Battery Construction: Elements

In the most common method of construction, a stack of alternate positive and negative plates are formed with separators between each positive and negative plate. The lugs of the negative plates are welded together as are those of the positive plates. The plate strap of each group of plates is used to connect them in series with the plate group of the next cell, or with a battery terminal.

The assembly resulting from placing one positive plate group and one negative plate group together, with separators is known as an element. There is one element per battery cell. More or larger plates per cell will increase plate surface area and increase capacity of the battery but will not affect the voltage output.