DATE CODES UNMASKED

ESA

Consulting Associates, Inc.

Stationary Battery Information

Date Codes Unmasked – 2015 Edition

Page 1

DATE CODES UNMASKED

Developed by

Marco W. Migliaro, PE, Life Fellow IEEE

Copyright © 2005, 2007-15 by Marco W. Migliaro.

All rights reserved.

Graphics by

CA Rhodes visit: stationarybatterytraining.com

for updates

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

2

FOREWORD

This presentation has been developed as a aid to those wishing to determine the date of manufacture or warranty date for a cell or battery. Manufacturers sometimes code dates using letters and/or numbers that are not easily understood by those responsible for the battery system.

This presentation attempts to provide those persons with a guide when needed to determine the date code. Date codes are sometimes changed by the battery manufacturer and there is no guaranty that the information needed is contained in the presentation; however, it may help in ultimately identifying a date code, either with help from the battery manufacturer or using the information presented to interpret what one observes. The information contained in this presentation does not include every battery type or manufacturer.

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 2

TERMINAL OBJECTIVE

Upon completion of this training, the participant will obtain:

An overview of the typical methods used by battery manufacturers to identify the date of manufacture, warranty or both for stationary batteries

3

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

4

DATE CODES

 Are used by battery manufacturers to establish a date of manufacture for their products

▬ Some manufacturers have two date codes one representing the warranty date and the other the manufacturing date

 Letters are sometimes used to represent the month or year in a date code

▬ Manufacturers may omit the letters “I” and “O” from the dates codes to avoid confusion with the numbers “1” and “0”

▬ One manufacturer that omits the letter “I” for the month does not omit it for the year, but does omit the letters “O”, “Q” & “V” for the year

 Typically, a date code system should not allow the same characters to repeat for at least 10 years, based on industry standards related to date coding

▬ If the battery is manufactured at more than one facility, the date code should also identify the facility of manufacture

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 3

5

DATE CODES

(continued)

 Date codes may be located on the cell (or monobloc) cover, cell (or monobloc) post, cell (or monobloc) nameplate or a sticker on the cell (or monobloc). For some cells (or monoblocs) the date code may be “heat stamped” or may be applied by a “dot matrix” printer on the side of the cell (or monobloc) cover

 If a date code cannot be found, or if found, cannot be interpreted, one may always contact the battery manufacturer for guidance. Battery manufacturers may change their date coding system or may sometimes accidently reverse the date code, so if in doubt check with the battery manufacturer

 Battery manufacturers will request the battery date code if a warranty claim is filed

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODES

(continued)

 In the presentation, the letters M, D, W and Y, are used to represent month, day, week and year, respectively

▬ For example MMYYYY, would represent a date code with a two character month and a four character year and WWYY would represent a two character week and a two character year

6

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 4

7

WHY IS KNOWING THE DATE CODE

IMPORTANT?

 It is important to know how old the battery is when inspected, since some of the conditions that may be noted can be age related or related to a specific period of manufacturing and this information can be useful when evaluating the information gathered during the visual inspection

▬ For example, a large quantity of sediment in a 15 year old vented lead-acid battery may not be a concern, but the same amount of sediment in a 2 year old vented

▬ lead-acid battery would be of concern

Similarly, a manufacturer may have had an issue with post leaks for cells manufactured between January

2002 and June 2003

 It is also important to know the date code to determine if a warranty claim can be made

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

8

DATE CODE 1 – C&D VENTED CELLS

 The date code is located on the cell nameplate

 The code is MM/YY

(May 2011 for this cell)

 The letter that follows represents the plant the cell was manufactured at (A=Attica, IN)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 5

9

DATE CODE 2 – C&D VENTED CELLS

 The date code is located on the cell nameplate


(March 2005 for this cell)

 The letter that follows represents the plant the cell was manufactured at

(A=Attica, IN)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODE 1 – C&D LIBERTY 1000s

 The date code is on the nameplate

 The code is MM-YY

(January 2002 for this battery)

10

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 6

DATE CODE 2 – C&D LIBERTY 1000s

 The date code is on the nameplate following the word ship

 The code is MM-YY

(October 1999 for this battery)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

