RE: [T3] Battery died suddenly.

["Jim Adney" <jadney@vwtype3.org>]

On 4 Jan 2009 at 13:12, Keith Park wrote:

> When I last researched it a few years back, there were basically 2
> manufacturers that sold under a number of brands.  One was crap, the other
> good.  There is also a difference between the cheap 48 month batteries and
> the better ones that are waranteed much longer.  You'd have to look it up
> today to see who sells what but Im with Russ on the Interstates, Ive never
> had one last less than 10 years unless it was abused (deep cycled or allowed
> to sit for long periods of time without trickle charging).

One guy I work with hates Interstate batterys. I suspect that his 
experience is with places that have those little stands with a half 
dozen batteries on them waiting for someone to buy one. I think it's 
possible to find one of those that's been sitting there for years. 
This is much more likely to be a problem if you use one of the less 
popular sizes.

Years ago, in the early 70s, I had a friend who worked for Johnson 
Controls in Milwaukee. At that time, they made batteries for quite a 
few different labels and he told me that he would wait until their 
line was making DieHards to buy one. He got employee pricing, which 
put them all at about the same price for him, but he said that the 
DieHards had much better construction (more plates, thicker 
interconnects, better welds, etc.) It was all by design and they were 
all made to the specs of the retailer they would eventually go to.

Things may have changed, but I suspect much of this is the same. 
Johnson Controls didn't always get the Sears DieHard contract, but 
they often did.


-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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