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lead-acid batteries- How they were developed and improved-Eric Roberts

24th January 2019/3 Comments/in All Battery Information /by Eric

lead-acid batteries

Bill explains the essential principles of lead-acid batteries. He shows the inside of motorcycle lead-acid batteries, removes the lead and lead-oxide plates an…

eric roberts‘s insight:

Lead acid batteries have now been around in their present form for many years.

Of course, it is only in recent times that the lead acid car battery has been overcome. Subsequently, by the more modern technology batteries . As a result, that are now being developed for the modern electric and hybrid car manufacturers. Significantly, due to the rush for a more environmentally friendly battery products. Such as the Lithium-Ion ! Now used many car models such as the Nissan leaf and the Toyota Auris hybrids.

In my opinion though, the ever faithful lead acid batteries, that we still use in the millions. Thus, will still be around for many years to come. They have been tried and tested and proven for almost a hundred years since their invention in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté.

Nothing much has changed in the past forty years of time

As an old guy then, I have bought and sold batteries now for more than 40 years. Car battery types have had modifications. Additionally, such as different lead alloys. That are now used in the manufacture of the battery plates. Increasing development of casings to help suppress and resist vibrations. Most truck and car ones are now sealed and maintenance free. So the motorists do not have to top them up any more. Although some battery makers have the old fashioned screw tops. So that you can top up the electrolyte when the acid has evaporated.

The big development came when the AGM lead-acid batteries was invented in 1985 for military use and was developed by Concorde batteries for commercial use outside the military. The AGM (absorbed Glass Matting) lead-acid batteries is completely sealed and now used in hundreds of applications, although once again these batteries may be slowly replaced by the Lithium-Ion batteries. I know that some golf trolley ones are coming out in Lithium-Ion, but at the moment they are very expensive and golfers have a reputation of shall we say, “not putting their hands in their pockets”. The Lithium-Ion’s were also developed for the military and used on the stealth bombers and they were also used in space flight and on the Mars Lander Craft “Curiosity”.

Another recent development of the lead-acid batteries

So a new introduction has been the introduction of “stop Start” technology. Used on some new models of cars. This was developed by the World’s leading battery company, Johnson Controls. The trade name that they use for these batteries is Varta batteries. What happens is when the car stops the engine is switched off and

Micro hybrid battery similar to the one used in the Mars lander

when the car wants to set off again the accelerator is pressed and the car restarts. The batteries for this job have to be more powerful that the standard lead acid battery and so the AGM battery lead-acid batteries are used.

In my opinion the lead acid battery will be further developed and used on other applications that have not been invented yet, and will still be a player in the crazy mixes of the development of the modern car, their big advantage is that they are almost 100% recyclable, which is more than can be said about the lithium-Ion batteries.

Eric Roberts

Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the Garage and tyre and Cheap UPS Battery business now for 40 years.

Best Tyres Revisited-What our Customers Ask Us When buying Tyres

24th January 2019/1 Comment/in All Tyre Articles /by Eric

Best Tyres Revisited

Incidentally, the majority of my customers really are very caring people. Consequently, really do make a huge effort to keep their car. Including the tyres in tip top order. We are also proud of our female Customer Experience. Many of whom that will call in to see us periodically. Asking us to check their tyres. Of course, for both wear and their pressures.

In many cases the women of the family is also the keeper of the purse strings and she always asks

Show the customer what they will be buying

“which is the Best Tyres prices for her car”. It is also an observation that the lady

drivers do not always want the cheap tyres, but very often will opt for a mid-range brands, in our case we offer them General tyres or GT Tyres as these are the ones that we major in at the moment.

The drivers who want the major brand Best Tyres

Usually, are the older drivers with more tyre buying experience and are male customers. Subsequently, this customer type, also usually owns a Mercedes . Likewise, or a better quality upmarket Honda or Audi. These are the guys that are the better off financially and do not worry about the cost, but just go for the Best Tyres that they care to choose. In most cases they will ask for a certain Michelin or a Pirelli that matches the ones on the car, on the imported cars such as the Honda’s and Mazda’s the cars usually come out on the Bridgestone brand of tyres.

