Battery’s longevity

[formariz 11,988]

Doing some maintenance on my plowing Electro and every time I look at this battery I have to look at it with respect. From 2004 and still no sign of weakness. Every Diehard I have is like that. 

[rmaynard 15,777]

Rare for a battery these days to go more than 5 years. 

[ebinmaine 69,368]

My go-to small engine place says two or three years if you don't trickle charge them and four to six years if you do. 

[oilwell1415 563]

That's pretty good, even for a Diehard.  That's the only batteries I've used for years, but now that we don't have a Sears any more I'm not sure what I'm going to do.  If the batteries are anything like the tools, they won't be worth a crap when the other stores start selling them.

[8ntruck 7,224]

I'vs had pretty good luck with DieHard, Interstate, and NAPA batteries over the years.  

 

Currently running a NAPA in my 14 no name.  It is a year old, and it replaced another NAPA battery that was about 10 years old.

[roadapples 6,983]

Judging by the posts, is that a car battery? 

[ebinmaine 69,368]

7 minutes ago, roadapples said:

Judging by the posts, is that a car battery? 

Group 51 or 51R. 

Fits lots of cars, yes. Also older horses with big battery boxes. 

[bds1984 1,457]

When I first got my C165 in 1995 I bought an Interstate battery for it.  One of the old-timers told me to put a teaspoon of Epsom salts in each cell.  I did, and had nearly fourteen years from that battery.

[oliver2-44 10,019]

Here the Texas summer heat seems to kill batteries.  I keep mine on a trickle charger and do good to get 2-3 years. I've bought NAPA, Tractor 
Supply, Oreilleys, Walmart, etc . Not Much difference between any of them.     I get 4 years out of a 48month warrantied car/truck battery. 

When I was working at the dams, the industrial battery supplier said keep the big batteries at 75-77 degrees. Every 10 degrees over that cuts their life in half.

[oilwell1415 563]

There's not much difference between them because there are only 4 or 5 battery manufacturers in the world.  Everyone else is just putting a different label on the same technology everyone else is using.  Exide and Johnson Controls probably make 90% of the auto/truck/powersports/lawn & garden batteries sold in the U.S under dozens of brand names.

[ebinmaine 69,368]

Agreed. Been over a decade since I've been in that business.

Back in the late 90s I worked for what was Parts America and became Advance Auto Parts. 

Because we were part of Western Auto and owned by Sears we sold Diehard.

AC Delco was a big part of our inventory, and a store brand I don't remember.

We used to sell GM group 75 batteries for less than anyone around.

The Delco and DieHard batteries were around $70 or $75 at the time . Store brand was about $40 ish.

Johnson controls made them all. 

Exact. Same. Battery.

Different sticker.

[Achto 28,085]

1 hour ago, oilwell1415 said:

Exide and Johnson Controls probably make 90% of the auto/truck/powersports/lawn & garden batteries sold in the U.S

 

Only other manufacturer in the US is East Penn.

 

Johnson Controls sold their automotive battery division Power Solutions to a group led by Canada-based Brookfield Business Partners LP in 2018, the deal closed in 2019. The company is now called Clarios.

 

Exide batteries sold it's North American assets to Atlas Holdings this year.

Edited November 10, 2020 by Achto

[sqrlgtr 554]

2 hours ago, oilwell1415 said:

That's pretty good, even for a Diehard.  That's the only batteries I've used for years, but now that we don't have a Sears any more I'm not sure what I'm going to do.  If the batteries are anything like the tools, they won't be worth a crap when the other stores start selling them.

My local Advance sells diehard idk about your location though 

[953 nut 56,493]

3 hours ago, sqrlgtr said:

Advance sells diehard

I fear that they just bought the rights to the name and the quality won't be there.             

[bds1984 1,457]

47 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

I fear that they just bought the rights to the name and the quality won't be there.             

 

AAP bought the name from Sears' parent company late last year for 200 million.  I've purchased two since then and they do not seem any different so far from the few in the past I've purchased from Kmart.

[tom2p 2,394]

8 hours ago, oilwell1415 said:

That's pretty good, even for a Diehard.  That's the only batteries I've used for years, but now that we don't have a Sears any more I'm not sure what I'm going to do.  If the batteries are anything like the tools, they won't be worth a crap when the other stores start selling them.

same here - Diehard batteries only 

since late 70's until just recently

 

then no Sears / no Diehard batteries - so went with Duracell batteries (made by DEKA / East Penn ?)

so far - so good 

 

installed two in tractors - and two in cars 
 

our cars sit outside - and often sit unused for extended periods (and even more now due to WFH during COVID pandemic)

one car with Duracell battery installed has high parasitic drain - it would have been dead already with a lesser battery