11

DATE CODE 1 – C&D LIBERTY AT

 The date code is on a sticker on the cell cover

 The code is YMMDD where the year is represented by the letters in the alphabet Y=2004 (December 8 and November 29, 2004 for these cells)

12

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 7

DATE CODE 2 – C&D LIBERTY AT

 The date code is on the nameplate

 The code is MM/YYYY


13

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

14

DATE CODE 1 – C&D DYNASTY

The warranty date code is normally at least one month after the date of manufacture

 There are two date codes on these batteries

 The warranty date code is on a label the cover MMYY May

2012 for this battery

 The date of manufacture is located on the side of the cover and is the first five characters (YYMDD) March

21, 2012 for this battery

▬ A to M, excluding I, are used for the months

January to December

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 8

DATE CODE 2 – C&D DYNASTY

TELECOM

 The warranty date code is under the bar code on a label located on the cover

 The date code is MMYY

(October 2007 for this battery)

15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

16

DATE CODE 1 – ENERSYS VENTED

CELLS

* In some instances the date code may be a three or four character code located above a bar coded serial number for the cell, with the last two characters being the date code

 The date code is in the first four characters of the cell’s serial number*

 The first two are the plant the cell was manufactured at (O5=Sumter, SC)

 The next two are the YM

(W=1998, C=March)

 EnerSys uses A to L, including I for the months

 The year starts back at A once Z is used (i.e., 2001)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 9

17

DATE CODE 2 – ENERSYS VENTED

CELLS

*In some instances the date code may be a three or four character code located above the bar coded serial number for the cell, with the last two characters being the date code

YM, following the code on the previous slide

 The date code is the first six characters of the cell’s serial number*

 The first two are the year, the second two are the month and the last two are the day of the month (July 16, 2001 for this monobloc)

 The next two are the shift and factory where the cell was manufactured

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

18

DATE CODE 3 –

ENERSYS VENTED CELLS

 The date code is now on a separate sticker and is straightforward MM/YYYY

 The first two are the month

(February and November in these examples)

 The next four are the year

(2004 in these examples)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 10

19

DATE CODE 5 – ENERSYS - EU VENTED

CELLS

 The date code is located on the blue ring on the negative post

 The ring has a large twodigit underlined number on it representing the year and the numbers 1 to 12 around the ring represent the months of the year

 There is a “.” molded in the cover opposite the negative polarity mark and the month of manufacture is placed next it. In this instance the date code is November 2011

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

20

DATE CODE 1 – ENERSYS VRLA CELLS

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

 The date code is in the first four characters of the cell’s serial number located on the steel module frame

 The first two are the plant the cell was manufactured at

(O5=Sumter, SC)

 The next two are the YM

(W=1998, J=October)

 EnerSys uses A to L, including I for the months

 The year, represented by the letters A to Z, starts back at

A once Z is used (i.e., 2001)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 11

DATE CODE 2 –

ENERSYS VRLA CELLS

 The date code is now on a separate sticker and is straightforward

MM/YYYY

 The number before the

“/ or –” is the month

(June and March in these examples)

 The four after the “/ or

–” are the year (2006 and 2007 in these examples)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

21

DATE CODE – ENERSYS POWER SAFE V

VRLA BATTERY

 The date code is on a separate sticker on top of the jar near the cell positive terminal and is straightforward

MMYYYY (December

2009 for this battery)

22

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 12

DATE CODE – ENERSYS POWER SAFE

Vb VRLA BATTERY

 The date code is on a separate sticker located on the battery nameplate label and is straightforward

MM/YYYY (March 2012 for this battery)

23

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODE – ENERSYS TYPE SBS

VRLA BATTERY – TOP CONNECTED

 The date code is on a separate sticker between the cell terminals and is straightforward Month-YY

(July 2007 for this battery)

24

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 13

DATE CODE – ENERSYS TYPE HX VRLA

BATTERY – TOP CONNECTED

 The date code is on a separate sticker near the cell positive terminal and is straightforward

MMYYYY (September


25

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODE – ENERSYS TYPE HX VRLA

BATTERY – FRONT CONNECTED

 The date code is on a separate sticker near the cell positive terminal on the top of the battery and is straightforward MMYYYY

(November 2009 for this battery)