We always make sure that we give the customer the best price for all our products

So,the last thing that we want. Of course, is the person going home and checking the Best Tyres price on some internet web site. Comparatively, only to find out that he was overcharged never to return to us again. In fact we would prefer the opposite to be the truth, so that they are confident in our pricing structure and are satisfied that they have had a good deal. This type of customer is the one that will just order a tyre without asking for a price but he will have an idea in his head as to what the price should be.

There has been many an occasion say just after a price rise, that a customer has queried a price since they last bought a new one, but a price rise is a good enough excuse. We also get the person who tries it on with a price match. They ask for a price for a certain size and then tell us that they can buy it for such and such on a certain web-site and can we match the price?

Best Tyres Revisited-Some people will try it on when buying their tyres

We are ahead of them now and always check the web site that they say they were quoted from. In some cases the customer has looked at a lower speed rating or even the wrong size completely, but these are just genuine mistakes and when we point this out they are usually happy to admit that they have made a mistake and buy the Best Tyres Revisited from us. The ones who are trying it on usually end up leaving with egg on their face, knowing that their little scam back fired on them, in any case we do not want these type of customers in the first place.

This also happens on the phone

Customers will tell us that they can buy a set of winter tyres for so and so at some other company or online. Our response to that is to check out the place to see if this is true and the crux of the matter is that they are always telling fibs to try and drive down the price of their Best Tyres. We are all wise to these little tricks and as I said before there is no magic place where these people can buy them at very cheap prices. There are variations and sometimes we may have to lower our margins to compete, but we are ahead of the game now and check everything that these people claim to be able to buy tyres at.

Lady driver always know what to budget for when buying new tyres

Eric Roberts

Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the Garage and tyre and Battery business now for 40 years.

Michelin Primacy 3-tops Auto Zeitung summer tyre test : Tyrepress

24th January 2019/0 Comments/in All Michelin Tyres /by Eric

Michelin Primacy 3

It’s summer tyre test season, or at least the time of year when the results are published. German car magazine Auto Zeitung has evaluated ten size 215/55 R17 W/Y products. Its decision to only test …

Michelin Primacy 3

Michelin will always be up at the top. Hence, in tyre development and the quality of the end product. Therefore, these tyre test by the German Motoring magazine. If you are considering buying some tyres in the near future. Then you could go with Michelins.

Source: Michelin Primacy 3 tops Autozeitung summer tyre test : Tyrepress

Waste Tyres Plus Hurricanes- Could be used in “Hurricane Defenses” ?

23rd January 2019/6 Comments/in All Tyre Articles /by Eric

Waste Tyres Plus Hurricanes;British scientists come up with a waste tyres solution

When the Waste Tyre Collection problem first raised its ugly head, many of our top scientists were banging their heads together, to look for solutions to the problem of waste tyres and

Waste Tyres Plus Hurricanes;Many other uses can be found for your old tyres including these tyre planters.Free Tyre Disposal UK

new technologies to try and solve the problem of processing them, were designed and built.

These included many different types of tyre shredding machines, that stripped out the steel belts in old tyre in order to re-use it and the shredding of the old tyre carcass into small particles to use in many applications such as additives to tarmac for play and road surfaces and many other uses for the Scrap Tyre Disposal.

One of the suggested uses was to weave the tyres out at sea to break down the wave action that pounded away at our coast lines. Here in the UK we were having bad problems on our East coast with miles of coastline eroded away into the North sea a many perfectly good homes were washed

Waste Tyres Plus Hurricanes;Tyre piles like this could soon be protecting the USA against Hurricanes ?

away in strong Easterly wind whipping up the sea and eroding the coastline, similar ,but not as severe as the hurricane (Hurricane Sandy) that devastated the USA coastline.

British marine engineers develop waste tyres to mix Ocean temperature

This new idea for Waste Tyres Plus Hurricanes is of a similar theme to the original developments regarding protecting the coastline in severe weather, by using waste tyres, this time out at sea and not near the land.

This Waste Tyres Plus Hurricanes idea has also interested the famous Bill Gates, who has joined a British team of marine engineers Nathan Myhrvold and Stephen Salter. The team are to patent the idea of joining thousands of waste tyres tied together and fixed together on giant plastic tubes that would be placed into the deep ocean.

The waste tyres and tubes would force the warm water to the surface from the deep ocean. This affect would mix the warm water with the colder water near to the surface. The result of this would be to reduce the water temperature so that hurricanes would not form.

