do all batteries SUCK?
- Thread starter DirtySCREW
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Enginerding, good coffee, and factual opinions.
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
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I got 8 years out of my old 2008 Ram 1500. Forget which brand it was. OEM from the factory.
Its like anything else. A retailer gives the manufacturer target longevity and price target. Them the been counters get engineering to make the battery close to warranty fail time. Its almost impossible to say who has the best battery. Its like buying Vaspar paint. They make three grades of the same paint. And for certain Lowe’s Home Improvement doesn’t purchase the more expensive grade for resale. Having said that I buy Walmart batteries because if a battery fails with the warranty period there is no hassle on the replacement. On my wife’s vehicle always NAPA product at higher prices because she’s not going to replace anything until it breaks.
I have a interstate within 3 miles of me. “Bless” were my go to until they became higher than Walmart’s. Plus they would never have a “ Blem” I needed.
I used to religiously go to that shop for batterys. Stopped for the same reason you did.
I may try one of the duracells Scott mentioned next time one of my dailys needs a battery.
As was mentioned above, someone noticed the battery weight going down and recognized this as a quality indicator. Most batteries are rated in cold cranking amps. They get high amperage by increasing the surface area of the exposed lead plates. Putting holes in them, making them into a mesh, etc. obviously the plates don’t go back to original shape with discharge charge cycles, leading to shorted cells more quickly.
Back when my wife was in the tie dye clothing business amd wanting to run a computer and CC processing machine in the middle of nowhere, I went to Deka in Winston Salem and got a solid plate 200 amp-hour battery. By god that thing was a monster that weighed a ton, but it would run an inverter with a moderate loan on it for 10+ hours and lasted many years.
There is a trade off between discharge capacity, amp hours, instantaneous current (cold cranking amps, and lifespan.
Back when my wife was in the tie dye clothing business amd wanting to run a computer and CC processing machine in the middle of nowhere, I went to Deka in Winston Salem and got a solid plate 200 amp-hour battery. By god that thing was a monster that weighed a ton, but it would run an inverter with a moderate loan on it for 10+ hours and lasted many years.
There is a trade off between discharge capacity, amp hours, instantaneous current (cold cranking amps, and lifespan.
whoa, there, Mister. You just sit right down till we tells ya you can go. We ain't done wit your thread yet!
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I replaced mine about a month ago; last one lasted ?? 7+ years? Think it was a walmart special. The beauty of the straight drive & Mountain Life: dead battery? pop the clutch, head for the nearest parts house...
OP
OP
I'm hoping my Johnson controls Interstate has higher Q.C. than the other 'brands' made by Johnson controls.
DS
........once upon a time i could buy a battery from most any auto parts store and i didn't have to worry about it for 5 years or more......and a battery was about $50-65 give or take. About 2012 or so the price of a battery doubled and the life span went down the pipe. Optima batteries used to be great and they went downhill.
I dont know all of the details.....but Johnson controls was on once a desireable place of employment and so was douglas battery but not now. It doesnt make any sense from the price increase to the quality of the product.
I just priced batteries for my vehicles because of this thread......holy WTF..........the price of a battery has about tripled in 10 or so years.
I dont know all of the details.....but Johnson controls was on once a desireable place of employment and so was douglas battery but not now. It doesnt make any sense from the price increase to the quality of the product.
I just priced batteries for my vehicles because of this thread......holy WTF..........the price of a battery has about tripled in 10 or so years.
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And where did all the American lead go during that time frame?
Swap it out 1 month before the warranty expires. They refund the price then you have e to buy a new one. They don't test them at warranty exchange.
I will bet this coincided with some corporate weenies selling out to China, making big bonuses, and increasing shareholder value.
In the short run at least.
Not anymore. They sold their battery business in 2019. It is now a company called Clarios.
I’m not sure what you’re asking…
In a perfect world you exercise the battery every day, or have it on a pulse trickle charger.
I used to have a 2 cylinder Onan stationary generator on an automatic transfer switch. The ATS kept the battery charged with a system that sent a 5 amp charge to the battery in 1/2 second pulses on about every seven seconds.
