http://www.battcon.com/PapersFinal2010/ ... nal_17.pdf A paper on why it matters.
A quick comparison of batteries in the US that use recycled lead, V pure virgin lead. (NOT ME! Someone else did this legwork)
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I wanted to make a quick list to compare the two types of AGMs I will use specs from G31 batteries to keep everything consistent.
Brands:
Recycled: East Penn (Deka, Duracell), Johnson Controls Inc (Optima, Interstate, Duralast), and Exide. These 3 companies make around 90% of all recycled lead batteries in the US
Virgin: Odyssey and NorthStar are the main two manufacturers, both located in the US. There are also foreign manufactured virgin lead batteries like XS Power.
Average Cost:
Recycled: $180-220 + shipping unless local
Virgin: $350-380 shipped
Warranty:
Recycled: Varying warranties. Usually 1-2 year pro-rated
Virgin: USA Made Virgin batteries have a 4 year full replacement warranty. Foreign virgin batteries usually have a 2-3 year full replacement warranty.
Life:
Recycled: 2-3 Years in commercial vehicles (semi trucks)
Virgin: 4-10 Years in commercial vehicles
Number of Cycles at 50% Discharge:
Recycled: 400
Virgin: 900
Number of Cycles at 80% Discharge:
Recycled: 200
Virgin: 400
Recharge Time:
Recycled: 10-14 Hours
Virgin: 4-6 Hours
Storage Life without Charging or Draw: (read paper at end of thread, this is a big factor of why virgin lead batteries perform better)
Recycled: 6 Months
Virgin: 2 years
AH:
Roughly the same for both options.
Cranking Amps:
Recycled: 800A (East Penn)
Virgin Lead: 1150A (NorthStar/Odyssey)
Burst Amps: (5 seconds)
Recycled: Not published... hmm I wonder why
Virgin Lead: 2150A for 5 seconds
Inter-cell connections:
Recycled: Pinch welds connect the cells
Virgin Lead: US made Virgin Lead batteries have solid internal bus bars, NOT welds going over the walls inside.