Project Farm tests Walmart and O'Reilly batteries

[danstraylee]

Yes I definitely take him and his efforts seriously.

That is disturbing........

 

[SC Maintenance]

Maybe Walmart really knows what they are doing and parts store has to put in enough safety margin just in case, and the customers have to decide whether it is worth the extra. I am not sure if I trust anything other than warranty length. They can test it good one year and all of a sudden a private equity comes in and flip the script, selling junk without you finding out till 1 year later.

I bet its none of those because there all made by Clarios. My guess is Walmart gets you to come buy a battery. Then you buy a bunch of other crap. When you battery quits you bring it back and they take it without much fuss and you buy a bunch of there other Crap.

TLDR - The auto parts store has to make money selling auto parts, but Walmart Auto store does not - they just need to get you to come in.

 

[Bailey28]

I have taken my Ancel tester in to walmart and tested batteries before purchase, after the time I got one home and it was only 80% health.

There definitely not all the same thats for sure, even with new dates and good charge.

Which Ancel battery tester have you been using? I am looking at their website to purchase one and their BST200, BA101, and BST100 all seem to do the same thing.

 

[iCurious]

Looks like I will be sticking with Costco's batteries as per usual.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Which Ancel battery tester have you been using? I am looking at their website to purchase one and their BST200, BA101, and BST100 all seem to do the same thing.

BST200 but I am sure there all the same. There is only so much they can do.

 

[PMT133]

Looks like I will be sticking with Costco's batteries as per usual.

Same battery with a worse warranty?

 

[FZ1]

I have not had issues with Walmart batteries - and if I should - bet there is a Walmart nearby …

THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^!

 

[Jango]

My nearly 4 year old Costco battery just died. Trying to revive with Noco5 but not betting on it. Checked Costco and the only sell AGM now for mine. Will go w Walmart as warranty is better and $10 more

 

[iCurious]

Same battery with a worse warranty?

I dont ever use the warranty?

 

[JayhawkRoy]

I dont ever use the warranty?

I would not bet on that. This winter I used O'reilly warranty on our Subaru Platinum battery this year, after not using anyone's battery warranty for over 20 years. Bad battery had a bad cell after only seven months. O 'R cheerfully replaced it and new one is doing

 

[iCurious]

I would not bet on that. This winter I used O'reilly warranty on our Subaru Platinum battery this year, after not using anyone's battery warranty for over 20 years. Bad battery had a bad cell after only seven months. O 'R cheerfully replaced it and new one is doing

I was not applying it for everyone. Just myself in general. In my fleet, all of them gets Costco batteries and they all outlast the warranty period.

 

[PMT133]

I dont ever use the warranty?

Fair enough. I've yet a modern vehicle have a battery out last the warranty. 3 years if I'm lucky and periodically top off on a good charger. So warranty replacement is more of a concern. And price. And I don't feel like driving through lakewood to get to Costco.

 

[iCurious]

Fair enough. I've yet a modern vehicle have a battery out last the warranty. 3 years if I'm lucky and periodically top off on a good charger. So warranty replacement is more of a concern. And price. And I don't feel like driving through lakewood to get to Costco.

I have a battery tester and I test it annually. If the SOC % is not to my liking, I put it on my Noco 5 Amp tender. Also, I don't ever overtighten the terminals.

 

[fdcg27]

By comparison, when Consumer Reports does their testing, they claim they heavily weight their rankings based on their accelerated life tests, not just performance. I am unsure how those life tests performed, but they claim that is more useful then their cranking amps, reserve capacity, etc tests they perform.

I don't see the Project Farm guy doing anything that is based on estimated life, only strict performance tests.

CR does seem more useful.
I really don't care about the supposed health of new batteries.
What I care about is how long I can expect a battery to start the car, especially on a cold winter morning.
Modern batteries seem to give little or no warning of impending death.
I'd prefer to know when I should proactively replace them than to find out the hard way.
In the greater scheme of things, a battery doesn't really cost all that much.

 

[BHopkins]

Isn’t BH subjective anyway - nobody is checking that - it cranks until it doesn’t years later …

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say some don't check battery health? I check it frequently, and always check a new battery before In install it. Also not sure why you feel battery health is subjective. My understanding is battery health is calculated using a specific formula.

5+ years ago when I was working for Apple Valley construction they were using the local battery mart for batteries. Had so much trouble with those batteries that they asked me to switch to another supplier.

I went with orileys. Those batteries were worse! We were lucky to get 3 months out of a battery.

For auto batteries, 5+ years ago is a lifetime. Auto stores change battery suppliers all the time. Battery plants are bought and sold, and absorbed by larger companies.

Even in the video being discussed, PF points out that the supplier of WM batteries changed since last time he tested batteries, about 2 years ago.

 

[4wd]

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say some don't check battery health? I check it frequently, and always check a new battery before In install it. Also not sure why you feel battery health is subjective. My understanding is battery health is calculated using a specific formula.


For auto batteries, 5+ years ago is a lifetime. Auto stores change battery suppliers all the time. Battery plants are bought and sold, and absorbed by larger companies.

Even in the video being discussed, PF points out that the supplier of WM batteries changed since last time he tested batteries, about 2 years ago.

Because I never worried about it and still won’t …

 

[The_Jeff]

His videos are also clearly sped up to fit in a time window that's optimal for YT's scoring system. Speeding it up will technically make his voice slightly higher pitched too.

I actually wish more youtubers did this. Too many talk about their feelings or otherwise fluff things up for more length.

Midtronics says don't test batteries for "health" when new or you get a "false reading" which in the real world shows 110-120% of rated capacity.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I'd prefer to know when I should proactively replace them than to find out the hard way.

My cheap Ancel tester seems to be pretty good at predicting this if you test somewhat regularly - like very few months.

 

[danstraylee]

My cheap Ancel tester seems to be pretty good at predicting this if you test somewhat regularly - like very few months.

These new digital testers are a game changer for sure. I remember the old heat coil testers. Those were really hard on even a healthy battery.

 

[silversport]

Same battery with a worse warranty?

but many times a much better price on what may arguably be the same battery manufacturer…I am buying a Group 48 battery soon and the Costco choice is $30 less than the same (appearance, CA, CCA, RC) battery at Walmart…a gamble for sure but if it is the same battery it should last as long shouldn’t it???



Bill