67:72

Ah gotcha. I read the "our" as you and your family, not the forum family!

So does this mean you and Jay don't hang out?

larebob

According to news reports (Milwaukee Journal and others) 1 out of 3 batteries in cars are made by Clarios, a company spun off from Johnson Controls, actually (maybe) an Irish company with USA stuff run by Johnson Controls with a major Milwaukee office base. It was said around here, in SE Wisconsin, that they'd blow a whistle and they'd stop making Die-Hards and change the labels and make Delcos! Whether true or not, Johnson controls did make many Die-Hards back in the day and gave up the battery stuff maybe circa 2001. Now Clarios is part of a Quebec conglomerate whose main work is Quebec retirement programs. I'm sure there's a joke there somewhere. I grew up in the shadow of a lead smelting factory in West Allis, Wisconsin and I'm pretty sure the output went to Johnson controls, as the company dates to the 1880's.
I know batteries of the 90's were very much improved, as the Merkurs we had for many years would cook batteries from turbo heat until the 90's, so the quality as far as heat resistance must have improved. I don't think there is much doubt that batteries over the last 15 years were pretty good, how they are at this minute may not be the same.

apahl

I know this may not help if you don't live around here but Deka has a store right at the factory in Lyons PA. Anyone in Eastern Pa isn't too far away. I bought a new battery for my 2010 Camaro SS there and the girl at the store asked if I wanted a second. I said sure because it was about 60 $ cheaper. The seconds do not have any defects except maybe a cosmetic flaw.

dplotkin

You likely killed the battery with the tender. Tenders are a bad idea. Batteries should be topped off with a trickle charger maybe once mid winter on cars in non-use. Maybe again just before first start of the season. I have never left a tender on a battery in 21 years and 9 cars.

There is NO reason to leave any type of charger powered up and connected to a battery on an antique car. None. It invites cooked batteries or worse.

Dan

Vega$Vette

Depends on the tender.

I only use Optima Charger/Tenders on my Optima Battery cars when parked for extended periods of time - over a month or so.

R66

Duralast is way overpriced at $159 in my opinion. NAPA is high, about $145 but seem to last a year or so beyond the warrantee. I don't know of an Interstate store left in this area, the one I bought from now sells what seems to be China She It. But, for $1 or less a month warrantee, as low as $50 for 60 months (525 CCA), or $70 for 72 months (700 CCA) the batteries at rural king last at least the duration of the warrantee, if not longer. I have a problem paying twice the price for a battery that has the same warrantee or less. I had 3 - JC Penny batteries that went over 12 years each, they were worth it many years ago.

Railroadman

I don't usually shop Wal-Mart but batteries there seem to be good. Reasonable price and I have never had one die prematurely, they seem to last about 7 or 8 years for me. No idea who makes them.

joewill

if your battery is disconnected and had a full charge, you leave it disconnected, then come out the next day and it is at or near dead, then you definitely have an internal to the battery drain = bad battery whether lead acid/agm/optima.
also different battery chargers from the trickle chargers to the the big electronic charge sensing gizmos can be suspect from bad diodes to bad electronics which could drain the battery after it is charged if you keep it connected after the battery is charged..

charge it up full, disconnect everything and come out tomorrow and test the voltage ( which i think you have already done?) will prove where the problem is.

67:72

The YouTube guy, Project Farm, has an auto battery test vid where it seems Johnson made (or appeared to make) the majority of the batteries. Same company, same-ish batteries, different labels. I don't recall the outcome of his testing but I don't believe the "winner" was the name-brands.

R66

The JC Penny Lifetime battery proved to me that batteries can be designed to last much longer than the 60 or 72 months that batteries today are built for. It is a capitalistic effort designed for improvement in the economy to limit the life of products. The days of appliances (e.g., refrigerators, washers, etc.) lasting more than 10 years is long gone. I bought Maytag for the 10 year warrantee, only to find out that all it covers is the motor. The pumps, PC board, bearings and shafts, are the same a Frigidaire and Whirlpool and I believe it is all just China She-It.

I believe the design and quality of a lead acid battery is adjusted for each retailer even if manufactured at the same plant. I suspect the lead content of the cheaper batteries is less than that of the more expensive ones and could easily be determined by weighing the batteries. A lawn equipment battery, now 12 month warrantee is more than 1/4 of the size of a 60 month battery, yet is much lighter, less CCA and yet cost is more than 1/2 that of the 60 month automotive battery. It is all about keeping America and China working.

LouieM

Jay wanted to hang, but I couldn't see any advantage in it for me since I have a '67 Vette and he doesn't.

Railroadman

So you and Joe should get along, he has a green '67 too.

My_LS7_66STINGRAY

I got tired of burning up batteries and leaving me stranded every other year. So, I moved my battery box to the space behind the passenger seat and DANG! ...years go by before I need another battery. It is the heat, the elements that are killing the batteries
Move it.

Dan Hampton

I have had trouble with NAPA batteries. One in my ice racer Honda and the other in the 250 California. Would not take a charge after being disconnected for a couple of months. The best batteries I ever owned came in OEM Chryslers (Durango/Dakotas). Ten years without a glitch and I replaced them thinking that it was only a matter of time. Hard to know how long they would have lasted.

silver837

Our 2005 Chrysler 300C oem battery lasted 14 years !!!!!!!!!! It was amazing .

vjjack04

I've used Optima Red Top batteries for over 20 years in hot rod cars and only had one problem. At about 22 months of very little driving and starting on one car, the battery died; they replaced it directly with a new battery. After that one did that, I always use a Battery Tender on cars that aren't driven everyday. They're always connected when the car is sitting and never had a problem. Battery Tenders go into a maintenance mode (safe float mode) once the battery is charged. Opinions vary.

wib1961

I still just smile when I read all the stories of buying new batteries. Few will remember, but back in the late 70's or early 80's (hell even I can't remember) Firestone came out with there "Forever" battery. The TV ad showed an old geezer coming into a Firestone store and the employee saying "here he comes again". Well I bought one of those "forever" batteries -they even had FOREVER stamped on top back then- and paid the outrageous price of about $65. I'm now on my 7th or 8th battery, I've actually lost count, and ALL were free.. So for over 40 years Firestone has honored their FOREVER agreement and now I'm the old geezer walking into the store, Now changing out those MF'ers is a whole other story. I don't trust Firestone or anybody else to do the job, but at 77 years old it has become a challenge. Thankfully it is years in between changes (but the next time could be a pay for play)