Just replaced the one in the wife’s van. It went in November 19, 2011.

8 years, 2 months ain’t too bad.

I to, have had good luck with NAPA batteries! And, I get a pretty good price....quite a bit cheaper than Interstate. memtb

Got any idea who their supplier is?

And did you pull caps and keep the electrolytes topped up? I'm usually good for about 6-7 years on a good battery.

Geno

That’s real good.


I had a Sears 60 in my Dodge powerwagon I drove to high school, lasted almost 10 years.


Nothing since has been that good.

Most batts last about 3 to 4 years for me. I don’t drive the 10 vehicles we have enough to be beneficial to battery life.

I’ve brought 3 batteries into my laundry room just for the winter to keep a trickle rotation on them and keep in an 80 f environment.

I think that somebody has a video where they tear a bunch of batteries apart and the rods in the NAPA ones are disintegrating or something.

Well, I didn’t use electrolyte. Just DI. Losts of starts under relatively challenging conditions.

It wasn’t dead, but starts were getting sluggish @ -20. Even plugged in. Had it load tested and capacity was half. Not unexpectedly.

I have a Diehard Gold that's been in my truck for 20 years. Once a year I top off the cells and it's been drop-dead reliable.


I couldn't get more than a couple years out of an Interstate no matter what I do to it.

I believe I have read there are only a few battery manufacturers in the US, is that true?

DI is all I use also. Was told that works fine.

Understand the sluggish starts when the temps drop. I use an oversize battery when I can fit one in the tray. Old trick from my first Subaru wagon. Came with a huge battery for an 85 horse, 4 cyl motor. Bigger than was in my 64 Fairlane.

Good luck with the new one.

Geno

Seems like i read East penn / deka is all that’s left.

What ever USA brand you get is made there.

I use the Duracell from Sams club. USA made.

Thanks, G. Put the same back in, but it maintenance-free. 😢

My first car was the ‘67 Fairlane I bought from my grandfather. 👍

My batteries are listed as "maintenance free" too. I still pop the caps off with a screwdriver.

One day I might run into a fully sealed, spill proof battery at a reasonable price, but for now I'll stick with my Les Schwab's which are handy as there are stores everywhere around here if I need a warranty replacement.

Geno

There's Johnson Controls and Exide too.

I have a guy that used work on my construction crew, he worked for Batteries Plus for a few years. He let all his co workers and even his manager know that I was his uncle. lol

I can get their blemish batteries and remains, all common sizes for $35 (good ole boy employee/family discount)

Batteries that some dumb bitch left her headlights on all day at the mall, they’d get those on a warranty claim, slow charge them for a few days, check specific gravity and resell it. I get those for $35

Hope I never have pay those $100+ prices again. But I’m sure in another couple years they’ll be who are you again?? 😒

I have always had good luck with Napa batteries until this year. Feb 2019, I changed the 2 in one of my excavators. September after the machine sat for about 2 weeks, they were dead. Wouldn't accept a charge after approx 12 hrs of charging. Took them out and back to Napa. They were covered under warranty, 2 new batteries and back in the machine. I had an exact repeat in Nov/Dec. Weather was cold but not extreme cold, maybe mid 20's at night for a few days. Batteries were dead, wouldn't charge. Took them out and back to Napa. I was told Deka was bought out by East Penn. Batteries had to be tested before warranty would kick in now. East Penn rules. 2 days later I go back and pick up one old battery and one new battery. I was told the bad battery pulled the good battery down. All is good for now. 2018 had similar trouble with a battery in a skid loader. It was a Napa also. We'll see, but for some reason, the Napa's don't seem as good as they used to be. I hope I am wrong. Napa and batteries plus both sell Deka batteries under their own name.... hopefully being bought out by East Penn isn't a bad thing.

For NAPA, it depends on the region. JCI or Exide.

If people knew how to read date code stickers as well as they noted brand labels, they'd probably find most are long lasting and dependable with normal use. And that most of them are made by one of three manufacturers and many times are the same product....

Most battery issues arent the battery.

JCI in Holland, OH makes at least 25 different brands. Only difference is the sticker. I've visited every battery manufacture in NA and MEX

There's more than just three, but East Penn, Johnson and Exide are the major ones for automotive.

U.S. and Trojan are the major electric vehicle (golf car type) market manufacturers.
U.S produces older automotive designs, like the military U6TL and the like.

Info on how to read date/mfg codes?

Seems like lots of truth there. Lots of starts on this battery, but no abuse/ discharges.

Good chance Walmart sells the same battery as NAPA and dozens of other retailers

Had mostly good luck with NAPA batteries. Had one go real fast. Napa tested it and gave me a new one.

bender,

Most have a sticker, if coded will read 01/20, signifying Jan. of 2020.

