Today I learned about....batteries

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jos51700

jos51700

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So, I recently had an interview at a battery plant. I had to sign a NDA, so I can't say who, but I'll say that I'll buy their products from now on! They make ALL kinds of batteries. Batteries for medical, batteries for cars, batteries for nuclear subs and M1 Abrahms Tanks (which are Mopars). All lead acid. All made right here in the USA, in the heartland, with as much USA stuff as possible.

During my interview, before the tour, I told the man "I gotta be honest, I've always run green-top Interstate batteries, not your brand. I'm disappointed because all I see are the black craptastic batteries anymore, and even Interstate discontinued the greentop batteries." (Because that's what my Interstate distributor told me).

He just smiled.

Then the tour started. What's on the line? Green top Interstate brand batteries. He informs me that they make lots of batteries under different labels and that they've always made the Interstate batteries. The premium batteries get something like 95% virgin lead and the black batteries get something like 75% recycled lead (don't quote me, it was loud and overwhelmingly awesome). I'm sure that 20% difference is probably about 6-7 years of premature death mixed into the recycled lead.

I said, "I thought they shut down the last US lead mining operation?" and he said they basically close a plant, re-open one for awhile, let it get closed down, repeat. Thus, they still get virgin lead.

So, you DO get more for your money when you buy a premium battery versus a generic black 'sticker' battery (all that changes between brands is the sticker on the front). The guy was pretty cool, and I'm sure he'd tell me what to buy if I wanted to make sure I got a premium battery. Interestingly enough, they do NOT supply automotive OEM's, and they expect MORE business with the electric car market as many of those still use a 12V lead-acid battery in the system, along with the Lipo batteries. He told me some neat stuff about the nuclear sub batteries, too, but I will not repeat that.

There's your daily trivia. Carry on!
 
Very interesting. What would you be doing if you got hired there? Good luck!
 
Had some coworkers from Bristol, TN that worked at the Excide battery plant that is about 4 miles from the Speedway. They worked on the line and did not have very much good to say about their time in the plant. This was early/mid 2000’s. Get a lead blood test every six months….
 
I've been told there are only two or three battery manufacturers for auto/ lead batteries in the US. I cannot imagine working in a battery plant
 
Seandavid55 said:
Very interesting. What would you be doing if you got hired there? Good luck!
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I was told that they are hurting for engineers in a bad way, and I might do Big Problems, or Little Problems.

Either way, I doubt I'll get a call back, which is fine because I just started a new job elsewhere. I went on the interview because I wanted to learn about batteries, and ended up really really liking the company.

67Dart273 said:
I've been told there are only two or three battery manufacturers for auto/ lead batteries in the US. I cannot imagine working in a battery plant
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Out on the floor, honestly, looked tough. Some people wearing these hazmat type hoods, lots of fumes. Some parts of the plant have wet floors and you can kiss your pants below the knees goodbye. Plus the regular blood draws and job reassignments if you test results come back high (OSHA limits are 30 somethings per CC, this company removes you from the exposure if you hit 14, until your body clears it).
And I learned that your body clears lead over time.

If you ever meet someone that works in a battery plant, buy 'em a drink and say thanks. Most of our cars simply wouldn't run without those people, and that's a rough job, even in modern times.
 
In 93-98 I worked for a midwest car parts chain called Western Auto. He had our own line of batteries, but since we were owned by Sears at that time we also sold DiHard batteries. The big (series 78) DiHard was $79.99, and the Western Auto Gold was 69.99. I used to tell people that they were the same battery made in the same plant. A lot of times they didn't believe me, so I would put the 2 side-by-side and show them that every little nook, cranny and bump were exactly the same. Every once in a while, the customer still wanted the DiHard,
 
Working with lead, I hope the death benefits are company supplied!
 
Did they lend any hints in how to tell if a battery is “Premium” virgin lead type battery?

They put all kinds of title and product names on these batteries. I have a hard time trusting the names.
 
I'm not an industry expert, but the vast majority of impurities in used lead are probably smelted out. I found one difference between a 12 month and a 72 month battery is the distance between the bottom of the electrodes and the bottom of the battery. The more expensive batteries have more space between the plates and the floor.

The whole process of extracting electricity from a chemical lead acid battery involves forming lead sulfate on the surface of the plates. Since both plates get plated, the dissimilarity between them diminishes -- as does the charge. Recharging involves dissolving the lead sulfate back into sulfuric acid and water. Ultimately, some of the lead sulfate crystalizes and falls off to the bottom. When there's enough to start shorting between the plates, the battery is bad.

I well kept secret fully explained in 1922 text books is to occasionally charge the battery to about 16.2 volts to fully de-sulfate the plates. There is a sequence to get it perfect, but just an occasional conditioning can extend battery life by 3X or more.
 
harrisonm said:
In 93-98 I worked for a midwest car parts chain called Western Auto. He had our own line of batteries, but since we were owned by Sears at that time we also sold DiHard batteries. The big (series 78) DiHard was $79.99, and the Western Auto Gold was 69.99. I used to tell people that they were the same battery made in the same plant. A lot of times they didn't believe me, so I would put the 2 side-by-side and show them that every little nook, cranny and bump were exactly the same. Every once in a while, the customer still wanted the DiHard,
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Western Auto! Loved that place as a kid! And Sears... both done in....
 
