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How a lead-acid battery is built and why it ages: plates, grids, electrolyte, formation and the failure modes that decide service life.
Start from the failure you are trying to prevent, not from the component name. Capacity loss points to sulfation, aging or a charging problem; water loss points to overcharge or a hot environment; grid corrosion points to alloy and service life. Each article below is written to connect a symptom to a design or maintenance cause, so the cluster works as a diagnostic path rather than a glossary.
Application sizing, group-size selection, wholesale pricing and test standards live in their own clusters. Use the application hub for duty-cycle fit, the data site for dimensions and CCA by group, and the testing site for the standards that govern a performance claim.
| Topic | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Plate & grid design | Grid alloy, plate thickness and the CCA-versus-cycle-life trade-off |
| Lead oxide | The active material: PbO to PbO₂ and spongy lead |
| Grid alloy | Pb-Ca vs Pb-Sb vs Pb-Sn metallurgy |
| Separator & electrolyte | Isolation, acid density and AGM glass mat |
| Electrolyte specific gravity | Hydrometer readings as a direct state-of-charge signal |
| Electrolyte additives | Carbon and other additives and what they change |
| Formation & charging | The first charge and the formation profile |
| Failure modes | Sulfation, corrosion, water loss and stratification |
| Lead-acid aging | How the capacity and resistance move over life |
| VRLA | Valve-regulated lead-acid: AGM and gel |
| Gel battery technology | Silica-gelled electrolyte and its behaviour |
| Lead-acid manufacturing | From oxide to formed battery |
| Quality control | What a factory QC record should contain |
| Battery materials map | Both chemistries side by side |
Manufacturers quote life in cycles or years, but the number depends on depth of discharge, temperature and charging. Two batteries with the same label can differ by a factor of two in service if one is cycled at 30% depth and the other at 70%. Ask for the cycle-life basis before comparing products.
Related: Lithium-ion technology · Materials & manufacturing · Lead-acid application hub
Start with failure modes if you are diagnosing a returned battery; start with plate and grid design if you are specifying a new product. Both paths link to the electrolyte and formation articles when you need the process detail.
The alloy sets the corrosion rate, water-loss behaviour and deep-cycle tolerance. A calcium alloy is not automatically better than antimony; it is better for low-maintenance float duty, while antimony is more forgiving in repeated deep cycling.