A to Z of how batteries work?

How does a battery work? A 12-volt motorcycle battery is made up of a plastic case that contains six cells. Each of these six cells contains positive and negative plates that are immersed in a dilute solution of sulfuric acid mostly named as electrolyte. When fully charged each cell contain a voltage of around 2.1 volts. All of the six cells are joined together to produce the 12.6 volts when the battery is fully charged.

But how does that lead plates diluted into sulfuric acid solution produce electricity? The electrochemical reaction present in the battery converts the chemical energy into the electrical energy. Each cell contains plates of lead calcium or lead antimony. The active materials are then bonded to the plates. The sponge lead stands for the negative plates and the lead dioxide stands for the positive. When the electrical load is placed across the battery terminals the chemical reaction with the sulfuric acid takes place.

The time a battery is discharged, the sulfuric acid in the electrolyte resemble the water. Sulfate from the acid coating the plates reduces the surface area where the chemical reaction takes place. Actually the electrolyte contains ions of sulfate and hydrogen. Ions of hydrogen have positive charge and the ions of sulfate have negative charge. The sulfate ions move to the negative plates and will give up the negative charge. The excess sulfate combines with the active materials and form lead sulfate. The strength of the electrolyte is reduced by this and the sulfate on the plates act as a sulfate insulator. The electrons that become excess there comes out of the negative side and go back to the positive side of the battery. At the side of the positive, all the electrons are rushed back and they are accepted by the positive plates. The oxygen present on the active material reacts with the ions and made changes through the chemical reaction to form water.

The ions that move around the electrolyte create the current flow starts to be decreased as the cells becomes discharged. The number of ions also starts to be decreased and the areas where the active materials have started to accept the ions also begin to be decreased.

Self discharge of batteries is possible when the battery is not properly used. The battery self discharge per day is one percent. The rate is tended to be decreased in cold weather and to be increased in the hot temperature. Make sure that the Gold Wing with a stereo, clock and CB radio is never completely turned off. All the devices have ‘keep alive memory’ to preserve the radio pre-sets and time. These memories draw .020 amps. They will eat up one half amp hour from the battery each day at 80 degrees F.

By charging the battery you can reverse the electrochemical reaction. Charging converts the electrical energy to chemical energy. You must know a battery never store electrical energy within itself. Rather it stores chemical energy within itself to produce electricity when needed. Charger reverses the whole process and makes sure the charger has greater energy voltage than the battery. Battery charger creates extra electrons at the negative plates. The positive ions of the hydrogen are attracted towards the negative electrons. The hydrogen reacts with the lead sulfate to form the sulfuric acid and lead and when this is done the sulfate is gone. The oxygen then reacts with the lead sulfate on the positive plates and form lead dioxide. When the process is done then oxygen bubbles from the positive plates.

Many a people believe that the internal resistance power of the battery is at its high when the battery is fully charged. But this is not the case. The lead sulfate present acts as an insulator. The more the sulfate will be there, the higher will be the internal resistance capacity of the battery. The higher resistance of a discharged battery allows it to accept a higher rate of charge without the gassing or overheating when the battery is fully charged. When the battery is near the full charge, there won’t be much sulfate left to reverse the chemical reaction.

So, how long a battery can last? Battery load tester can be a good choice with which you can test the battery condition. Many things can be responsible to shorten the life span of a battery drastically. You can use the battery load tester to identify the problem. One prominent reason for the shortness of life of battery is keeping the battery partially discharged. During the discharge the electrolyte level drops and the plates are exposed. The crystal will be larger in the situation and they will be hardened soon. The amount of surface area available for the plates are deceased and the condition is known as sulfation. It permanently reduces the capacity of the battery. In such cases, a 20 amp hour battery may work only as a 16 amp hour battery. It loses the voltage very quickly and even fails to maintain the enough voltage for operating the bike’s ignition system. This condition can be evident when you can see the engine does not start until you remove the finger from the start button. Once the finger is released, the battery voltage jumps up to the sufficient level and the engine starts.

Deep discharging is yet another reason for the short life of the battery. If the battery is deeply discharged then the active materials of the battery drop off of the plates and falls to the bottom of the battery case. As a result less of the stuff inside the battery gets the chance to perform the chemical reaction. If much materials of this type of stuff accumulate then these are sure to shorten the life of the battery.

Overcharging is yet another dangerous killer to the battery power. The impact of the overcharging can’t be dictated soon but they have long lasting and harmful effects on the span of life of the battery. You can use a battery load tester and can charge the battery as much as it needs.