after some mergers and acquisitions, the brand owner, Universal Power Group, restructured and decided to consolidate labels creating greater continuity for their organization. The Drakon name no longer exists and has been transported into the very popular Kinetik battery family. Incidentally, Kinetik Power now has a full line of batteries for powersports, car audio, backup systems and even consumer alkaline and button cell batteries. Their HC-PRO series still utilizes the thin plate pure lead AGM technology first introduced under the Drakon label.
I say all this because there is a very distinguished battery factory in the heart of this