Waste tyres would be placed in “Hurricane alley”

Bill Gates will give the British engineers his complete backing to the idea and sees it as a viable proposition and an inexpensive way of solving a very costly problem while at the same time ridding the World of millions of waste tyres.

More interesting reading…

“hurricane alley,” the part of the Atlantic where most of the most dangerous storms develop.

The idea, which was first proposed by Salter post-Katrina, was picked up by Myrvold’s company, Intellectual Ventures, and backed by Gates.

There is an urgent need for hurricane suppression devices since seven of the ten most devastating storms to hit the United States have occurred in the last eight years.

More money is needed for research and development, but certainly if such a device has a chance of saving lives and averting property damage on a massive scale, it deserves a try. The government and private investors have spent money on much less urgent causes.

Scenes like this in New York may be a thing of the Past due to waste tyres ?More reading…

“When we first heard Gates was behind this, we made the assumption that it was going to be something very advanced by using computers to somehow simply better predict when the hurricane would come inland and exactly where it would land. However, we found that it is actually as simple as using some tubing and old tires”…http://maboot.com/new-technology-could-stop-hurricane-damage/

This article was compiled by Eric Roberts…www.pellonautocentre.com

flickr Picture by david_shankbone

Deadly Car Brake Pads-Could Brake Pad dust be poisoning our rivers and lakes?

23rd January 2019/0 Comments/in Brake Servicing Halifax /by Eric

Deadly Car Brake Pads

Worn out brake discs and pads causing dangerous dust ?

So, as a garage owner I often wonder what will be coming next ! We are constantly being told that we are all breathing in too many particles of this and that ! On the other hand, the (so called experts) are telling us that we are going to live to 100 years old.

It is not that long ago that you were lucky to get to 65. I can remember when I was a kid how dirty the river Calder was, in my local town. One thing is for sure, there were NO fish living in it. Now in 2016, we not only have a large population of fish but also many species of birds that we would never dream of seeing in the dirty river.

We too are breathing in much better air quality than when I was a kid. Then I suppose came the car. The car has undergone major surgery, since I first started to work on cars, in days gone by. I suppose if the truth is known, then much of the air pollution, is to do with car emissions.

We then had a savior? The diesel engine car.

We were told that the new type of diesel engine cars was going to be the answer. Millions of drivers switched to diesel engines. Then came the asbestos scare. If we touched the stuff, then our hands would drop off. If we breathed the dust in then we would be afflicted with cancer.

Copper-less Car Brake Pads

All the brake companies had to put their thinking caps on and come up with an asbestos free brake solution. The dust that came from the wearing out brakes was carcinogenic. Of course this is A substance or agent that can cause cells to become cancerous.

Consequently, by altering their genetic structure. So that they multiply continuously and become malignant. Asbestos dust from brake pad dust could be full of carcinogens. Unfortunately, a million mechanics including myself have been breathing this stuff in for years.

Subsequently, a new type of brake pad and linings had to be invented ! So using asbestos-free materials. Of course , we thought that this would be the end of it ? But no !

In California USA, they noticed that the fish that they caught were too saturated with copper that they were unfit to eat. The fish in the Bay area were not fit for human consumption. For years, they could not find a solution to the whereabouts of the pollution.

The problem was spotted by motor mechanics. Who had heard about this and reported that they could see small particles. Including particles of copper coming out of the brake pads as they wore away.

Deadly Car Brake Pads, have certainly had their problems.

Throughout the history of the automobile, and it has caused yet another environmental problem. It is a fact

that every time we break, tiny particles of dust come away from the Deadly Car Brake Pads. This is magnified a million times. Because of the number of cars on the road.

This has resulted in the passing of new laws to stop brake pad manufacturers from adding copper to their otherwise secret brake pad ingredients. I wonder if this affects other parts of the world. The brake pads must have been made for the whole of America and not just California?

