Battery mfg date

[Donald]

I bought a NAPA AGM battery for my Subaru. It's made by Deka. The date code was 2/19. Seems odd, February is 13 days away. Deka responded that their mfg facility puts the next month stickers on batteries starting on the 15th of prev month.

Not a big deal, it's a very fresh battery that was mfg in the last few days.

I do not get the reasoning however. But magazines send you April issue in March and you can buy a 2019 car in 2018.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

The Sticker Date must be the Date the Battery leaves the Warehouse and goes out into the World.

Just like our Birthday is the day we're born, not the day we're conceived.

 

[Chris142]

I have a Deka Intimidator in my Jeep. 26 months old and bad

 

[user52165]

It's the date etched the case, look for it - not the sticker, which is easily switched.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by Donald
I bought a NAPA AGM battery for my Subaru. It's made by Deka. The date code was 2/19. Seems odd, February is 13 days away. Deka responded that their mfg facility puts the next month stickers on batteries starting on the 15th of prev month.

I believe Johnson Controls does something similarly. I saw batteries on the shelf at Walmart with an "11/18" sticker on it. When I was looking at them, it was the first week of November or maybe barely into the 2nd week. I doubt that their distribution system is that efficient and fast !

Originally Posted by Donald
Not a big deal, it's a very fresh battery that was mfg in the last few days.

No way it's just a few days old. They aren't shipping individual batteries to individual NAPA stores one-by-one. They will ship them by the pallet load, possibly to individual stores (with high volume battery sales) or to a NAPA warehouse. From there, NAPA moves smaller quantities to their stores.

Now I wonder if "2/19" means week 2 of 2019. Even that is stretching it though.

 

[Nukeman7]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson

...I saw batteries on the shelf at Walmart with an "11/18" sticker on it. When I was looking at them, it was the first week of November or maybe barely into the 2nd week. I doubt that their distribution system is that efficient and fast !


Unless they have changed processes, WalMart still gets the battery cases shipped to them dry. The acid is added and date stickers are applied at the store. I witnessed this ~4 years ago while waiting to get tires mounted by their Tire and Lube Center.

 

[Hall]

That could explain it plus it's going to be a lot cheaper shipping cost.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Donald
I bought a NAPA AGM battery for my Subaru. It's made by Deka. The date code was 2/19. Seems odd, February is 13 days away. Deka responded that their mfg facility puts the next month stickers on batteries starting on the 15th of prev month.

I believe Johnson Controls does something similarly. I saw batteries on the shelf at Walmart with an "11/18" sticker on it. When I was looking at them, it was the first week of November or maybe barely into the 2nd week. I doubt that their distribution system is that efficient and fast !

Originally Posted by Donald
Not a big deal, it's a very fresh battery that was mfg in the last few days.

No way it's just a few days old. They aren't shipping individual batteries to individual NAPA stores one-by-one. They will ship them by the pallet load, possibly to individual stores (with high volume battery sales) or to a NAPA warehouse. From there, NAPA moves smaller quantities to their stores.

Now I wonder if "2/19" means week 2 of 2019. Even that is stretching it though.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Donald
I bought a NAPA AGM battery for my Subaru. It's made by Deka. The date code was 2/19. Seems odd, February is 13 days away. Deka responded that their mfg facility puts the next month stickers on batteries starting on the 15th of prev month.

I believe Johnson Controls does something similarly. I saw batteries on the shelf at Walmart with an "11/18" sticker on it. When I was looking at them, it was the first week of November or maybe barely into the 2nd week. I doubt that their distribution system is that efficient and fast !

Originally Posted by Donald
Not a big deal, it's a very fresh battery that was mfg in the last few days.

No way it's just a few days old. They aren't shipping individual batteries to individual NAPA stores one-by-one. They will ship them by the pallet load, possibly to individual stores (with high volume battery sales) or to a NAPA warehouse. From there, NAPA moves smaller quantities to their stores.

Now I wonder if "2/19" means week 2 of 2019. Even that is stretching it though.


I emailed Deka and they said they start using the 2/19 sticker on 1/15/2019. I got the battery on 1/17/2019. They are made in RI and I am in NY on MA border so not very far in miles. The NAPA store had to order it from their warehouse. Those are the facts. Maybe their procedure at Deka is to start using the next months sticker on the 15th but they ran out of 1/19 stickers on the 10th. Even if it's a couple of weeks old, I am happy at it's age.