The other coding, usually stamped on the side and top of the case may read like this top code: K80F.
In this example K is the month (November), 8 is the year, (2018) and the other two are line codes.

A side lid code for the same will be longer, but will read like this: 8JYKF23455567.

All you care about for age is the first two, 8 is the year (2018) J is the month, October.
A side code is often the month prior to the the top code or sticker code.

Get a battery within 6 months of the present date. Older ones begin internal sulphation and can be discharged to the point an alternator will not recover them 100%.
Alternators arent chargers and power other aspects of the vehicle before the battery; this is even exacerbated with a discharged battery.

In the Northeast, NAPA batteries are made by DEKA (East Penn Manufacturing).

I work for NAPA part time counter. They are made by Deka/ East Penn. Pretty good batteries. We occasionally see a defective one come in but not very often. When questioned about the defective battery often times they were in vehicles/equipment that is seldom used. That is hard on batteries.

Those are what my long-time mechanic uses. I’d suspect he views the quality to be acceptable for what he pays (and can sell them for). I’d say they’ve held up a bit better than the Advance Auto ones I’ve bought myself. It’s just that the online discounts make the latter a lot cheaper to me.

I’ve found it weird adjusting to the notion that a battery can crank a modern car for a minute+, but not start it. The boys’ Tauruses were notorious for this. Apparently all the modem electrical wizardry requires more voltage than cars used to.

FC

I replaced the batteries in both my vehicles in January of 2016. We had a stretch of days at or below zero at night and in the single digits during the day. I put the Napa Legend gold in both vehicles.

It just so happened that the previous owners of both vehicles installed the same battery. The one in my 2000 Blazer was dated February 2007. The one in her 2003 Dodge Truck was from January of 2005.

4 years on the new ones and not a lick of problems.

Since only a few manufacturers are producing these batteries, it does beg the question as to whether there is any difference in them. Are they building to a certain spec or price point, or are they all the same? Prices are all over the place looking at Napa, Autozone, O'Reilly, Advance Auto and Walmart. I can get the same rated battery for my truck for $94 at Walmart or pay $160 for it at O'Reilly and $140 at Napa.

The current Napa, O'Reilly and Walmart battery all have the maintenance free tops on them. Externally, they all look the same.

Thanks, Hawk. I’ll try to find the code without pulling the battery out.

I expect the local NAPA is selling a lot of batteries now after an 8-10 day cold stretch.

I started the van yesterday after not having it plugged in @ -10. Started way better than the old battery @ 0 after plugging in. Not surprising, but easy happiness. It should outlast this 19 yo sienna.

You might want to rethink this one a little. Today’s automotive charging system is very sophisticated. Most of the current systems are using a > 120 amp alternator, battery temp sensor and negative current sensor. The vehicles PCM tracks the power removed from the battery and replaces it during the most efficient time. Why do you think the batteries are lasting so long?

They’re mostly all just rebranded versions from a couple of companies. I don’t see a reason to pay twice as much to have a Napa label on the same battery as a Sams Club Duracell. The sams club batteries have done great for me. I have an old diesel farm truck that sits a lot and tended to go through batteries until I put disconnect terminals on the two batteries. Now I disconnect them when it’s going to sit and it fixed the problem. As somebody else said, most of the time it’s not the battery that’s causing longevity issues.

They operate on OCV, not the specific gravity of the battery.

Think I'm full of BS?

If your car needs jumped, go drive the holy hell out of it and check it with a hydrometer....it will still need charged.

Sure, the monitoring systems have improved battery life, but they arent infallible because they only monitor OCV (byproduct) and do not monitor the chemical, the actual battery condition.

Greater battery life is from a whole pile of advances.

Plate separators, plate grid format, calcium additives and gear reduction starters are probably the biggest ones. The CCA range of 550-700 with a large enough liquid capacity will also extend the average battery life with better cycling than ones with higher CCA ratings or less liquid capacity.

Starting off with a battery that is at 3/4 state of charge (1250 or greater) CHEMICALLY, not OCV, that's in a vehicle that is driven in a constant fashion each day, is going to last longer and have less issues from day one than one that's eleven months old that one expects the charging system is going to "fix".

PS: the oldest vehicle batteries I've seen have all come out (and both examples still working) of OLD ag equipment. They were made in 1977 and 1979 and still working, kind of, in the mid 2000s.
Railroad lighting units (glass case) I've seen taken out after 50 years of service.

My 2006 Tundra battery died. When I replaced it I found out it was the original equipment. The date on it was 2006. I contacted Toyota but they said it was not still under warranty.