Eric Roberts

http://www.sightline.org/2010/02/11/tapping-the-brakes-on-copper-brake-pads/

http://www.copper.org/environment/impact/copper-brake.html

Apollo Vredestein premium Tyres-showcasing premium tyres in Geneva – Automotive World

23rd January 2019/0 Comments/in All Tyre Articles /by Eric

Apollo Vredestein premium Tyres

Apollo Vredestein premium Tyres

It looks like Apollo have classified the Vredestein brand as a premium brand of tyres. Indeed, I really never knew who exactly classified a particular tyre as a “premium brand”. Of course, it must be a self certification from the tyre companies themselves.

I do however, know that the so called premium tyre companies. Indeed, such companies, such as Pirelli, Goodyear, Michelin and Continental. Therefore, are all making the world’s best tyres. In other words, these tyre companies really do make the best tyres. In order that ,they truly do make “Premium Tyres”

Vredestein tyres have a good name here in the UK. Hence, the tyres are made in Holland. Of course, it is true that the tyres have been sold by British tyre retailers for many years. Apollo tyres bought Vredestein tyres in a takeover a couple of years ago. Undoubtedly, the Vredestein product is of excellent quality. Weather it should be classed as a premium tyre product. I am not so sure?.

Eric Roberts
Apollo Vredestein is displaying an array of its two brands’ best products at this year’s Geneva show. The tyre manufacturer’s stand makes for an impressive

Source: Apollo Vredestein showcasing premium tyres in Geneva – Automotive World

New Greener ECO TYRES-are not getting any more popular ?

22nd January 2019/1 Comment/in All Tyre Articles /by Eric

Re-manufactured New Greener ECO TYRES are better than Part worn tyres

As a tyre dealer (retailer) for many years I have seen many changes in the industry not least the rise and fall of the re-manufactured products for cars and vans.

The fall of this product came when we (the UK wholesalers) started importing cheap products from China and other eastern countries. This made the price gap between the new and retreads shrink, and consumers and tyre retailers swung towards buying and selling new tyres, because of this many re-manufacturing plants here in the UK were forced to close.

Enter climate change

This went on for many years, but companies were still making truck and bus New Greener ECO TYRES, including large companies such as Continental. Here in the UK, Kingpin were continuing to manufacture the greener ECO tyres, although the number of units were small compared to the total number that were sold.

Then came climate change ?. We were told by the “European Union” or EU that waste tyres could not be used in land fill any more . So drastic alternatives had to be found to dispose of them in an environmentally way and Governments had to come up with some new ideas to find a solution to their “end of life” . It is estimated that over 30 million are scrapped annually here in the UK alone, a massive problem.

One of the possible solutions was an increase in tyre re-manufacturing. Not all old tyres are suitable for making New Greener ECO TYRES from, in fact only about 17% of these old ones can be re-made into new ones.

What are re-manufactured ECO tyres ?

New Greener ECO TYRES;part of the rebuilding tyre process

To put as simple as possible the “carcass” or old tyre is buffed back is buffed back to its original state as if it was a new carcass. The tyre is then thoroughly inspected and only the best quality are used to make the new tyre. This is where the green ECO part comes in, the old one is re-used and has now been re-cycled into another one. The tyre is them remoulded to make a another tyre. The standard of manufacturing must comply with the same standard as a new ones. This makes the ECO tyre into a much greener alternative, and another premium point is the cast . This reduces the cost to consumers of about 10% and because of the high standards of manufacture, they are much more safer than using unregulated part worns . These are used on many high profile vehicles including London taxi cabs and Airlines, yes when you go on holiday the plane that you fly in will probably be landing and taking off, using re manufactured products or otherwise known as New Greener ECO TYRES that you can buy for your car… More reading

“Despite the relatively low market penetration of re-manufactured tyres, their potential market

impact remains high. One of the major issues relating to their use is that user perception of

re-manufactured tyres is one of second rate quality. In fact re-manufactured tyres in the UK

are as good as new, as they must comply with standards that equate to those imposed on

new tyres.

One of the major vehicle sectors that use re-manufactured tyres is the taxi market. Even

here many operators only put remoulded tyres on the rear of the vehicle because it is

perceived that those on the front do not last very long. In reality, the major problem with

front tyres, especially in taxis with tight turning circles, is they are put under high shear

stresses that cause the tyre tread to prematurely fail. Furthermore, where the vehicle is

driven by diesel, there is a heavier loading on the front axle than the rear, so earlier failure

would be expected. These issues are not restricted to re-manufactured tyres, but are

common to all.