The starting batteries for that generator used to last around 9 years. It was exercised once a week, but the pulse charger kept the sulfite buildup on the lead plates at a minimum.
I used to have a 2 cylinder Onan stationary generator on an automatic transfer switch. The ATS kept the battery charged with a system that sent a 5 amp charge to the battery in 1/2 second pulses on about every seven seconds.
The starting batteries for that generator used to last around 9 years. It was exercised once a week, but the pulse charger kept the sulfite buildup on the lead plates at a minimum.
Midnight Goat
Active Member
Have noticed the same thing. My 05 GTO seems to eat up batteries every 2 - 3 years. Sometimes I get lucky in the warranty period other times not so much. Best battery I had went about 13 years on the 67 GTO though to be fair it spent most of it's life on a trickle charger.
Was reading through here and about to point this out. I believe they sold it in 2019.
I’ve had good luck with the reimagined Die Hard batteries. I don’t mind replacing batteries at the end of the warranty period. Small price to pay for peace of mind.
Indeed.
I run everstart max from Walmart, but I also keep my charging system and connections in good shape.
The battery in my truck all of a sudden started acting funny yesterday, slow starting, so I replaced it today. It was a Duralast Gold dated 3/13. Not too bad.
I put the charger on it yesterday and after several hours it was showing that it was charged, went out this morning and slow starting again. Had it checked and it was showing 10 volts and 130 CCA. Replaced it with the Duracell Ultra Gold battery with a 36 month free replacement warranty. I checked prices for Interstate, NAPA, Advance, AutoZone, O'reily, etc. and they were all within $10 based on the same size and CCA, but some only had 18 month warranty. The Walmart Maxx Everstart battery was a good bit cheaper, but I hate having to go to Walmart and deal with them.
I put the charger on it yesterday and after several hours it was showing that it was charged, went out this morning and slow starting again. Had it checked and it was showing 10 volts and 130 CCA. Replaced it with the Duracell Ultra Gold battery with a 36 month free replacement warranty. I checked prices for Interstate, NAPA, Advance, AutoZone, O'reily, etc. and they were all within $10 based on the same size and CCA, but some only had 18 month warranty. The Walmart Maxx Everstart battery was a good bit cheaper, but I hate having to go to Walmart and deal with them.
Waaaaaaay back in the old days, car batteries had an indefinite shelf life.
Why?
Because they were stored dry and the acid added when it was purchased.
That's no longer true today. So when you buy a battery, you want one with a very recent manufacturing date. This is stamped on the battery somewhere, and you may need to look up the battery date coding, because it's not standardized:
batteryglobe.com
This is not the same as the service date, which is typically a sticker on top of the battery which is dated for your purchase date. Nowadays, it's also tracked at the store you bought it at, like if you buy it at a NAPA store and take it in for replacement, they'll look it up in their system and see when it was sold.
The typical recommendation is to purchase a new battery that is within 6 months of it's date of manufacture.
This might be more of a problem in recent times because a lot of batteries are made overseas. And the whole COVID debacle is affecting everything from manufacturing to transportation. So definitely keep an eye on the manufacturing date to be sure you're within 6 months when you purchase one.
Why?
Because they were stored dry and the acid added when it was purchased.
That's no longer true today. So when you buy a battery, you want one with a very recent manufacturing date. This is stamped on the battery somewhere, and you may need to look up the battery date coding, because it's not standardized:
How To Read Car Battery Date Codes
It's useful to know how to read car battery date codes while diagnosing a car electrical problem. Our brief guide covers standard battery date codes.
batteryglobe.com
This is not the same as the service date, which is typically a sticker on top of the battery which is dated for your purchase date. Nowadays, it's also tracked at the store you bought it at, like if you buy it at a NAPA store and take it in for replacement, they'll look it up in their system and see when it was sold.
The typical recommendation is to purchase a new battery that is within 6 months of it's date of manufacture.
This might be more of a problem in recent times because a lot of batteries are made overseas. And the whole COVID debacle is affecting everything from manufacturing to transportation. So definitely keep an eye on the manufacturing date to be sure you're within 6 months when you purchase one.