26

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 14

27

DATE CODE – ENERSYS CYCLON ® 1

 The date code is a group of 5 numbers located on the bottom of the cell container, the first two numbers are the year and the remaining three, the day of the year YYDDD

(the 248 th day of

2013 for this cell)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

28


 The date code is on a sticker on the monobloc cover and is straightforward

MMYYYY

(September 2006 for this battery)

 For individual cells the date code is located on the bottom of the cell container

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 15

29


 The date code is located on the side of the plastic container and is a group of 5 numbers, the first two numbers are the year and the remaining three, the day of the year YYDDD (the 22 nd day of 2013 for this battery)

 For individual cells the date code is located on the bottom of the cell container

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODE – GNB VENTED CELLS

30

 The date code is stamped on a positive post

 The code is YYMM (May 2002 and January 2005 for these cells)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA



DATE CODE 1 – GNB ABSOLYTE

 The date code is stamped on the steel module and consists of a three letter code

▬ The second and third letters are MY (November 2000 and

June 2006 for these modules)

▬ A to M, excluding I, are used for the months January to

December; however, I is used for the year

▬ The first letter is the plant the module and cells in it were manufactured at

▬ The year, represented by the letters A to Z, excluding O, Q

& V starts back at A once Z is used (i.e., 1997 & 2020)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

31


Page 16

32

DATE CODE 2 – GNB ABSOLYTE

 The date code is on a label placed on the steel module and consists of a three letter code

▬ The second and third letters are MY (March 2008 for this modules)

▬ A to M, excluding I, are used for the months January to

December; however, I is used for the year

▬ The first letter is the plant the module and cells in it were manufactured at

The date code is a stamp or label on the side of the steel module

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

▬ The year, represented by the letters A to Z, excluding O, Q

& V starts back at A once Z is used (i.e., 1997 & 2020)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 17

33

DATE CODE – GNB SPRINTER

With a single digit for the year one may need to verify the installation date to determine the year (e.g., 1 could be 1991 or 2001)

 The date code is on a label on the side of the plastic container

 The code is shown two ways

▬ The first is a letter and number representing MY

(December 2001 for this example), where A to M, excluding I, are used for the months January to

December

▬ The second is the month, followed by numbers representing MM-Y

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODE – GNB MARATHON

 The date code on this front connected battery is on a label on the rear of the plastic container

 The code is shown two ways

▬ The first is a letter and number representing MY (December 2001 for this example), where A to M, excluding I, are used for the months

January to December

▬

▬

The second is the month, followed by numbers representing YY

With a single digit for the year one may need to verify the installation date to determine the year (e.g., 9 could be 1999 or 2009)

34

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 18

DATE CODE – BAE

35

 The date code is on a label located on the cell cover.

The MMYY for the date code are punched on the label

 For this battery the date code is December 2003

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODE – EAST PENN UNIGY I

 The date code is on the nameplate on the battery container

 The code is YYMM

(February 2003 for this cell)

36

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 19

37

DATE CODE – EAST PENN UNIGY II

 The date code is on the nameplate on the steel module


(June 2003 for this module)

 There is also a date code on the side of the steel module (indicating when the module was manufactured)

 The code is WW YY

(week 22 of 2003 for this module)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODE – EAST PENN TELECOM

 The date code is on the nameplate on the battery container

 The code is MMYY

(September 2004 for this cell)

38

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 20

DATE CODE – EAST PENN FRONT

CONNECTED

 The date code is on a label beneath the nameplate on the battery container

 The code is MMYYYY

(May 2009 for this battery)

39

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

40

DATE CODE 1 – FIAMM/ALCAD/SAFT

VENTED CELLS

 The date code is stamped on the cell cover and consists of a letter followed by three numbers

▬ The first letter represents the year (H is 2001, 65 th day)

▬ The letters used are based on the Italian alphabet, A to Z, which does not use the letters

J, K, W, X and Y and starts back at A once Z is used (i.e.,

2014)

▬ The three numbers represent the day of the year (i.e., 1 to

365, or 1 to 366 for leap years) that the cell was manufactured on

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

▬ The other letter(s) are the cell type and manufacturing plant

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 21

41


VENTED CELLS

 The date code is on a label on the cell cover and consists of a letter followed by three numbers

