So, you were wondering how the Braille B14115 compares to other batteries? Before we get started, we need to make sure that our comparisons are based on an Apple to Apples criteria. Incorrect comparisons are common to the battery industry. Often one company will claim a rating of say 300 CCA (cold cranking amps) and another company may claim 310 CCA. Of course your first reaction is that the battery with 310 is superior, right? Not always. Two major things can affect CA (cranking amps); temperature and base voltage. Not all cranking amps are rated at 0 degrees; some are measured at 32, 77, and 80. However the different temperatures often have new names applied. For example, the CCA at 80 degrees is often referred to as HCA (hot cranking amps), and those measured at 32 degrees are called CA (cranking amps) or MCA (marine cranking amps).

Due to the relative lack of education in the battery market many companies have explained to people that a battery has 300 CCA at 80 degrees. Well, in reality the correct way to state this would be 300 HCA (hot cranking amps). Why then do companies do this? Often the company will state the battery's performance in the closest environment to its intended application. For example we spoke of rating a battery at 32 degrees as being its cranking amp (CA) or marine cranking amp (MCA) rating.

Why is there a marine cranking amp? Well, how often is a boat used below 32 degrees? Hence, MCA more closely represents the batteries performance in the real world. Since the majority of automotive customers are mounting the battery in the engine bay of the vehicle, a temperature of 80 degrees most closely represents the mean of temperatures when the battery will be used. Finding a battery's cranking amps at various temperatures is found by inputting the stated cranking amps and temperature into a formula and then by inputting the change in temperature, the result is the new cranking amps value. We will use this formula in just a minute to compare batteries.

First, we will discuss the other variable to cranking amps, the base voltage. The standard for rating CCA (cold cranking amps) is to put a load test on the battery up to the point when its voltag drops to 7.2 volts. This test is done during a 30 second period. So for 30 seconds the tester puts the maximum amp draw on the battery till it can not sustain 7.2 volts. 7.2 volts is considered the base voltage for the CCA test. However, not all companies use this test. Just like the MCA rating, some companies do not test the CCA down to 7.2 volts. Why not? Vehicles can not start with only 7.2 volts. Some companies test batteries down to their useful state. For example, the braille B14115 is intended to be used for automotive purposes. Hence when braille tested cranking amps they only went to a minimum of 11.5 volts, which is the minimum level that allows accessories in vehicles to function. Of course, rating a battery with a lower base voltage will lead to higher cranking amp numbers. In this situation, braille chose to publish data appropriate to the real-world usefulness.

To better test the real-world viability of a battery's cranking power a new method was devised. The Hawker energy family of batteries uses the PCA (pulse cranking amps) method. Pulse cranking amps (PCA) are measuring at 77 degrees for specific time durations less than the 30 second standard used to determine cranking amps. In short, PCA can be thought of as HCA (hot cranking amps) for a short period of time. This PCA number is always larger than the CCA, CA or HCA. Is this some sort of cheating to inflate the supposed performance of a battery? No. Pulse Cranking Amps (PCA) more closely represent the type of conditions we experience.

So, how does the Braille Auto Development B14115 battery rate to its peers in cranking amps?

To determine the comparison we will need to convert the Braille B14115 specs to the same standards as the others. We will need to convert the temperature that the braille is rated at to CCA. Starting with the braille’s 409 HCA at 80 degrees (this was rounded originally to 400) and switching the temperature to 0 degrees yields 250 CCA. Keep in mind that the competition publishes their CCA value at a base f 7.2 volts. The braille battery is rated at an engine computer friendly 11.5 volts. Converting the Braille test voltage of 11.5 volts down to 7.2 volts yields a CCA (cold cranking amp) of 360 CCA (357 approximated) at 0 degrees down to 7.2 volts for 30 seconds. Thus the Braille B14115 Battery has 360 CCA (cold cranking amps).