Using re-manufactured tyres can offer significant savings in operating costs, raw materials

and the environmental impact of the vulcanised rubber tyre”…http://www.wrap.org.uk/search/apachesolr_search/retread%20tyres%20study?filters=tid:97

This article was compiled by… Eric Roberts

Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre offer car and van servicing and repairs to all makes of vehicles. We are members of Unipart Car Care centres and give a nationwide guarantee for all our work and parts. We also sell General New Tyres online from our website www.pellonautocentre.com by using the tyre selector and choosing your tyre size. We offer courtesy cars to local motorists who need to go to work and leave their car with us for work doing. We are also an official MOT testing station and are members of Motor-codes, who carry out checks for high standard of equipment and workmanship.

%20study?filters:97

Narrow Post 054 Car Battery-Available Online From BatteriesOnTheWeb UK

22nd January 2019/0 Comments/in All Battery Information /by Eric

Narrow Post 054 Car Battery developments

Lucas premium Battery

I am now old enough to remember when the first popular cars were imported into the UK. Of course, cars were still manufactured in the UK in those days. Buying anything from a Rolls Royce to the tiny Austin A35 cars, Consequently, and they were all made here in the UK.

Britains were loyal car buyers in those days! The car manufacturing sector was booming. Naturally, this car growth boom also attracted parts companies. So, there were many engineering firms that serviced the car industry.

Included the great tyre companies. Apart from our own Dunlop tyres. Giant tyre companies such as Goodyear tyres started to become a major presence here in the UK.

Unfortunately. battery companies were a little slow to start up. Most car batteries were still the old black rubber casing type. Then came the front wheel drive cars. Of course, the first minis that were introduced.Likewise, had to have their batteries fitted in the boot of the car. Because the car was a front wheel drive ! There was no room in the engine compartment for a battery to be fitted.

Car Battery industry on the move

Correspondingly, the battery industry was beginning to change. Batteries were changing shape and were made of different materials. Plastic casings were the becoming new norm.

Now enter the imported cars.

Furthermore, working class man here in the UK. Were beginning to be able to afford to buy a car for the first time. Continental car makers saw the UK as a great new market. Companies such as Datsun, Renault and Sunbeam Talbot were becoming common sites on our roads. With this brought different battery types, including size and shape.

Many of these batteries were made in Japan and were narrow in width with narrow battery posts. I remember the fact that I had never seen anything like this before. So,replacement batteries were difficult to get for some of these obscure cars.

The battery in question turned out to be a common part number to us in the UK, the Narrow Post 054 Car Battery. This Car Battery fits many of our modern cars. It can

be found on cars such as the Hyundai such as the i10 petrol model.

The narrow post Car Battery also fits many Nissan Micra petrol models.

Many Proton and Suzuki smaller car models are fitted with the Narrow Post 054 Car Battery. The Daihatsu car models are almost all fitted with “thin posts Battery”, making this battery a major stocking item for BatteriesOnTheWeb.

Finally, the makes that are recommended are the ApolloPower batteries and Banner battery range and are available to be sent out online to most UK post codes.

Eric Roberts.

Ford Escort Steering Problems-Similar Ford models with similar problems?

22nd January 2019/2 Comments/in All Car Manufacturer Articles /by Eric

Ford Escort Steering Problems

In recent weeks ,we have had a spate of Ford Escorts with steering problems. Therefore, I recon that the large number of “potholes” that we have are to blame. Hence, we have all gone down a pothole in recent times. Especially here in the Halifax UK where my garage is situated.
Furthermore, potholes do seem to affect the older more frail car models. Consequently, these older cars are usually owned by the younger generations. To put it another way, these younger drivers will probably have ago at a DIY repair.

Because they at the lower end of the income bracket and can not afford garage fees.
Ford Escorts come into the bracket of young driver cars. Fortunately, we have a large female customer base. As a result, females are able to budget for car repairs.So they are more likely to bring in their car for us to check out and give them a quote for work.
In the past three or four weeks we have had a run of Ford Escorts with steering/suspension problems. Consequently, the first one was the wife of an old customer. Her name was Jane. Jane drove an old P registered escort that was handed down through the family. She loved her little car.

Ford Escort Steering Problems-Jane’s car pulled to the right?

