Rechargeable sealed lead-acid batteries were one big step forward since the 19th century. The two major types - flooded and sealed rechargeable batteries，both have their advantages in applications ranging from vehicles to power supply grids. It’s important to understand the basics of how they are different so you can choose the right battery type for your solar power application. Today we will address the difference between a flooded lead-acid battery and a sealed lead-acid battery.

1. What is a flooded battery?

This is the traditional engine start, tractor and deep cycle-style battery. Flooded rechargeable batteries, also known as wet-cell batteries. These batteries contain a liquid combination of water and sulfuric acid. They are generally more expensive and last longer than sealed batteries.The liquid electrolyte is free to move in the cell compartment. The user has access to the individual cells and can add distilled water as the battery dries out. Popular uses are engine starting and deep cycle designs.

Flooded batteries are common and found in many applications, such as automotive starting batteries, motorcycle batteries, ATV batteries, golf carts batteries, and flooded batteries also applied for the solar, wind power system, fire alarm and security devices and emergency backup systems.

2. What is a sealed acid battery?

This term can refer to a number of different constructions, including only a slight modification to the flooded style. In that case, even though the user does not have access to the cell compartments, the internal structure is still basically the same as a flooded battery. Unlike flooded rechargeable batteries, sealed rechargeable batteries do not contain a liquid that will spill out if the battery breaks. Instead, sealed rechargeable batteries hold only enough liquid to allow the electrolytes to flow. These types of batteries are also known as maintenance-free batteries.

3.What is the Difference between Flooded Lead-Acid Battery and Sealed Lead-Acid Battery？

(1) The flooded batteries contain a liquid combination of water and sulfuric acid. They are generally more expensive and last longer than sealed batteries.

(2) The largest difference between the two battery types is the issue of battery maintenance. With a flooded lead-acid battery, water needs to be added very frequently, periodic equalization needs to be performed and the specific gravity of the electrolyte needs to be measured on occasion with a hydrometer. Flooded rechargeable batteries are decidedly more high-maintenance than their sealed counterparts. Because flooded rechargeable batteries contain liquid, they must be oriented appropriately and can be damaged due to forceful movement (such as excessive shaking). 

(3) Another distinguishing factor with a flooded battery is that they can off-gas hydrogen in certain battery charging conditions, resulting in the battery needing to be vented to release the fumes. In stark contrast to the flooded battery, a sealed lead-acid battery requires no maintenance and do not require venting which is a large selling point for those that do not want to deal with battery maintenance. One potential drawback of a sealed lead-acid battery is that due to the inability to maintain the battery, it may not perform at optimum levels as its flooded counterpart.

4.Both flooded and sealed batteries function a lot in our life.  

Both flooded rechargeable batteries and sealed rechargeable batteries perform important functions in our society. They supply our vehicles, emergency power supplies, and even power grids with the energy they need to function. To sum up, we’ve benefited a lot from these 2 types of batteries since the 19th century.

Vela Battery, a professional manufacturer of lead-acid battery, we have a strict technique to produce flooded and sealed lead-acid battery, about flooded battery, we adopt a tubular plate that can prevent the active material from falling off, a separator that has a high porosity and good corrosion-resistance and an acid-proof bolt that is of a special shape of a funnel having the function of filtering acid smog and retarding flame. Any interests, please send us inquiry anytime.