Lead-Acid Battery Basics

Lead-acid batteries have been around for centuries, and still the greater part of their basic design remains the same. These batteries offer are a cost efficient rechargeable energy source with a relatively low weight to capacity ratio. Their design and efficiency makes these batteries commonplace for a wide array of applications.

Although new types of lead-acid batteries are constantly being developed, all lead-acid batteries still have the same basic design components. A battery is composed of e cells which are made up of three basic components: a positive and negative plate, surrounded by electrolyte enclosed in a protective case. 

Each 2V cell is then connected in series to create a 6V or 12V battery. For that reason, 6V batteries have three (3) cells, and 12V batteries have six (6) cells. 12V batteries prove to be the most common across applications, and can be seen in everything from modern vehicles, motorcycles and boats.