▬ The first letter represents the year (T is 2011, 204 th day; U is

2012, 73 rd day)

▬ The letters used are based on the Italian alphabet, A to Z, which does not use the letters J,

K, W, X and Y and starts back at A once Z is used (i.e., 2014)



©MWM 2005, 2007-15


42

DATE CODE – FIAMM/ALCAD/SAFT

MONOLITE VRLA BATTERY

 The date code using a dot matrix printer is placed on the cell cover and consists of a letter followed by three numbers

▬ The first letter represents the year (O is 2006, 124 th day)

▬ The letters used are based on the Italian alphabet, A to Z, which does not use the letters J, K, W,

X and Y and starts back at A once Z is used (i.e., 2014)

▬ The three numbers represent the day of the year (i.e., 1 to 365, or

1 to 366 for leap years) that the cell was manufactured on


©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 22

43


MONOLITE VRLA BATTERY

 The date code is on a label on the cell cover and consists of a letter followed by three numbers

▬ The first letter represents the year (T is 2011, 295 th day)

▬ The letters used are based on the Italian alphabet, A to Z, which does not use the letters

J, K, W, X and Y and starts back at A once Z is used (i.e.,

2014)



©MWM 2005, 2007-15


DATE CODE – HOPPECKE

 The date code is on a label on the cell cover, separate from the cell nameplate



44

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 23

DATE CODE – HBL VRLA CELLS

 The date code is on a sticker affixed to the side of the steel module and is

DD.MM.YY (October

2, 2006 for this battery)

45

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

INTERSTATE VRLA BATTERY – TOP

CONNECTED

 The date code is on a separate sticker near the cell positive terminal and is straightforward

MMYYYY (February


46

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 24

MIDAC/ALCAD/SAFT ETERNACELL

VENTED CELLS

 The date code is a four digit number on the side of the cell cover just above the jar-tocover seal and is

MMYY (June 2010 for this cell)

47

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODE 1 – NORTHSTAR


 The code is straightforward and is

MMYYYY (August


48

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 25

DATE CODE 2 – NORTHSTAR


 The code is straightforward and is

DDMYY (11 August


49

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

50

DATE CODE 1 – TAB BATTERY (MTI

TECHNOLOGIES OR ALPHA)

 The date code is on a label located on the cell cover. The

DDMMYYYY for the date code are indicated (i.e.,

“blacked out”) on the label

 For these cells the date code are

December 15, 2003 and September 16,

2013

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 26

DATE CODE 2 – TAB BATTERY (MTI

TECHNOLOGIES)

 The date code is heat stamped as YYMDD or

YYMMDD on the cell cover.

 For this cell the date code is June 18, 2001

51

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODE – TYCO

 The date code is on the nameplate on the steel module

 The code is YYMM (June

2002 for this module)

52

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 27

DATE CODE – WERKER

 The date code is on a label on the end of the plastic container

 The date code consists of a letter and number representing MY (April

1999 and March 2000 for this example)

▬ With a single digit for the year one may need to verify the installation date to determine the year

(e.g., 0 could be

1990 or 2000)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

53

DATE CODE 1 – ALCAD NiCd

 The date code is on the cell container


(July 2003 for this cell)

54

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 28

DATE CODE 2 – ALCAD NiCd




55

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODE 1 – SAFT NiCd




56

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 29

DATE CODE 2 – SAFT NiCd

 The date code is on a label located on the side of the cell container


(December 1994 and November

2008 for these cells)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

57

58

DATE CODE – VARTA NiCd

 The date code is located on the bottom of cell container


(February 2002 for this cell)

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

ESA




Page 30

DATE CODE 1 – NIFE NiCd

59


 The code is YQ, where a random letter was used for the year and the letters N, I, F, E were used to represent the

1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd and 4 th quarters, respectively. The letter Y was used for 1998, so this cell was manufactured during the 3 rd quarter of 1988. Since the letter representing the year is random, the manufacturer would have to be consulted in any case

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

©MWM 2005, 2007-15

DATE CODES UNMASKED

DATE CODES UNMASKED

Related documents

Study collections

Products

Support

DATE CODES UNMASKED

DATE CODES UNMASKED

Related documents

Study collections

Add this document to collection(s)

Add this document to saved

Suggest us how to improve StudyLib