Buyer Beware: Walmart Batteries

[Eddie]

Fresh batteries are prefered. A new battery should be charged at a slow charge rate (trickle charged ~1-3 ampers) overnight or until max charge is reached.

 

[another Todd]

To make your battery last longer buy the most powerful one you can find (that will fit). A larger battery that barely works to start your engine will last a lot longer than a marginally sized battery that has to give everything it's got to start your engine. Rule of thumb 25 years ago was 1 cold cranking amp for every cubic inch engine displacement, nowadays, you can easily find batteries that are double that, and they last much longer. Cost difference for the more powerful battery is insignificant as the cost is spread out over many years, and the larger one will outlast the smaller ones by a wide margin.

While we are talking about batteries, I use only large regular (not deep cycle batteries) in my motorhome for the engine and house batteries (MH has only 1 house battery). Deep cycle batteries, the largest ones I could find were lasting about 18 months and had a 12 month warrantee. Large regular batteries are about ten bucks cheaper and last about 4 years in my case--and usually have a 3 year free and 7 year prorated warrantee.

 

[brianl703]

Quote:

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northern battery has 1.265 sg
southern or hot climate has 1.250

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So southern/hot climate batteries have more water in them?

 

[JohnBrowning]

I disagree with trying to get the highest rated CCA. THis was the case a long time ago but today itis a recipe for disaster. What companies have done is to pack more plates that are thinner then ideal into the case. This makes them more prone to vibration damage and shorts. It artificaly increase's the CCA's while negatively affecting durability. As long as the battery has the recomended CCA's for the application then excess CCA's is not as good of an idacator of longterm durabilty as it's reserve capacity. Personely I like to see a decent mix of CCA's and Reserve capacity for each each battery size and catagory.

A good example is say the catagory 48 battery. One with 850CCA will more then likely out last one that lists the CCA's at 1200 especialy if the reserve capacity is greater on the lower CCA unit. Now none of this takes into account difference in design and materials but we have to assume that each is the same in those reguards to make the above comparison.

 

[brianl703]

I installed a group 47 battery in my 1996 Ford Contour V6 and it had about 50 less CCAs than the OE-specified battery and I never had a problem with it.

Might be different if I lived in Chicago, though.