 

[CharBaby]

Yeah, you got a fresh battery! : )

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by Donald
I emailed Deka and they said they start using the 2/19 sticker on 1/15/2019. I got the battery on 1/17/2019. They are made in RI and I am in NY on MA border so not very far in miles. The NAPA store had to order it from their warehouse. Those are the facts. Maybe their procedure at Deka is to start using the next months sticker on the 15th but they ran out of 1/19 stickers on the 10th. Even if it's a couple of weeks old, I am happy at it's age.

I think it's relatively safe to say your battery was manufactured in January, yes. Otherwise, where it's made, where you live, etc isn't as much a factor as you think. This isn't Amazon with Prime shipping !

Is there also a date etched into the battery case ?

 

[atikovi]

Yesterday I bought a Walmart battery with a 1/19 sticker but it was all the way in the back with a bunch of 10/18 batteries in front of it. My battery tester says it's defective. Should have checked while I was there.

 

[bbhero]

Ahhh East Penn is in Pennsylvania.... Not hardly a trip to Albany area..... And really not too far from my area either.... A simple 7 hr drive from East Penn to my area.

 

[Nick1994]

Yeah I've seen time traveling batteries before too.

It's like selling 2019 cars in the summer of 2018. Sounds stupid to me.

 

[JHZR2]

I recently got an exide for my truck from HD. I like it. They provide the manufacture date and the ship date, then you pull stickers to define the in service date.

If Deka does it like that, I'd say so long as it's consistent, it's all good. I don't know if warranty defaults to manufacture date if you don't have papers, but if so, it buys you an extra month.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted by JHZR2
I recently got an exide for my truck from HD. I like it. They provide the manufacture date and the ship date, then you pull stickers to define the in service date.

If Deka does it like that, I'd say so long as it's consistent, it's all good. I don't know if warranty defaults to manufacture date if you don't have papers, but if so, it buys you an extra month.


Really, an Exide?

 

[bonjo]

Recently I have noticed manufacturers getting cagey about DOM. Why??

Is it because they insist batteries are charged when not in use once a month on the one hand knowing their resellers do not do that when the batteries are sitting on the shelf or stored in the warehouse? (I am excluding those which are activated at the point of sale)

WOuld be good like tyre regulations where date & month of production is stamped on every tyre

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by bonjo
WOuld be good like tyre regulations where date & month of production is stamped on every tyre


Umm, they are. How do you think they check warranty eligibility?

 

[DaleRider]

Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by bonjo
WOuld be good like tyre regulations where date & month of production is stamped on every tyre


Umm, they are. How do you think they check warranty eligibility?




By the date you purchased the battery, which is the case with every single battery I've ever bought. The warranty has never been determined by the build date on the battery, only the purchase date on my receipt.

And those stickers.....they can be rather wrong to assume that's when the battery was manufactured. JC, for instance, will recharge batteries they have in inventory prior to shipping of they've been sitting 6 months. After recharging, a new date sticker is put on the battery, which makes it a very unreliable way to assure you've got a "freshly made" battery.

The only true way to figure out when a particular battery was manufactured is to be able to decipher the burned in codes on the battery's case, which cannot be changed. But, most people don't have access to what the codes on the case actually decipher to, so that info tends to be ignored.

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by DaleRider
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by bonjo
WOuld be good like tyre regulations where date & month of production is stamped on every tyre


Umm, they are. How do you think they check warranty eligibility?




By the date you purchased the battery, which is the case with every single battery I've ever bought. The warranty has never been determined by the build date on the battery, only the purchase date on my receipt.

And those stickers.....they can be rather wrong to assume that's when the battery was manufactured. JC, for instance, will recharge batteries they have in inventory prior to shipping of they've been sitting 6 months. After recharging, a new date sticker is put on the battery, which makes it a very unreliable way to assure you've got a "freshly made" battery.

The only true way to figure out when a particular battery was manufactured is to be able to decipher the burned in codes on the battery's case, which cannot be changed. But, most people don't have access to what the codes on the case actually decipher to, so that info tends to be ignored.



So what if you can't find the receipt? The last time I read a battery warranty it said something like, The date of purchase determines warranty status, in absence of a store receipt, the manufacturing date on the battery determines warranty eligibility.