(ET) BCI: Battery Council International

["Max Hall" <maxo iname com>]

Excellent, Dave. Thanks.

At least there *IS* a standard!

-Max Hall
-maxo iname com
-Plywood Guy, Scooters, and what-all: http://www.maxmatic.com

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BCI is BIC spelled sideways, so it's related to the pens and lighters.
<groan>

BCI stands for Battery Council International.  They define standards for
storage batteries.  Dimensions, for example:  that's why a group 24
battery can always replace another group 24 battery.  They also define
how certain performance figures are to be measured and specified, so that
(for example) cold cranking amps and reserve capacity are always numbers
that you can use to compare different brands of batteries.

BCI defines a standard method of measuring cycle life.  I don't know the
details, but if a battery manufacturer specifies cycle life without
stating that it is in accordance with the BCI measurement standard, that
figure is not directly comparable with anybody else's (sigh).