Right, but the plates are really a wire mesh with a paste of active
material applied to the mesh. One of the failure modes of lead acid
batteries is for some or most of the active material paste to separate from
the mesh and no longer be electrically connected to it or even to fall to
the bottom of the cell.

I would actually think that VRLA (both gel and AGM) would be more robust to
shock and vibration because the stack of plates and separators is inserted
into the case under some mechanical pressure.

On Wed, Jun 14, 2017 at 11:46 AM, Van Horn, David <
david.vanhorn@backcountryaccess.com> wrote:

> The plates in flooded cells pretty much just hang there, though the whole
> battery design for automotive is designed to optimize tolerance for heat,
> cold, and vibration, as well as "cold cranking amps" at the expense of
> amp-hours.
>
>
>
--=20
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