CK5
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Best battery?
- Thread starter vandelay industries
- Start date
I bought 2 of Walmart's $20 lawn tractor batteries in march of 2015--one died already,on my tractor I use to mow with only--while it did sit all winter,I put the charger on it every month to keep it charged..
My old tractor has a starter/generator,not your typical "car" style starter,which do draw a heavy load to start an engine,and doesn't put out much amps as far as recharging it,but the battery should have lasted longer in my opinion..many times it died when I went to start the tractor "cold" and had to jump it..
They only offer a 90 day warranty on tractor batteries..
I know many lawn tractor batteries die after a year or two,but I've seen some go over 5 years and were pretty much neglected the whole time..
If Johnson Controls still makes Walmart's "Ever-Start" tractor batteries,they aren't what they used to be--I read Exide is who now supplies Walmart,I see that brand there along side of the Ever-Start ones for vehicles at the store near me now..
I never liked Exides,never had good luck with them..
The Duralast mis-matched batteries that were in my diesel pickup in 2003 when I bought it are still in it and starting it--though last winter they did die a few times when it was sub-zero and I hadn't driven the truck hardly at all.."made in mexico" stickers on them too!..
I do not know the production date on either one,but they looked a few years old when I got the truck!--guy I bought it from got them used,from a salvage yard..and it didn't get driven much until it became my daily driver in 2014..
I've said it before here--ANY battery you buy is a crap shoot lately..you may get a good one that lasts a decade,or one that craps out in a year..they use recycled lead and the cheapest stuff in most of them,so its a gamble if they'll last,no matter who's name is on the label..
I have not ever had an Optima,and after what I've read online and seen first hand in friends vehicles that tried them ,I would not waste money on one...they go dead if they sit over a week ,is the most common fault I see most often..too expensive for my budget too,I'd rather buy two "regular" lead/acid batteries for the same price as one spiral cell..
CrpMag122
1/2 ton status
I’ve been running Duralast in all my vehicles and one is going on 8 years with no issues. When I went to buy my 31 series batteries for the CUCV I was talking to the clerk, he told me not to expect that lifenout of their new batteries, apparently the source for their batteries moved production off shore and the clerk said they are not made like they used to be. Don’t know how factual any of that is, but we will see how the 31 series batteries I have now hold up.
duralast gold 1000ca dual in my truck.. in parallel.. cranks the shiet out of my motor and my starter sounds like its on drugs... turnin so fast... no issues since 2006... WOW didn't realize I had these batteries that long... had to of changed them.. hmmmm
I have 2 Odysseys in mine also. Oh, they're both 16 years old! Best battery I've owned.
I will still stand behind Optimas....both of mine have been in service since 2010...the redtop is in my truck which sits all winter with a tender on it, but when the truck is in service it may sit for a couple weeks at a time without a tender or being driven. The truck is all stock so no juju wiring hacks going on to drain the battery (stock anti theft system and radio probably take a few milliamps to keep up).
the yellowtop is in the Maiden, and it sits for months at a time with a tender on it, and has a battery shutoff switch as well, so no drain there.
OptimaJim stated that most of the battery problems are from small drains that owners adamantly deny having, but most Optima employees take the warranty returned battery's and bring them back to life using their charging method (its somewhere on the introwebnet).
That being said, I just bought a Napa Gold battery for my Vette...the Interstate I had in it lasted less than 4 years, and it is kept on a tender as well.
My Motorcycle has an AGM battery in it that is going on 8 years now.
the yellowtop is in the Maiden, and it sits for months at a time with a tender on it, and has a battery shutoff switch as well, so no drain there.
OptimaJim stated that most of the battery problems are from small drains that owners adamantly deny having, but most Optima employees take the warranty returned battery's and bring them back to life using their charging method (its somewhere on the introwebnet).
That being said, I just bought a Napa Gold battery for my Vette...the Interstate I had in it lasted less than 4 years, and it is kept on a tender as well.
My Motorcycle has an AGM battery in it that is going on 8 years now.
Interstate all the way. May be made by the same people as ever start, but they're made to different specs. I've never had a bad one and know of a couple well over 10 years old in our winter/summer temp swings.
I've bought the Autocraft brand from Advance Auto Parts for years and have had good luck. You can always get 20-30% off coupons (order online, pickup in store) and regularly have rewards dollars from them. Generally get around 7 years on the pair in my K5 and it has a rough life with a lot of sitting between off-road trips and most sets of have been drained from time to time for various reasons. Had one in my wife's minivan for about 3-4 years now and the last one lasted about 8-9 years in my work beater car (battery was drained several times because the auto lights would periodically not turn off!). For most normal applications I don't recommend spending the extra money on the AGM type stuff. All other things equal they don't have any better starting power or life as other styles of batteries, they just have the advantage of holding up better when being shaken and bounced around (off-road rig, boat) and don't have liquid to spill out. There are applications when you should probably use an AGM battery for most of the time you don't need it........people just think because a Baja 1000 truck uses it then it must be better for their Honda Civic.
Keep in mind there are only a handful of companies that make batteries...you will often get the exact same battery at different places except they are different colors with different stickers on them.
Keep in mind there are only a handful of companies that make batteries...you will often get the exact same battery at different places except they are different colors with different stickers on them.
I've been running Deka Intimidator AGM batteries for years with no issues. In my K5, crew can, and the 66.
