Observation concerning battery

[John c 79]

This week I had to replace the battery in the 314H I bought last spring. It was a traveler brand, which I learned is from tractor supply. The little green dot sticker on it indicated 10/21, which was kind of disappointing to me because I can typically get 5+ years from a small tractor battery using a trickle charge maintainer. I was not surprised though, the machine had sat for years before I bought it so the battery's history was unclear

 

I know batteries ain't what they once were, so I figured small batteries are all about the same and I'd buy based on price

 

TSC didn't have stock at store closest to me, I wound up using Advance auto parts, die hard gold, it was about $12 more for the same rating (U1 340cca), but the difference in the weight was very noticeable, I'd guess around 20-25% more in the diehard brand from advance auto parts, there is a sticker on the new once that says made in Columbia. 

 

I know it's just battery for a lawn tractor but still......I hope you can still get what you pay for.......I'm looking forward to many years of reliable service from it. 

[ebinmaine 67,397]

275 to 350 CCA is very good. 

 

My local small engine repair place says a modern average U1 battery is getting 2 to 3 seasons with no maintenance  (as most get).

With proper usage of the trickle charger you should easily double that, or more.  

 

 

[peter lena 8,604]

@ebinmaine  totally agree on the trickle charger , have battery tender  plugins on my 3 units , making it easy to use is vital , my battery tender is always  hanging next to each tractor , just plug it  in to socket / tractor . pete 

[ri702bill 8,311]

I see the same downward trend in battery life / quality. If this keeps on going, we will be using wingnuts to fasten in place for frequent removal....

[WHX?? 48,813]

Sad but agreed Bill. I'm also with the trickle charger/ maintainer crowd. 

I'm also with the best deal I can get bunch damn the brand. Many tractors to feed. 

 @Achto says it helps to run them and I'll buy that too. 

 

Many many discussions on batteries here John but that's what we do. 

[rmaynard 15,434]

When they started to seal the batteries (no water caps) is when the longevity started to drop. I used to check water level frequently. A low water level meant something was going on. After adding distilled water to the correct level, I would usually get a good charge that lasted the whole summer, assuming the charging system was working. Going back quite a few years, when my father had a battery that would not charge, he would check the water, make sure the water caps were tight, then turn the battery upside down over night. Next day it would fully charge and off he went.

[WHX?? 48,813]

1 hour ago, rmaynard said:

turn the battery upside down

I'd buy that too. Back in the younger day wanted to go for a scoot. Battery was toast so turned it upside down and shook out the acid and crap on the bottom. Filtered the acid thru cheese cloth and put back in. Made it thru the rest of the riding season. A new battery was 15 bucks back then ...barely had three bucks to fill the tank...

[clueless 2,983]

For the most part there is only about 3 battery producers, they make them for all the companies. They supposedly do make them according to each companies spec though. So a quality named battery company batteries should last a bit longer than the cheaper ones, but not that much longer. Put them on a maintainer if your not going to use them for a couple of months , it does help.

 

[squonk 41,051]

Battery quality may have changed but back in the mid 90's about 95% of the batteries turned in under warranty were perfectly fine. It was all "operator error".  Back then the companies didn't want them back so instead of having customers flipping out and throwing things in the store we  either refunded their money and said go somewhere else or gave them another battery with the stipulation this 2nd battery had a 90 day warranty no matter how big it was. If their original battery was indeed defective they got a replacement pro-rated from the date of the original sale. Of course they threw a fit if they had to pay 20 bucks after owning a battery for 4 years but we had a rule. We have buttons to make a price what ever we wanted so if you were a trouble maker list plus 10% was our motto the next time you came in. We got free "defective batteries" for years. I used one for 5 years in my truck. They finally changed the warranty policy where we had to test the battery , print out a digital result and turn the battery back in with the results

Edited August 9 by squonk

[WHX?? 48,813]

45 minutes ago, squonk said:

95% of the batteries turned in under warranty were perfectly fine

 

I suppose idiots who never thought their charging  system was at fault. 

