Exide 14L-A2, 12N14-3A

mrtwowheel

Honda Etched On Brain
Top Contributor
Messages
2,935
Reaction score
2,986
Points
263
Location
Michigan, tri-state area
Keep reading, I'm not asking which battery to use, I'm going a bit further than that.

I went battery shopping. Not really shopping, because I knew which battery I was going to buy and how much I was going to pay for it. I went to Rural King to get my Exide "14L-A2 replaces 12N14-3A". I noticed there on the shelf that they also had the 12N14-3A. I got curious about the difference in these two batteries. There was no CCA or cranking amps ratings on the boxes or on the little cards attached to the shelves or in the book. The little cards attached to the shelves confirmed that the cases were the same size and the display batteries confirmed that both batteries had the same number of cells and the positive and negative posts were oriented the same. Hold on, there's more to this.

On the little cards attached to the shelves, for both batteries, in the finest print, was this, "14 AH CAP 10 HR", the only ratings to be found for these two batteries at this display.

So, I'm suspecting and believing that both of these batteries are manufactured using the same materials and the same manufacturing process which may mean that these batteries are identical except for the numbers and letters printed on the cases. Mind you, I'm not saying this about all brands, just the Exide and maybe any other brands manufactured by the same manufacturer.

So, being the cheap ass bastard that I am, I paid $29.99 instead of $39.99.

Bet you guys can't stop yourselves from turning this into an AGM battery thread.

Scott
 
Last edited:
Addendum, "14 AH CAP 10 HR" means that both of these batteries will deliver 14 amps for 10 hours at standard temperature. I have two Hondas and one Yamaha that all use this same battery and I have been paying too much for these batteries but have been very happy with the Exide brand. I'm not looking for a "lifetime" battery because they don't exist. Face it, batteries wear out like tires, brakes, oil etc.

Scott
 
The 12 amp battery box says only Super Crank.

Scott

Edit, I edited this post because I'm not sure about the 14 amp battery box, I grabbed a GoldWing battery box by mistake.
 
Last edited:
Menards also sells Exide batteries. I stopped at Menards to see what they had. Menards sells the 14L-A2, but does not sell the 12N14-3A. TSC also sells the Exide's, I didn't look there. Walmart did not have shelf space for a 12N14-3A EverStart equivalent.

Scott
 
Difference is in CCA. 190 for the 14 vs. 128 for the 12. The 14 weighs almost a pound more.

I couldn't find the CCA specs on the Exide site. Good point on the almost 1 lb. heavier, I found that. I'll probably be filling the 12 amp tomorrow and I have two of the14 amp batteries that I can compare the weight to.

Scott
 
Oh-boy, a battery construction/capacity thread!

14ah @ 10 hrs means that the battery will deliver 1.4 amps, for 10 hours, at which point it's depleted to an industry-specified voltage. 1.4 amps would come from a practical drain load of around 9 ohms. There's an enormous wealth of battery discharge curve hoopla out there, if you want to get into it, deep.

The capacity rating would be totally different if the test load were different, say about 1000 ohms. Then you may see a 20ah rating, or higher. So, for the sake of viable comparisons, a standardized load is used.

Entering old man's old-school ramble-land:

The bike batteries that surrounded my world 45 years ago were constructed using flat-plate technology, what is termed "deep cycle" nowadays, as used in RVs and trolling motors.

Then came a newer design, the high CCA battery. As I understood it, the plate surfaces are more of a 'sponge' than a solid plate, providing more surface area, providing a higher discharge rate, hence more cranking capacity.

Again, as I understood this, the flat plate could withstand numerous deep discharge/charge cycles. But, the 'sponge' plate design didn't, since the act of replating a lot of lead back onto a plate doesn't restore the 'sponge' surface.

The only way to tell one from another was to saw one apart.

Or have insider info into the part number scheme...
 
Last edited:
Conspiracy Theory Debunked

The Exide 12N14-3A weighed 10 lbs.-0.1 oz. filled

The Exide 14L-A2 weighed 10 lbs.-12.6 oz. filled

So, that's a difference of 12.5 oz., quite a bit, showing that there is more to the 14 amp battery vs the 12 amp battery.

Well, I have a battery that will work until its service life is over, or, I have a new battery for my KH400.

Scott
 
Last edited:
Back
Top