Replaced my battery today

[Steve W]

Not a big deal, everyone goes through a battery now and then. For the last few months, I would have to give it some time on my charger before it would start, but it was not as robust as before, and the charge would only last a few days, if that. My alternator and voltage regulator are fine, so it's not that. And today, only a few slow cranks and then dead. So, I knew it was time. I keep a jorrnal of absolutely EVERYTHING I do on my car, including routine maintenance, so I looked up when I had last purchased my battery. It was in January of 2012. When I removed the battery from the car, sure enough, there was a little green sticker on the side...1/12. That means that good old Gold Diehard I got from Sears for 140.00 lasted me 11 years! Pretty impressive!
So this time I went with Duralast Gold from AutoZone. 810 CCA. Group 27. Fits perfectly, and boy, does she crank and start like RIGHT NOW! Let's see how long this one lasts.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Congratulations.   I always go for the largest ones that will fit in my battery carriers.

Bruce.

[TJ Hopland]

For your area that is really good isn't it?  Around 2 years for a daily driver? I always thought the cold was hard on em but apparently its the heat that really kills em.  I suppose a Sunday driven classic isn't as bad?  I assume its the daily driven stuck in traffic heat cycles that really is sucking the life out of em and even its hot and you are stuck in traffic in your Caddy its not every day.     

Duralast / Autozone is one of the brands that varies who makes what based on the region so in one area their Gold may be made by East Penn but if you picked one up at the Grand National it may be made my Excide.

Another unique thing they do is price doesn't change based on physical size so for us that are typically buying bigger batteries we may be getting a good deal.   

[Steve W]

Congratulations.   I always go for the largest ones that will fit in my battery carriers.

Bruce.

Yes sir! But I also wanted maximum cold cranking amps (CCA) for the size! These 472 engines need cranking power as they age. This one, like my old DieHard is advertised at 810 CCA, and its a VERY tight fit, but it fits with a bit of wiggling-in.

[jwwseville60]

Diehard Gold are still made in America.

[Alan Harris CLC#1513]

Would you ever have thought in 2012 that your Sears Diehard battery would last longer than Sears?

[Cape Cod Fleetwood]

Yes sir! But I also wanted maximum cold cranking amps (CCA) for the size! These 472 engines need cranking power as they age. This one, like my old DieHard is advertised at 810 CCA, and its a VERY tight fit, but it fits with a bit of wiggling-in.

And the "Group 27" is the very correct size as well. The days of batteries lasting that long are long gone, pretty standard to just replace the battery every 3 years around here. NAPA, AutoZone, Advance, they're basically all the same, and you'll be changing it in 3 years anyway, so. 40+ years ago the Sears DieHard was the holy grail, now they're bankrupt.

North Hollywood? Anywhere near the old Beverly Hills Gun Club? Sly Stallone owned a part of it, I shot there when I had bands on the left coast.

[Steve W]

North Hollywood? Anywhere near the old Beverly Hills Gun Club? Sly Stallone owned a part of it, I shot there when I had bands on the left coast.

No. They were about 40 mins away, but they are long gone now!

[Cape Cod Fleetwood]

No. They were about 40 mins away, but they are long gone now!

 

[bcroe]

IMHO the key to long life in less often used batteries,
is keeping a maintainer connected to them if not in use
for longer than several days.  That is especially true
if the ap is a newer car with small but continuous drain. 

There are about 10 maintainers here for cars and
implements, I recently upgraded to a newer switching
regulator design.  These use/waste far less energy, and
will not discharge the battery if power is disconnected
or off.  They all use EC3 connector technology
permanently wired to the battery with fuseable link
protection, no troublesome clip leads.  Bruce Roe

[Steve W]

IMHO the key to long life in less often used batteries,
is keeping a maintainer connected to them if not in use
for longer than several days.  That is especially true
if the ap is a newer car with small but continuous drain. 

There are about 10 maintainers here for cars and
implements, I recently upgraded to a newer switching
regulator design.  These use/waste far less energy, and
will not discharge the battery if power is disconnected
or off.  They all use EC3 connector technology
permanently wired to the battery with fuseable link
protection, no troublesome clip leads.  Bruce Roe

I used to have one for my motorcycle, it had a little connector that was about 10 inches long, permanently attached to the battery, and all I had to do was plug it in, without having to take off the seat to access the battery.
My garage here is just barely long enough, and I mean by INCHES, to fit my car, but when parked, there's an overhang that the front end is under, making it impossible to raise the hood. If I could find a battery tender that had a connector I could leave on the battery, and snake it out through the wheel well, so that I could connect it when the car is parked, that would be ideal!

[35-709]

Most battery maintainers have a 2 prong plug to the alligator clips that you can unplug and replace with terminal connectors that you can then attach directly to your battery and run the lead to an accessible place.  Even better (for me), you can buy a plug-in lead that has a cigarette lighter attachment that you simply plug into your cigarette lighter and charge your battery through that point.  I have three and they work great.  Available eBay, Amazon, probably WalMart, your local auto parts store.  The one  below from eBay.

 

[Steve W]

Most battery maintainers have a 2 prong plug to the alligator clips that you can unplug and replace with terminal connectors that you can then attach directly to your battery and run the lead to an accessible place.  Even better (for me), you can buy a plug-in lead that has a cigarette lighter attachment that you simply plug into your cigarette lighter and charge your battery through that point.  I have three and they work great.  Available eBay, Amazon, probably WalMart, your local auto parts store.  The one  below from eBay.

 

I like THAT! I never saw one that'll charge your battery through the cigarette lighter! Although, now that I think of it, I did use this little device that I plug a 9v battery into and plug into my cigarette lighter to save my stereo presets when I changed my battery. I shall look for that! Thank you!

[bcroe]

I am not a fan of cig lighter sockets, not
well standardized or completely reliable. 
But a wired in cable could come out anywhere
convenient, even inside the trunk.  Bruce Roe

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I use a Battery Tender that I have screwed to the inner radiator to fender support, and simply plug into the mains when I return home.

I transferred this one from my '60 CDV.

Bruce.