Dang battery

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I through the charger on it last night. Before that i took the jeep on a ride for about an hour. When I plugged the charger on to it last night it said the battery was at 49%. It is one of the new style smart chargers. I highly recommend them. i never made it out today to check on it. but I can see from the window it is charged and is maintaining it from the color of the light on it.

The clamps are tight and spotless. Absolutely no corrosion anywhere. I can't believe what they want for batteries now. It seems that I have 3 vehicles that have weird sizes and not all manufacturers offer a battery except their most expressive one they make.
FWIW- on a tractor site I belong to a very scientifically minded member came up with some interesting observations a couple years back. He went to Wally World and bought 2 batteries of the same group, CCA, etc. The only difference was the warranty. One was the value line and the other the Maxx line or whatever they call it. One was like $59.00 at the time and the other was $130 something. He weighed them, checked all the specs online and on the battery, did his best to count plates in the cells, everything he could think of. They both had the exact same case, down to the casting marks. Everything he could find indicated they were made at the same factory. The sole difference he could ascertain was one had a very limited warranty of about 30 days and the other had a 5 year warranty. Everything seems to say that the extra cost is that warranty- which isn't a "free replacement" anymore, it's pro-rated as I found out when a 3 year old battery with a 5 year warranty ended up costing me $60.00 plus to replace!

I bought 3 of the value line group 24's a couple years back. 2 are still working line, one died because I forgot it was in a machine that wa a hard starter and I ran it down and never got it charged back up. It froze, and that is usually a death sentence for a battery. I can't say I would be willing to pay twice or more what a battery costs just for a pro-rating warranty.
 

Rick H

Well-Known Member
I think the reason OEM batteries seem to last longer is because the first few years they have it easy. Brand new rig, no corrosion, good grounds and connections, new plugs good compression the whole rig is new clean and easy to run. After a few years of dirt, use, wear, and accumulated sediments in the fuel system they are a little tougher to manage. I start getting real antsy at about 5 years on a car/truck battery.

We all seem to run into those super batteries that seem to outlast everything else. I bought my boat new in 2009. It came with an off brand 1100 CCA crank battery that is still going strong. I do run dual batteries and a battery isolation switch, keep both of them on a battery minder year round. I have been through two "second" batteries, and worried about the third, but that oddball OEM that came with it is still going strong. I would pay double if I could guarantee another battery that lasts like that. Deep cycle trolling motor batteries are another matter entirely. I seem to get about 50 cycles and they start losing capacity rapidly. It doesn't seem to matter if I get the cheapo on sale battery or the high dollar super latest gizmo fiberglass matt Optimus. About 50 cycles and they are on the way out.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
There are dozens upon dozens of battery brands but only a handful of battery manufacturers. Those manufacturers build batteries to their customer's specs and they are not all alike, even if they come from the same manufacturer.
The name on the battery reflects the end retailer, not the manufacturer.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Bret and Rick - you both bring up excellent points.
The price of the battery may or may not, represent the quality of the battery. I am extremely lucky to have a good, locally owned battery shop nearby. The owner is straight shooter and has steered me to some good batteries that were high quality but not name brands. His honesty alone means I will go back and recommend other people to his shop.

I also agree that OEM batteries may have it easier and that could account for their better than average life span.

We've all seen those super unicorn batteries that outlive all expectations. I consider those batteries to be anomalies but I'm always happy when I run across one.

Over the years I've educated myself on the subject of lead acid batteries and I've improved my odds of success by doing that. There's a LOT of hype and marketing that goes into the sale of batteries. When you cut through that marketing and get down to facts, you can make slightly better decisions.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Haven't bought a Die Hard battery in 20-25 years. Use to be my first choice in replacements. They went to hell in a handbasket. That's when I switched to AC/Delco. O'Reilly's use to carry them.............not any more they switched to Super Start brand.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
It has been stated on this thread repeatedly (and accurately) that battery warranties are heavily pro-rated.
Those warranties are not designed to replace defective batteries, those warranties are marketing tools.

For decades, Sears utilized a warranty scheme to sell Diehard branded batteries. That scheme was designed to get the customer to return for a replacement battery and buy another Diehard battery. The overall profits from sales FAR eclipsed the TINY amount of money they occasionally had to pay out when a battery failed early. They made a profit even when they had to give up a little bit of the mark-up. It was a brilliant scheme.
Not only did Sears make money when they sold batteries and replacement batteries, they also got the customers back in their stores. The customer might buy other items while they were getting that replacement battery and the garage manager could try to sell other automotive repairs while the customer was in the store.
It wasn't all bad for the customer either. Sears had a nationwide network of retailers, so customers could often find a new battery quickly.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
I had a very nice charger at one time. Bought it at a store called Gemco in about 1983. They were sort of a predecessor to Price Club and Costco. Loaned that charger out to a friend of my dad's. A couple of years later I ran into him at the folks house and it was, "what charger? you never loaned me a charger."
Bought another decent charger about 5 years ago, a Century K3153-1. So far, so good. One of the things I like about it is you can buy the individual components and repair it yourself if need be.
No good deed ever goes unpunished.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Years ago, when at a suburban Detroit Sear's Automotive, they happened to be getting a battery delivery. Semi, making the delivery, had Exide logo on it's trailer.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
It's no secret that Sears never made a single battery. They contract with a mfg. to make them to their specs. Same with much of NAPA auto parts. What they sell with the NAPA name on it was built to their specs and sold by NAPA. NAPA specs almost always are higher standards than OEM. On some parts that's easy to see, take most any OEM brake rotor and set it next to a NAPA replacement rotor. The NAPA is about 1/3 thicker with more and thicker cooling ribs.

For many years Sears Die Hard batteries were much the same as NAPA specs are to this day. Once Sears established that reputation back in the 60's they raised prices and cut quality selling batteries on the reputation alone.
 

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
Well I thought it was a napa battery. It is a Farm and Fleet battery. They are made by East Penn. And it is over 2 yrs old by the manufactured date sticker on the side. Took it for a ride today. I'm going to let it sit over night and see how it reacts tomorrow. Thinking it is bad. The charger was on 87% after on it all morning.

Even then, it started right up.
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
The reading on the charger it dependent upon the air temperature the charger is sitting in.
 

Kevin Stenberg

Well-Known Member
The battery on my ATV (snow blower) froze in the 2 weeks I didn't use it. I went to the local L&M farmall store to get a new one. They had actually doubled in price over the last 2 years. 99$ plus tax
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
The battery on my ATV (snow blower) froze in the 2 weeks I didn't use it. I went to the local L&M farmall store to get a new one. They had actually doubled in price over the last 2 years. 99$ plus tax
A battery tender (automatic battery charger/maintainer) will cost you less than half of that replacement battery and extend the life of that battery. It's a good expenditure in my opinion.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Like I said, most of the batteries out there, the name brand anyway, are made by one of 3 companies. Johnson Controls, East Penn or Exide. East Penn makes NAPA batteries.

I think Rick makes a real good point on why new car batteries seem to last so well- they have a lot better chance than the one sitting in a vehicle with 225K on, with bad grounds, wires cracked and rubbed, after all that vibration, with an iffy starter that drawing lots of amps, etc. Makes sense.