Your Battery Brand and Price Topic is solved

Post by **confused_al** » 22 Nov 2010, 17:27

FYI
"Most auto batteries are made by just three manufacturers, Delphi, Exide, and Johnson Controls Industries. Each makes batteries sold under several different brand names. Delphi makes ACDelco and some EverStart (Wal-Mart) models. Exide makes Champion, Exide, Napa, and some EverStart batteries. Johnson Controls makes Diehard (Sears), Duralast (AutoZone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco), Motorcraft (Ford), and some EverStarts." - Comsumer Report

http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.aspx? ... id=4023696

Post by **cn90** » 22 Nov 2012, 05:49

I have 3 cars at home and they are all "red" Duralast.
Autozone carries 3 lines of product: Everlast (low quality), Red Duralast ($95 or so) and Gold Duralast ($110 or so).

This is an update for Nov. 2012:

In the past Red Duralast has 2yr warranty, followed by prorated warranty. This is no longer the case.
All you have now is 2yr warranty and done.

As of Nov 2012, the only product with longer warranty is Gold Duralast.
It is covered by 5yr warranty.

PS: FWIW, my 2007 Honda Odyssey Red Duralast battery fails at 2.5 years!

Post by **jimmy57** » 22 Nov 2012, 08:03

For now Sam's Club still has free period plus pro-rated warranties if that is something you want. Good prices at Sam's too.

Charging battery twice a year remains an easy way to extend life. Alternators have improved charging on newer vehicles but they still do not equal a battery charger charging for reversing sulphation. This is especially true on seasonal things like lawn mowers, boats, motorcycles. My riding lawnmower has its original battery at 9 years of age. Farm tractor orig battery lasted 10 years.

Post by **rspi** » 22 Nov 2012, 08:49

So a solid 300+ mile drive will not charge the battery as good as the one in the garage?

Post by **jimmy57** » 22 Nov 2012, 09:05

NO!
The alternator has too much amperage capacity. The voltage can't be high enough to make the chemical reaction that dissolves sulphur off the plates to reform the sulphuric acid without also having too much amperage. A battery charger will have 14.5 + V with just a few amps. This the healthiest way for the battery to be charged.
The alternator will have the higher voltage output for a few minutes on older cars. The VR has an internal temp sensor and the charge falls with higher temp.
Volvos 05 and later have a "smart" charging strategy using either measured or inferred battery temp and some other variables to decide the charge voltage level. This system goes further towards charging battery back from discharges of leaving lights on, listening to radio with key on, etc. but it still is not as good as 24 hours on lower charge rate with a battery charger.
I'm only talking about one of the inexpensive 2/10/50A chargers found at many outlets.

Post by **jblackburn** » 22 Nov 2012, 10:27

I'd recommend avoiding Duralast and DieHards.

Post by **rspi** » 23 Nov 2012, 05:39

cn90 wrote:I have 3 cars at home and they are all "red" Duralast.
Autozone carries 3 lines of product: Everlast (low quality), Red Duralast ($95 or so) and Gold Duralast ($110 or so).

This is an update for Nov. 2012:

In the past Red Duralast has 2yr warranty, followed by prorated warranty. This is no longer the case.
All you have now is 2yr warranty and done.

As of Nov 2012, the only product with longer warranty is Gold Duralast.
It is covered by 5yr warranty.

Last Friday I took a red Duralast battery back to AutoZone for a lady and was given a $71 credit on her warranty. Does the New warranty time line only apply to new battery purchases?

Post by **rspi** » 23 Nov 2012, 05:44

jimmy57 wrote:Charging battery twice a year remains an easy way to extend life. Alternators have improved charging on newer vehicles but they still do not equal a battery charger charging for reversing sulphation. This is especially true on seasonal things like lawn mowers, boats, motorcycles. My riding lawnmower has its original battery at 9 years of age. Farm tractor orig battery lasted 10 years.

So I should actually take the battery out of my car and put it on a charger twice per year? Wow, didn't know that. I guess I'll learn that radio code one way or another. Wait, I don't think I can do that.

I 1. Don't have a charger.
2. Don't have a garage. Charging a car battery inside of an apartment is a bad idea right?
3. Can't charge it on the doorway stoop. They steel tires right off your car where I live, I know they'll take a charged battery.

That would leave one of two of my options to be mainly, take the battery to some auto parts store for a free charge and trust that they wouldn't destroy it. Or, I can visit a friends place and charge it while I shoot the breeze with them for an hour or so.

Post by **jimmy57** » 23 Nov 2012, 07:19

I never remove the battery to charge it for this purpose.

The warranty for the battery at time of purchase still applies.

Post by **cn90** » 23 Nov 2012, 09:18

On the topic of solar charger, many years ago, I used to own a 1983 BMW 735i, if I did not drive for 3 weeks, the battery would discharge from parasitic draw.
I bought a Solar Charger that plugged into the cigarette socket and park the car outside. The battery never discharged again b/c the solar charger trickle-charged the battery.

The BMW cigarette socket is always hot, even with key out.
The Volvo cigarette socket is only hot when key is in position I or II, making it impossible to charge it this way, unless one hard-wires it directly to the battery.

Your Battery Brand and Price Topic is solved

Re: Your Battery Brand and Price