Walmart everstart battery, new case or not JC made

[wing0]

This is up in Canada. 3+ yr old 24F JC/everstart maxx battery started to act up. Passed by walmart to see if they have fresh battery in stock before I haul mine over for testing. I noticed the casing looks different. The warranty is different. Nowhere on the label is JC mentioned. There is no melted in code on the side(one way to determine production time for JC). Instead of 3yr replace and 9yr prorate like my old battery(JC), it now has 3yr and 5yr respectively. There are no caps on the top. The top of unit is flush. CCA is 725 instead of 700. The date sticker went from mm/yy to alphabet + number like B6 which I think mean, Feb 2016. I also have picture of Kirkland from Costco which is made by JC for comparison. Did Walmart start sourcing from another manufacturer or this is some new updated model?

 

[bubbatime]

I was looking at their batteries a few days ago, and no kidding, many of them had a sticker on the top that said, "Made in Saudi Arabia" Yes, batteries made in Saudi Arabia. Not Mexico or USA, but saudi Arabia. I have no clue if your battery up there in the great white north is made in Saudi Arabia as well. Edit: That 24F Maxx says Made in USA right on the top. Maybe Deka? Edit #2: Yes, that Maxx 24F battery above is made by Deka Deka 24F battery

 

[wing0]

I heard mainly about JC and exide. How's deka? I'm out of choice if I want to take advantage of the prorate warranty.

 

[147_Grain]

Deka is a good brand.

 

[901Memphis]

Originally Posted By: wing0

I heard mainly about JC and exide. How's deka? I'm out of choice if I want to take advantage of the prorate warranty.

Deka is the best of all 3 if you are looking at flooded lead acid, they do not leak almost ever and the quality is high. I now go out of my way to find Deka batteries unless i can get a JCI very cheap. Around here the Deka batteries are available at Oreilly, Batteries Plus, or Meijer.

 

[901Memphis]

And yes the date code is right, the first letter is the month, the second letter is the year so the B6 would be very fresh and should see C6 soon for March 2016.

 

[oilmutt]

My Costco has interstate batteries only with a 40 month free replacement.

 

[Lubener]

I was at Walmart yesterday and they still have the traditional Everstart/ Johnson batteries in stock. No Deca's in sight.

 

[NHGUY]

Deka is the brand of East Penn Mfg.Good batteries.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis

Originally Posted By: wing0

I heard mainly about JC and exide. How's deka? I'm out of choice if I want to take advantage of the prorate warranty.

Deka is the best of all 3 if you are looking at flooded lead acid, they do not leak almost ever and the quality is high. I now go out of my way to find Deka batteries unless i can get a JCI very cheap. Around here the Deka batteries are available at Oreilly, Batteries Plus, or Meijer.

Oreilly brand batteries are Deka? Which ones at Meijer are? I have only noticed the Die Hard batteries there.

 

[tenderloin]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime

I was looking at their batteries a few days ago, and no kidding, many of them had a sticker on the top that said, "Made in Saudi Arabia" Yes, batteries made in Saudi Arabia. Not Mexico or USA, but saudi Arabia. I have no clue if your battery up there in the great white north is made in Saudi Arabia as well. http://www.mebco.com/Pages/default.aspx

 

[Donald]

You can call JCI and ask if they made it. They will tell you. I have called them in the past and asked.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: Donald

You can call JCI and ask if they made it. They will tell you. I have called them in the past and asked.

Or you can read the second post in this thread and CLEARLY see that the battery is made by East Penn/Deka and not Johnson Controls.

 

[wemay]

We just replaced the Santa Fe battery with an EverStart Plus. Hopefully it will last at least 3-4 years. $95 for that amount of time seems worth it to me.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: wing0

I heard mainly about JC and exide. How's deka? I'm out of choice if I want to take advantage of the prorate warranty.

Deka is WAY better than JC or Exide. Its one of the remaining "good 3" in my book: Deka, Enersys, and Northstar. What a Northstar looks like (Batteries Plus 'X2Power' batteries are Northstars): http://www.northstarbattery.com/northstar/engine/index.php Deka has been covered. Here's Enersys (Diehard Platinum AGM batteries are Enersys Odyssey clones): http://www.enersys.com/ODYSSEY_Batteries.aspx?langType=1033

 

[wemay]

So from what i'm understanding, the casing shape is indicative of manufacturer? The one we bought looks exactly like the Deka, flat top pictured above.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: wemay

So from what i'm understanding, the casing shape is indicative of manufacturer? The one we bought looks exactly like the Deka, flat top pictured above.

I wouldn't necessarily say that it is a 100%, but.... yeah, its a big hint. The shape of the Northstar handle and the way it folds down into the top of their AGM batteries, the ribbing on the sides/edges, etc. seems the same whether its their own or re-branded. Same for Enersys- the Diehard Platinum looks just like an Odyssey except made in grey plastic instead of black with a red top. Deka looks a little more generic than the other two, but there are still some things you can spot. Plus these days if it says 'Made in USA' it *might* still be a JC, but its more likely a Deka, Enersys, or Northstar.

 

[wing0]

Thanks for the information. Seems like I shouldn't worry about getting another battery from Walmart then. It's just odd that the new one has shorter warranty vs JC which caused some concern for me. If I didn't have any warranty in the first place, I wouldn't know there was this much difference in quality and would've chosen the JC from Costco for $2 cheaper. I think I'll give Deka a try once my battery dies and can't be revived after recharging.

 

[901Memphis]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis

Originally Posted By: wing0

I heard mainly about JC and exide. How's deka? I'm out of choice if I want to take advantage of the prorate warranty.

Deka is the best of all 3 if you are looking at flooded lead acid, they do not leak almost ever and the quality is high. I now go out of my way to find Deka batteries unless i can get a JCI very cheap. Around here the Deka batteries are available at Oreilly, Batteries Plus, or Meijer.

Oreilly brand batteries are Deka? Which ones at Meijer are? I have only noticed the Die Hard batteries there.

Actually now that I think about it they changed recently from the Duracell deka to a new label, I'll have to double check that they are still deka next time I go. They just have store labels now like Meijer silver

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum

Originally Posted By: wemay

So from what i'm understanding, the casing shape is indicative of manufacturer? The one we bought looks exactly like the Deka, flat top pictured above.

I wouldn't necessarily say that it is a 100%, but.... yeah, its a big hint. The shape of the Northstar handle and the way it folds down into the top of their AGM batteries, the ribbing on the sides/edges, etc. seems the same whether its their own or re-branded. Same for Enersys- the Diehard Platinum looks just like an Odyssey except made in grey plastic instead of black with a red top. Deka looks a little more generic than the other two, but there are still some things you can spot. Plus these days if it says 'Made in USA' it *might* still be a JC, but its more likely a Deka, Enersys, or Northstar.

Thanks! Much appreciated!