Jane reported that her front tyres were wearing down on the outsides. Also, when she accelerates the car then it pulls to one side. In this case to the right. Consequently, the car pulls to the left when she eases her foot off the gas.
Her husband had looked the problem up online. because of this he thought it could be either the “steering rack” or the “drive shaft”. Jane left her Escort with us and we proceed to examine the ladies car.

Ford Escort Steering Problems-Suspension arm bushes were the culprits

Without doubt, we checked the steering rack and the driveshaft.But these were fine and in good working order. In this case, we found that the problem was the “lower suspension arm bushes”. Apparently, a common problem with this model. As usual we contacted the customer. In thus case Jane. Jane was given a quote for the work and we were given the go ahead to proceed.
The work was completed and we re-adjusted the wheel alignment before road testing the car. Jane works for the local Nestle company in Halifax. Moreover, she was highly delighted with the service and brought us a box of chocolates to share amongst the staff.

Second Escort was exactly the same?

Later that week we received another call from a young man. Hence, whose name was Craig . Craigs car was his pride and joy,a 1977 Ford Escort Gti. Once again Craig brought in his car for us to check out. Sometimes, the car had a mind of it’s own. Steering wise.
Whenever driving along. Then the car keeps getting wobbles. Especially on bumpy roads with dips in them. Craig also reported that the Escort would pull to the right and then the left. Of course, this sounded very much like Jane’s problem with her Escort.
The car was left with us.Sure enough the problem turned out to be exactly the same, the lower suspension arm bushes. Consequently, these were replaced and the car also had a wheel alignment, before a road test. Once again our customer was highly delighted and collected his Escort the same day.
Eric Roberts

Goodyear Ultragrip 8- Winter Tyres from Pellon Tyres, Halifax Yorkshire UK

21st January 2019/6 Comments/in All Goodyear Tyres Stuff /by Eric

Goodyear tyres do it again with the Goodyear Ultragrip 8

As all my readers know by now Goodyear tyres are one of my best respected tyre companies and are for ever developing more tyre products to make for safer driving in winter conditions. This will help motorists to drive more safely and help offer a better product to us European drivers who will eventually have to fit winter tyres from November to March for safer winter driving.

Many EU countries have to fit winter tyres now including Bulgaria,Luxenbourg, Germany and Belgium. IT is only a matter of time before we here in the UK will be following the same regulations as the rest of Europe and a good thing it will be too making our roads much safer in the winter months. A thing that I have been advocating for years.

This new tyre was introduced to us at a tyre launch in Seville Spain and announced as the Goodyear Ultragrip 8. This new tyre from Goodyear tyres offers the motorist more grip while at the same time giving a shorter braking distance which combined offer much better handling for the winter conditions.

For further reading…

The new Goodyear Ultragrip 8 winter tyre

“The Goodyear Ultragrip 8 is the first directional tyre using the latest generation of Goodyear’s highly effective 3D-BIS Technology throughout the entire tread pattern. Goodyear’s patented Three-Dimensional Block Interlocking System (3D-BIS) allows an increased number of sipes in the tyre’s tread. The more sipes, the better the grip: A high sipe density gives extra grip on ice and snow because sipes provide edges which literally bite into the snow and ice for strong grip and traction as they open up before coming into road surface contact. To provide excellent handling and braking performance on both wet and dry roads however, the blocks need to be stiff and solid. For this Goodyear Ultragrip 8 engineers have developed the ‘3D Interlocking Effect’ of the sipes. Inside each sipe, the walls have raised pyramids and holes. When the tread blocks come into contact with the road the sipes lock tightly thanks to this special waffle shape. This provides the required block stiffness for excellent handling and steering response on dry and wet roads”… http://www.goodyear.eu/uk_en/news/94003-Ultragrip_8/index.htm

Another great tyre from Goodyear tyres.

Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre offer car and van servicing and repairs to all makes of vehicles. We are members of Unipart Car Care centres and give a nationwide guarantee for all our work and parts. We also sell Cheap Goodyear Ultragrip 8 online from our website by using the tyre selector and choosing your tyre size. We offer courtesy cars to local motorists who need to go to work and leave their car with us for work doing. We are also an official MOT testing station and are members of Motor-codes, who carry out checks for high standard of equipment and workmanship.