[squonk 41,051]

1 minute ago, WHX?? said:

 

I suppose idiots who never thought their charging  system was at fault. 

I had this one guy who was a masonry contractor. Had a heavy accent and an old Ford truck. Brought his battery in and it was shot. He buys a new one and comes in later wanting to return it and get his old battery back because the truck still wouldn't start. He is going to tow it to the Goodyear store and have them fix it. I tell him the first thing they are going to tell you is you need a battery. We argue and finally I refund him. He leaves and I call the Goodyear place to warn them. I also ask them to call for the battery and I will send them the battery he returned and they can mark it up even more! 

 

Then there was the Ford dealer parts manager who comes in on Saturday to get an alternator for his Grand Marquis He changes it in the parking lot and then comes back in saying it doesn't work. I go out there and point out his 10 yr. old battery with fuzz all over and acid leaking out is shot! 

[Handy Don 12,204]

Stories of folks in retail never get old. Thanks, @squonk

[squonk 41,051]

14 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Stories of folks in retail never get old. Thanks, @squonk

I could talk for hours! 

[953 nut 55,161]

The service station I worked in during high school did a lot of service calls in the surrounding neighborhood. We carried several new batteries in the cab of the truck and always suggested replacing bad  batteries when a jump start was needed. If we replaced the battery there was no charge for the service call. I jump started this one thrifty gentleman's car a half dozen times before he decided it was time for a new battery. He felt that we should refund what he had paid for all of the service calls. At that point we began a bit of negotiation and I reluctantly deducted the cost of three of them. My boss was impressed, as cheap as this customer was he figured the guy would never buy from us when the nearby auto salvage yard has lots of use ones.

[ebinmaine 67,397]

11 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Stories of folks in retail never get old. Thanks, @squonk

 

10 hours ago, squonk said:

I could talk for hours! 

 

 

Me too.  

 

 

I got into Auto Parts 1992 at an old type Jobber Store. 

We had to load test a battery in the counter before doling out a pro-rated warranteed one. 

When I switched companies in 1997 the new one had a STRICT policy that NO battery was warranteed it was charged on OUR charging system for several hours. 

Nearly all of them were fine as @squonk writes. 

 

As you can imagine some customers were obstinate and/ or just mad. Most were appreciative after we helped them fix the ACTUAL problem so they wouldn't be left stranded or broken down again. 

 

[squonk 41,051]

53 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

 

 

 

 

As you can imagine some customers were obstinate and/ or just mad.

Paving contractors were the worst! If they came into the store in a good mood you knew something was wrong! 

 

One of the best memories was during a blizzard and the paving contractor who plowed our lot got a flat on his Bobcat skid steer and called the Goodyear store to come fix it. The screaming over the phone was legendary! 

Edited August 10 by squonk

[BBQVultureWings 91]

There's a place here that sells refurbihed batteries. "Any Car Battery $40.00" I took the old battery from my Crapsman LT1000 in as a core because they also sell many other batteries. Deep cycle for RV house batteries. Wheelchairs & trolling motors, motorcyles, jet skis & mowers among several others. I have yet to be disapointed as I've had really great "luck" with All the batteries I have bought from them at about 30% the cost of what ya get from Autozone or other retail places. The battery for the mower was less than $30.00. I bave gotten 3 years out of it so far. I would look around & see if there is a discount battery shop wherre they refurbish batteries in your area.there should be a place like that in most cities. If you live in a rural area it might not be worth the long drive to get there as gas is not cheap. After I found this place, I only go there as I now refuse to pay the Ridiculous mark up on retail brand name batteries Anymore. I worked for AAA as a wrecker driver & Battery Service tech. Found out there are Only 3 manufacturers of Batteries in the USA so the truth is the local wholesale dealer/suppliers/distributors just slap a namebrand sticker on 1 of the 3 available as they unload the pallets of batteries & distribute them to the retail companies. I know this because I used to have to go to the supplier to get a pallet or 2 of batteries as Replacing//selling batteries is a huge part of AAA's profit margin..... aint that some SHEE-!P... Good luck.