Best Battery to Buy?????

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Be in position to get a replacement in middle of nowhere. I run a Walmart EverStart in my 55' for that reason. 24 hour access to a replacement in most cases. Good thread

 

I just replaced two batteries that came from O'Reilly. One was thirteen years old, the other was eight years old. I'd say I got my moneys worth. Having said that I think a lot of battery life is maintence and usage. I take care of my stuff pretty religiously, like most people that are on this site. The other thing is I live outside of town, so not a lot of short trips. When I start the car it gets run long enough to recharge the battery. But some of it just comes down to luck, any product has some duds and if you're unlucky you end up with one once in a while.

 

Ford motorcraft battery is amazing. I don’t know who makes them either but we had one in our work van for it seemed like forever with no problems

 

I usually buy the best battery they have that fits the rig I am putting it in cost be damned. For the last 39 years I have bought all of my vehicle batteries from a PNW chain tire store same as I buy my tires. I won't say that either their batteries or tires are the best but I can roll into any of their hundreds of stores and get taken care of if I have a battery go bad on the road (did that in La Grande Oregon at 07:30 in the morning on the way to Bonneville one year. Battery ****ped out, I limped in and they had me a new battery and on my way in under an hour. I walked next door and had breakfast and they had it ready to go when I got back.
I swapped out a battery yesterday on my OT rig that I had bought a year and a half ago and the thing croaked because the car sat too much.
Same outfit put a loaner tire on my ot car when I ruined one on a road trip, ordered a new tire because they didn't have one that matched in stock and had it sent to my home store here in town and when I had the new one put on they sent the loaner back to that store on company trucks. It's about the service an being taken care of.

 

erm, i think maybe i have a battery problem? nahh... it'll be fine!



OK, i can't blame the battery. an electronic load that was supposed to turn itself off didn't, and drew 1.5A for 18 hours... might have something to do with it.

this is (was) an AutoZone battery i bought, as USED, in 2015. the terminal voltage has been dropping for some time, this last week in the morning just over 10V, even after an hour of driving around with the alternator putting 13.5V or so on it.

when i got in the car this morning and turned the key, not even the gauges lifted. last time that happened someone stole the battery. at least this time i got the core charge for it at WalPhart.

i see no reason to buy fancy batteries. i try to be well-behaved myself, but once or twice a year i leave lights on or something dumb. the wiring's fine, the alt is fine, the engine starts in the first second of cranking, it's never that cold here (los angeles), so i dont see why i'd need a large or expensive chemistry battery.

though cheap batteries today are the price of a decent one two years ago. damn.

 

Buy the cheapest battery you can find. You will come out way ahead in the long run.

 

Had a problem with my daily driver, it would ruin a battery in a years time. So my NAPA guy told me they had a battery that was designed(catch phrase) to get stolen. It was sold to people with irrigation pumps and would often get stolen. It cost 75 dollars and had no warranty. Yet it was designed good.

 

We've all heard that most US batteries are made by 2-3 companies. Why would it matter which one you bought? Buy the cheapest.

 

Who makes Mopar batteries mine is 11 years old and still tests at 95 % ? This battery is mounted in the trunk away from heat. Most of my batteries lasted 6 years .

 

Gman0046, that's a good point. WTF knows who is the actual manufacturer of the thing with the brand sticker on it, especially the more ordinary commodity wet-plate types.

everyone here is having lots of different experiences; great brands with problems, years of service with **** product. i bet a close look at wiring and charging systems would tell us a lot. the devil's in the details.

 

There's a lot of truth in your post tomic.
And Gman0046, just because a company makes the same type products with different brands on the label doesn't mean they are all built to the same specs and QC.

 

Ive taken the same approach. If I need a replacement, its easy. 55ChevyFreak's comment now has me concerned.

After 3 optimas and problems , Im done with them

 

I had to go back and hunt for 55ChevyFreak's post to see what had indyips concern was.
And I sorta take what some anonymous minimum wage clerk at some unknown Walmart told to an anonymous "friend" about Walmart's future policy on battery warranties with a grain or two of salt

 

Problem is, after 11 years it's probably somebody completely different.

http://www.batteryfaq.org

Bill Darden maintains this site, the lead standard when it comes to battery websites. It lists everybody who manufactures batteries and the brand names under which they are sold. Hundreds of manufacturers. In the US there are three majors - Exide, Deka, and Johnson Controls.