Johnson Controls?
When I was working for Mopar, we went on a tour of their battery recycling plant. Mopar was investing heavily on their "V" line of batteries.
But basically, all Mopar batteries were Interstate batteries that were rebranded. Until Fiat got involved anyway. I don't know what they are now.
That place was impressive, but there was no way in hell I'd work there.
The engineer that led the tour was great. I learned a lot that day.
 
I work for a large industrial automation company and when we get servo drives, motors, or other products back under warranty or for paid repair I could tell immediately by looking that they came from a battery plant. No need to refer to the paperwork. All ferrous metal or raw aluminum would be crusty. we usually just scrapped them and sent a replacement. Not worth the effort or mess involved. The techs really hated working on them. Nasty stuff in those plants, even the more recent ones.
 
Whats up with the nuke batteries? Divulging secrets here is like bragging to your friend about the hussy you banged last night. I remember a member here who would not tell us where the 2nd VIN was stamped on a 68 Dart. I was talking to an old Korean era Submariner who sailed on the "Redfish" We spoke about 40 minutes while I worked on his phone line. That sub was sold to Disney and they made a few movies on it. Old WWII Fairbanks Morse 10 cylinder Diesels. When the ship did an emergency dive onto batteries (old lead acids!) the engine room heated to 140F with no cooling pumps for the diesels that just shut down. They made distilled water for the batteries and whatever was left over they used for the crew, ie bathing, cleaning, drinking...I told him that was some serious duty in those iron coffins, he said it was the best duty in the Navy.
 
Bewy said:
Working with lead, I hope the death benefits are company supplied!
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They were very careful about the exposure. Lead is far more dangerous in 9mm increments than what's in a battery plant

autoxcuda said:
Did they lend any hints in how to tell if a battery is “Premium” virgin lead type battery?

They put all kinds of title and product names on these batteries. I have a hard time trusting the names.
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Agreed, and I'll call them before I buy another battery, but that's why I bought green top Interstate for so long. A black battery with an Interstate sticker is just.... crap.

pishta said:
Whats up with the nuke batteries? Divulging secrets here is like bragging to your friend about the hussy you banged last night. I remember a member here who would not tell us where the 2nd VIN was stamped on a 68 Dart. I was talking to an old Korean era Submariner who sailed on the "Redfish" We spoke about 40 minutes while I worked on his phone line. That sub was sold to Disney and they made a few movies on it. Old WWII Fairbanks Morse 10 cylinder Diesels. When the ship did an emergency dive onto batteries (old lead acids!) the engine room heated to 140F with no cooling pumps for the diesels that just shut down. They made distilled water for the batteries and whatever was left over they used for the crew, ie bathing, cleaning, drinking...I told him that was some serious duty in those iron coffins, he said it was the best duty in the Navy.
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I really didn't get to see them up close.
 
Well I know from bein in the industry that "supposedly" Interstate battrees are made in Monterey, Mexico ad Johnson Controls. So there's THAT. Good luck with it if that's what you want. Probably a purdy good job.
 
Last year I found out the markup of a common mid-Atlantic auto parts chain for the premium line of batteries. It was close to double the cost, maybe more.
 
mpgmike said:
I'm not an industry expert, but the vast majority of impurities in used lead are probably smelted out. I found one difference between a 12 month and a 72 month battery is the distance between the bottom of the electrodes and the bottom of the battery. The more expensive batteries have more space between the plates and the floor.

The whole process of extracting electricity from a chemical lead acid battery involves forming lead sulfate on the surface of the plates. Since both plates get plated, the dissimilarity between them diminishes -- as does the charge. Recharging involves dissolving the lead sulfate back into sulfuric acid and water. Ultimately, some of the lead sulfate crystalizes and falls off to the bottom. When there's enough to start shorting between the plates, the battery is bad.

I well kept secret fully explained in 1922 text books is to occasionally charge the battery to about 16.2 volts to fully de-sulfate the plates. There is a sequence to get it perfect, but just an occasional conditioning can extend battery life by 3X or more.
Click to expand...
Would love to know more on recharging batteries
 
Just bought a Diehard for my wife’s car, I hope that’s the good one. Normally I go to the junk yard and pick out $30 batteries (I have a tester)
 
Demonic said:
Last year I found out the markup of a common mid-Atlantic auto parts chain for the premium line of batteries. It was close to double the cost, maybe more.
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Not uncommon for all kinds or hard goods. I know that my company will not go forward on a development project unless the projected margin is 45-60%. There is more than the material that makes up the product to consider when setting pricing.
 
67Dart273 said:
I've been told there are only two or three battery manufacturers for auto/ lead batteries in the US. I cannot imagine working in a battery plant
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Johnson Controls , Exide and another that slips my mind .... IIRC
 
I worked at East Penn Manufacturing for a couple of years. Otherwise known as Deka Battery. I worked on the machines that build the batteries. They provides all the tools, training and uniforms because of lead contamination. I didn't realize the upper management looked down on maintenance so bad or I might still be working there. Production operators made more than maintenance. I left for a far worse job, but sometimes pays better. I would not hesitate to go back, I was careful and didn't have any problems with lead exposure. They recycle everything there, I was told lead can be recycled endlessly.
 
I think exide makes exide and some select store brands, east Penn makes Deka and some napa, and Johnson makes just about every other brand label you're familiar with.

Crazy to think that as hazardous as battery manufacturing is on multiple levels, society is pushing to convert the entire auto industry over to it, for the sake of the "environment".
 
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