Acid Stratification Is Bad for Batteries - Ten Things You Need to Know.

1. ACID STRATIFICATION causes the useful active material in the battery to be reduced by 40% within six to eight months of regular use, creating what is known in the industry as dead lead or inactive active material.
2. When heavier or hotter acid stratifies or sinks to the bottom of the battery’s cells, the upper portion of the cells is subject to low specific gravity, and the active material in this area is no longer capable of proper discharge activity.
3. The area of low specific gravity at the top of the battery cells that experience reduced active material activation also undergoes increased corrosion. Combined, it dramatically lowers a battery’s cranking power (CCA) and capacity measured in amp hours or reserve capacity (AH/RC).
4. The heavier, stratified acid at the bottom of a battery’s cell creates higher specific gravity in that area which prevents proper charge activity at the bottom portion of the plates. This, in turn, promotes increased internal resistance, lower conductivity and accelerated sulfation on the lower part of the plates.
5. A sulphated battery will eventually only accept a surface charge, resulting in a false positive state of charge, meaning a battery that appears fully charged but that provides low CCA and AH/RC.
6. This false state of charge reading confuses modern vehicle charging systems into thinking the battery is more charged than it is, which leads to the battery always being in an under-charged or partial state of charge condition and forces alternators to operate inefficiently.
7. ACID STRATIFICATION magnifies the development of hot spots or thermal gradients within a battery that accelerate plate corrosion, battery dry-out, premature capacity loss and reduced life, particularly in extreme climates.
8. ACID STRATIFICATION is the leading cause of all unequal activity across a battery’s plates which prematurely reduces a battery’s CCA, its available reserve capacity and its useful life.
9. Acid stratification causes a battery’s charge acceptance to decline by 50% to 70% within six months of installation, increasing alternator wear and tear and decreasing fuel efficiency.
10. Stratified acid causes the most significant portion of battery warranty claims and related costs and increases alternator wear and tear and fuel expenses.

MIXTECH technology by Discover Battery eliminates acid stratification. Eliminating acid stratification can double the life of any flooded lead-acid battery.