What kills me is how they warranty a product where there is no control over how it is used, or even who is using it. Think of the average idiot out there. Little wonder a good battery is now pushing $200, I have to buy my battery, and then three or four other dumb ****'s battery too. It's clear from reading some of those other forums a certain type of person makes it their hobby to never purchase a car battery ever again after the initial purchase.

 

You are 100% correct Sir. I would sure like to know who really makes motorcraft.

 

Not trying to be a SA but was under the understanding that there are only a very few actual battery manufactures, but many different labels put on them by many different companies. So what,s the point?

 

The point is buy the cheapest battery. Its a no brainer unless you want to throw your money away for a specific brand name.

 

There is a Johnson Controls plant here in town. They make the plates that go in the batteries. Trust me when I say they make different grades of batteries. They make them to different specs as to what the company name will be on it. Wal-Mart is very low on the list. for quality. .

 

I get 5 years out of $50 walmart batteries....have you got 20 years out of $200 batteries?

Gman has a point.

 

This is what I`m told by people who work there. Also, cold weather is the hardest thing on a battery. Below freezing and negative zero temps. That`s when battery sales are at the highest point.

 

Bought a Wal Mart battery a couple years ago for my daily driver. Mine shelled out at 10 at night crossing across state lines on a long bridge. Got a battery at Wal Mart because it was the only place open. This winter my truck didn`t stat at 15 below. My wife`s van and daughter`s vehicle did. When it warmed up a few days later, it started.

 

32 Ford, flathead powered, Odyssey 680 battery.
Been great got the last 8 years. Kept on a Battery Minder

 

wow, that's a lot to digest! but the "improve battery life" section has a lot of hints that might help explain the wide range of experiences we're all having...

* even a few discharges to 10 volts greatly shortens life.
* high under-hood temps shorten life.
* rapid charging shortens life (100 amp alternators in cars that came with 35A?)

oh man it's like reading about diseases you could get from swimming in a pond or eating that sandwich. i think i'm gonna stop reading now and continue my happy life of ignorance! lol

 

I've had good luck with the Exide line from Tractor Supply. Especially their 6V versions which I put in all the big cl***ics I do. Have one in the Clipper, no tender, sat in some severe cold this season, fired the car up with no trouble (although it did turn a wee bit slow, heavy oil, etc).

 

I was pretty impressed with the Auto Zone Duralast batteries. My mom had one in her van for way longer then batteries usually last, and it think for a while one of the covers came off and had a piece of tape on it.

 

Cold weather is when they die, when they choke, but it's actually hot weather/high temperatures that ruins them, so I'd tend to disagree with that. Self-discharge, -----> Sulfation, is accelerated at higher temps.

Cold weather increases the current requirements (sludgy crankcase oil mostly) and lower temperatures limit the current a battery can supply. So, the first cold snap down to around Zero - line out the door at NAPA.

In terms of storage and longetivity, colder temperatures are preferred. This is why batteries in northern climes can last several years longer than say, Florida or Arizona.

Vibration is the other key. Stationary lead-acid batteries can last 20 years, but I've rarely heard of anyone getting over 10 years with a conventional lead-acid car battery.

 

Have had both, high dollar and cheap, the life appeared to be the same before tenders used. IMO, if your rod/car sits, use Deltron Battery Tenders, I have some 10 years old now. On my daily drivers, I always buy the higher CCA (cold cranking amps) as It gets cold here in Wisconsin and same deal, never saw any life difference between expensive/cheap, AND agree with having standard battery type/size, so when it quits, any parts store has the replacement on the shelf ready to go.

 

Don't like using electrical powered devices like battery tenders on cars that are unattended for long periods of time. For years I've let batteries run down over the winter and charge them up as needed and have never had a premature battery failure.

 

You're shortening the life of conventional batteries and issuing the death sentence for AGM batteries with this technique.

 

DOM, I haven't had any premature battery failures yet. I'd rather have piece of mind not having a 110V ignition source plugged in that could possibly burn my shop down.