Your Battery Brand and Price Topic is solved

[mecheng]

Read yesterday where you open the caps up on the 6 cells of a dead battery- drain the acid out, fill with a baking soda mixture, let it bubble, rinse this out real good, then add Alum and Epson Salt solution and charge, charge charge! Changing the liquid in the cells and converting it to basic pickling solution allows a battery to be rejuvenated. Evidently, charging up with a 2-3 Amp trickle charge for 24-48 hours and then "cycling the battery" by putting it on a load several times and then charging it again increases the cranking amps, restoring them to what they once were (if you're lucky). Of course, salt is highly corrosive so the plates in the battery aren't going to last like they normally would, but if this works, you might get another year or maybe even more out of a typical lead acid battery. Any thoughts on this? Anyone done this?

I've read about a simplier method but who knows how long the solution would last for and most importantly, I don't want to make the news for someone disfigured trying to save $100.

[cn90]

Two (2) years using Exide L3/48X battery ($94 at Menards or Home Depot) and still doing well.
Through 3 winters already.
I will periodically update the Exide battery condition.

[98v70dad]

Napa Gold International (group 48) ~$95. I bought it about three weeks ago to replace an Interstate Group 48 that lasted about 7 years. Seems pretty well made so far but time will tell.

Both of my NAPA Gold batteries died at half their rated life recently. I'm switching to something else next time. NAPA stood behind them and gave me a generous refund against a new battery but you cant give me enough of a discount to offset getting stranded (twice). Heat kills the batteries here in the South.

[mrbrian200]

There are just a few facilities making lead acid car batteries available to the US aftermarket. They're built to spec for different brands who will at times use different suppliers for different regions (aka interstate group 45 bought in CA may come from Johnson Controls, bought in GA may come from Exide or Delphi). The thing to understand here is that they are *built to spec* ordered by the brand/retailer. Any of the three main suppliers can build batteries to last 10-15 years but retailers don't order up to those specs because they make more money on shorter lived batteries to be replaced more often, and OEs these days are only concerned that the original battery lasts through the new vehicle warranty, and the majority of vehicle owners don't keep cars that long anyway. After some extensive research on this a year ago the advice/conclusion I came to was that there is no fast way to determine battery quality aside from a general correlation to the term of the included warranty.. The chemistry/metallurgy is a pretty exact science at this point: a 2 year battery will last 2-4, a 5 year battery (usually pro rated after 3) will last 4-6 no exceptions.
Both Volvos acquired to the driveway in the last year needed new batteries off the bat. Both took H8/Group 49
The S60 got a Duralast Gold (autozone) 5 year total warranty (3 years replacement + 2 year pro rated) H8-DLG
The XC90 got a Diehard Gold (Sears) model# 50849 3 years replacement, no pro-rated after that.
Because of the longer warranty the AZ battery is probably built to a higher spec. It also cost $30 more.
I'm pretty sure they're both from Johnson.

If you're unsure of the overall battery quality, don't try to figure out who made it as they're built to spec the differences between Johnson, Exide, or Delphi are minor. Look at the warranty. NAPA Gold (now known as 'Legend') group 49 premium non AGM goes pro rated after only 18 months, among the shortest of the premium battery brands. Which means they're specd comparable to most other brands' 2 year battery they slap a long pro rated warranty to entice you back into their store.

I'm passing on AGM batteries unless I buy a car whose charging system specifically calls for one. Take note AGMs have same, but sometimes shorter warranties than comparable premium traditional batteries, but cost substantially more. The Autozone AGM group 49 drops the extended +2 year pro rated period, for example. The SEARS AGM has the exact same warranty period as the premium basic battery.

[abscate]

Ive noted I've consistently gotten better lives on OEM batteries than replacements. My VW batteries went 10 years and 12 years which I've never gotten out of replacements.

[erikv11]

The bottom line...

Thanks for that good post. These points have been made before in this thread, but it takes a lot of reading and clicking to find.

Lots of details to consider if you want to, but my summary is to say just go with well priced battery, with a good warranty, from a quality vendor. Don't pay $140 or more for a battery, it's probably not worth it.

I'm still only buying car batteries from Costco or Sam's Club, when needed. Which fortunately is not very often.

[cuhfs]

Another topic I did not see spoken of... a used battery? I got one from a junkyard for around $25 for an extra extra car I have and its still going strong for my 2nd year. Maybe an option to gamble, especially if its for an "extra" car and not the daily driver. Or... for needed cost savings. Just an idea.

[erikv11]

Yeah, the same approach is posted somewhere early in this thread, by Ozark Lee. That's what he does too. And he keeps a large fleet of these things on the road. Seems another good way to go.

[mecheng]

Ive noted I've consistently gotten better lives on OEM batteries than replacements. My VW batteries went 10 years and 12 years which I've never gotten out of replacements.

Soooooo true! The OEM battery in my old Accord lasted 15yrs, I couldn't believe it. It was a Panasonic Made in Japan, never seen them in the store.

[mrbrian200]

The OEM battery in my old Accord lasted 15yrs, I couldn't believe it. It was a Panasonic Made in Japan, never seen them in the store.

No you can't get those here. Newer Hondas built in the US or Mexico probably don't have them either, nor can the dealer get hold of them.