I park on hill and roll mine off. One of the perks liven in the hills/mountains. It has worked a lot even with tractors. I have had about as good of luck with what Walmart sells as any.
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Battery brands for pickup
- Thread starter JW IN VA
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CowboyRam
Well-known member
We have had pretty good luck with the Diehard batteries. We used to get them from Kmart; our Kmart closed up a couple years ago, but now the Carquest is carrying them.
I've nothing to add about battery brands, but I try to do maintenance in the spring and fall. I have a charger/maintainer similar to this one {click here}. Connect it to a 12 volt battery and plug in the device. It tells me if the battery is good and what percentage charged. That's all I use the charger/maintainer for. I use a manual full size charger to actually charge batteries. Still have 1 or 2 batteries around the farm I check the water (distilled water only), but the rest are sealed.
It's happened... I buy a new battery and the "tester" says it needs a charge. Long as a battery reads 75% or higher I figure it's good to go.
It's happened... I buy a new battery and the "tester" says it needs a charge. Long as a battery reads 75% or higher I figure it's good to go.
Silver
Well-known member
Up here rough gravel roads do more to shorten a battery’s life than anything.
When I look at batteries, my first concern is CCA. When cold weather strikes, I don't want any doubt that it will turn the engine, whether it is an auto or a piece of equipment.
farmerjan
Well-known member
I had always used Die Hards because that is what my father swore by. The closeby local place sells Interstate and is by far better priced than even Walmart so usually just go there. Helps a local and he does alternators and starters and stuff so it helps to stay in with someone that you can go to in a jam to get something fixed, checked etc.. Seems none of them last as long as things did in the past nowadays.
And yes, @jltrent , I almost always park stuff on a hill to roll off if needed.... except the stupid automatic cars now.
And yes, @jltrent , I almost always park stuff on a hill to roll off if needed.... except the stupid automatic cars now.
Don't be angry with me...but I get 10 to 15 years out of a 3 year Everstart Walmart batteries in the Texas heat (last 3 anyway, three more on their approx ~ 4,5,6th years)....basically i use a 12vdc Maintenance Charger..."Xtreme Charge", it does a trickle charge frequency pulse that basically cleans the plates...de-sulfides them. Once a week Friday night or Saturday morning for 1 to 4 hours, or overnight, I place the charger on until it arrives at 100%. What normally happens to degrade batteries is that...Lead batteries grow fissures, that look like little lead mountains that grow to reach their adjacent plate. These fissures start degrading the current supplied as they start to short plates together. Desulfid-ing your battery with a pulse frequency regularly keeps your new battery plates clean of lead sulfide fissures. A lead battery can last 3 to 4 times longer than its warrantee with cleaner plates. I bought my Xtreme Charge..maintenance charger on E-Bay back in early 2000's...been pleased with it...$29. i think was the price back then....it's saved me more money than that already. I'd had to upgrade the charging cords and clamps, soldering in new cables...wiring-cabling quickly failed after 5 to 7 years.
the Interstate Battery stores used to sell outdated but new batteries at a fairly big discount, don't know if they still do but I bought a lot of those in the past and always had good luck with them, worth a try to ask
This can't be emphasized enough! It pays to have someone that will pull you out of a jam when the need arises.
theres some guy on youtube that has a big battery charger.. he says you can put new life into old batteries by hitting them with a lot of amps for a few hours.. i'll try to find the video.. says hes been using the same batteries for 15 years.
BFE
Well-known member
I run branded Deka batteries. The local parts store and Case IH dealer both carry them. They're the best IMHO.
Just replaced a 2012 battery on my hay hauling tractor. They didn't have a Deka so I had to go with the C-IH branded one made by Exide, which is the dealers back up brand, we'll see how long she lasts.
Yepper...it shocks the plates and breaks off all those lead fissures. I tend to think that's more destructive, overheating and resonating (movement) the plates. Softer pulse frequency seems less intrusive.
Some people swear by dumping out the acids in the battery, then putting in other cleaner acidic chemicals and letting them sit overnight and then dumping those chemicals out and refilling with new sulfuric acid w/ distilled water does the trick. It just looks too dangerous, where do you put the 2 times old used chemicals and no matter how safe i am....I know my clothes will be full of holes tomorrow morning.
ClodHopper37869
Well-known member
I have been having very good luck with Walmart top of the line batteries, In everything except tractors, I think it's called Maxx. If something happens on the road, you are always close to a WallyWord or MickyD's
Named'em Tamed'em
Well-known member
My buddy gets them at "pull a part" tested and guaranteed for $30.🤣
Have never heard this, can you please explain why this is? Thanks.
M.Magis
Well-known member
I think its the lead plates that break down over time from heavy vibration. Thats one of the main differences with marine starting batteries, heavier lead plates since boats take a beating from the waves.
The inside of a liquid acid filled battery . Is metal strips/plates hanging from the top of the battery. The plates deteriorate over time. Imagine metal plates hanging in a plastic box submerged in acid. The rougher the road the more stress ect is put on each plate until eventually one brakes and falls down contacting the plates on either side of it
I agree; been using Interstate for years. I checked prices at O'Reilly's on one truck and they were higher than the Interstate.
anyone have any thoughts on this charger? or recommend another?
I used to keep a Battery Tender Jr. on just about every piece of equipment that wasn't used on a regular basis, but have had quite a few of them fail recently - a fairly large percentage to be honest. I recently picked up a couple of these from Napa to try and so far I'm liking them. They seem to be built better than the Battery Tender units and are priced quite a bit better, we'll see.
