Rob: A dry cell battery in a car?

Bjoern: The battery is a Westco dry battery

Could it be a battery patterned after the Optima line of Gel-Cell batteries? These batteries are not of the normal "lead plates immersed in liquid sulphuric acid" construction, but have spiral-wound plates sealed in an acid gel.

The "Red Top" model in particular is known for being able to produce phenomenal current flow, both on output and recharge. In fact, this battery has revolutionized my snow plowing. The electric lift on the snow plow pulls a huge amount of current, and even though I have a 200 ampere alternator, a conventional battery cannot absorb electricity anywhere near as quickly as it can discharge it. So with a conventional battery I am limited to about two hours of plowing before I run out of juice. The Red Top, even though it has only half the capacity, will let me plow indefinitely because it recharges so quickly.

tanstaafl.