834814A 1 Mercury BOTTOM COWL

How a Battery Works
Illustration 1 g01072967The battery produces current by a chemical reaction between the active materials of the unlike plates and the sulfuric acid of the electrolyte. While this chemical reaction is taking place, the battery is discharging. The battery is discharged after all the active material have reacted. Then, the battery must be recharged before use.Batteries of the same voltage can produce different amounts of current. The reason for this is that the amount of current a battery can produce depends on the number and size of the battery plates. The more plates there are, the more chemical reactions can take place between the electrolyte and the plates, therefore, the greater the amount of current produced. If two 12 volt batteries have a different number of plates, the battery with the greater number will supply more current flow and will have higher capacity.Types of Batteries
There are basically two types of batteries that are used in automotive equipment and heavy equipment applications:
Conventional
Maintenance free.Conventional Batteries
Conventional batteries may be dry-charged or wet-charged. A dry-charged battery contains fully charged elements, but the dry-charged battery contains no electrolyte. Once the dry-charged battery is activated by being filled with electrolyte, the dry-charged battery is essentially the same as a wet-charged battery. A dry-charged battery retains a full state of charge as long as moisture is not allowed to enter the cells. If the dry-charged battery is stored in a cool, dry place, the battery will not lose part of the charge on the shelf prior to being used.The activation of a dry charged battery is usually done at the warehouse