Best battery, opinons and experiences, please

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i have a mk agm wheelchair battery in my 1 workvan and a interstate agm in the other.
both are now 5 years old and still work fine.since i get them free where a government agency changes them out every year i cant lose.
just want to see how long they hold up in a truck with lots of heavy 2way gear.
mk=east penn-deka
 
I like the Optima, but the local Wal Mart is the most convenient place to buy batteries near me and the price, warranty and the quality of their MAXX batteries seems good enough.
 
I've had so many batteries fail in the last month of the warranty (literally, I had 3ea. 36 month batteries fail in the 36th month) that I have formulated a new strategy. I buy the low cost Walmart 24 month and replace it in the 22nd or 23rd month. That way I'm pretty much on safe ground. I've know people that had batteries last twice the years or more of the warranty but it has never happened to me.
 
Can't remember the battery brand that made the Toyota Previa van's starter go whirrrr whirrrrr whirrrrr for what seemed to be pert' near forever but whatever brand it was it went bye bye when the van was sold.

Not sure how old that non-remembered-brand was....it was sitting there when I bought the van used.

Great battery, though. Heat, cold, wet, dry, humid, non-humid..... the Previa simply started without complaint when the battery was called upon to do what it was intended to do.

Then, there was the time I arrived back in Omyhaw ensconced within the fuselage of a jet aircraft. Retrieved the van where it had sat in long-term parking for a week. It was twilight when I started the van.

Whiiiiir cough, zoom. Engine running but what's all that smoke and burning smell?

Engine off. Pop hood. Egads. Serpentine belt not so serpentinish anymore. Poked around. Drat. Alternator frozen.

No alternator. No belt. 26 or so miles from the shanty.

Oh well. Off I went, waiting until the last possible minute before turning lights on as I raced the setting sun.

The sun won.

But.... the van made it to the shanty!!!! The van using the reserve capacity to power spark plugs, brake lights, head lights, etc.

Replaced alternator and belt and the battery just kept on chugging along.

A shame I can't remember the brand.

Guess this post ain't of much use.

But, that was a heckuva' battery!!!!!!!!
 
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I've had so many batteries fail in the last month of the warranty (literally, I had 3ea. 36 month batteries fail in the 36th month) that I have formulated a new strategy. I buy the low cost Walmart 24 month and replace it in the 22nd or 23rd month. That way I'm pretty much on safe ground. I've know people that had batteries last twice the years or more of the warranty but it has never happened to me.

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I used to recommend WM batteries until they enforce a new policy of testing battery voltage and checking for receipt (not just mfg date on the battery, that's not good enough for them) for warranty replacement.

Then if you want to complain to a manager so you can get a break on the exchange, you have to wait till you give up. Not worth the trouble.
 
I was able to get an Optima Red Top from Pepboys for $60 with a GNC discount two years ago. It has given me no problems and I would not hesitate to pony up for another.
 
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After the not yet three-year-old Panasonic in my wife's vehicle recently failed (finally, something went wrong with the Sequoia...), I put in a Die Hard, and decided that from now on, given the relatively low cost, I'm going to start doing pre-emptive battery changes every two years. One hundred bucks every two years seems worth it if I don't have to worry about my family being stranded somewhere when I'm out of town, an unpleasant recent experience I don't intend to repeat.

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Three years, EKPolk. The summer really kills batteries, they'll last longer up north; alll other things being equal. (Until you hit the Arctic Circle a few miles south of the Canadian border). Haven't had a battery last less than four years since the 1980's (except the mistake of buying one from Wal-Mart I had to replace yearly).
 
obbop- I'll bet your wonder-battery was an OEM Panasonic. The early-to-mid nineties Panasonics that came with Japanese-made Toyotas seem to last forever. Mine was still going strong at 8 years old in my '97 Landcruiser- I changed it out just for peace of mind.
 
My dad bought a couple Car Quest batteries to put in our farm tractors. They lasted a little less than a year. Started leaking everywhere then died. I wouldn't use another one if it was free.

About 5 years ago he bought some Champion batteries for his trucks and the tractors. They were not any better.

I use Optimas. Interstates are also good. I like the Optima because I do not have the patience to clean battery terminals once the thing starts leaking
mad.gif
If you do not notice it right away it will rust out the battery tray and fender or whatever is under it.
 
Obhop. If the alternator was frozen then the serpentine belt was off. So what kept your water pump running? Does the Previa have a gear-driven water pump? Just thought of something. Some engines use the timing belt to drive the water pump. Maybe that was the case with the Previa.
 
Previa's engine set back from the front, pert' near amidships longitudinally.

A shaft runs to the front to an assembly where the shaft turns the belt that turns the alternator, power steering pump, etc.

Water pump doesn't use that forward belt.

Recalling the not-too-distant past I believe the battery may have been a Diehard.
 
Walmart Everstart batteries have worked for me. I replaced one after 7 years in my sons Acura not because it quit, but on belief that it was time. However, it appears that the batteries they are now sellimg are made by a different supplier. The one that was 7 yrs. was made by Delco.
 
Does anyone know for sure if Johnson Controls still makes Walmart batteries?

Also, are Duralasts from Autozone Johnson Control made? I have an Autolite Titanium from Advanced Auto, made my Excide I believe, and it seems to be crankin over a tad slower on cold mornings. It's only 2 years old.
 
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