Yellow tops. Best brand for value (longevity). Still got a set from 2010 working just fine. $700 investment though


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I've been using EverStart Batteries from Walmart.

First set, about 4 years. Going strong on the second set.

 

Wife’s everstart was gotten in 2013 and just started to leak so figured that’s pretty good for the price. I’m running AAA”s on my truck and they are 7 years old still holding good.

 

*is* group 65 the only correct size that fits properly? asking because some of my cars take two different sizes, with the bigger one intended for heavier duty applications (like, my older benz uses group 48 or 49... the 49's are longer, more CCA, more RC, but fit in the same clamps and terminals as group 48).

huh Optima suggests a group 34 redtop, and doesn't even seem to HAVE group 65. BCI tables suggest 65 is bigger than 34/78
https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-...duct-finder?year=2002&make=Ford&model=F-250+Super+Duty&engine=V8-7.3L&find=find

I was thinking of using East Penn(Deka) Intimidator AGM, in group 65... the 9A65 here, http://www.dekabatteries.com/assets/base/1737.pdf
they are like 10 lbs heavier than those Optimas, that means they have that much more lead in them....

 

The AAA batt that I was was made by EastPenn, eg, a rebranded Deka. *BUT* that was in size 48, different sizes from a rebrander can come from different factories, adn this can even vary year to year.

 

On a side. My other DD has a set of duricell from Sams Clubs. After one year, one was bad (3yr warranty). Love my yellow tops but if I could get 4yrs from ever start at $200 replacement, sure beats the chit out of my yellow tops at $350 a piece. I just don’t like how regular batteries spill acid and corrode my cables.


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90% of US lead-acid batteries come from Johnson Controls, East Penn, and Exide.

Last I heard, Interstates were made by Johnson Controls as were many big-box store brand (<cough> Walmart </cough>) batteries, and their quality has been slipping these past few years.

 

90% of US lead-acid batteries come from Johnson Controls, East Penn, and Exide.



Last I heard, Interstates were made by Johnson Controls as were many big-box store brand (<cough> Walmart </cough>) batteries, and their quality has been slipping these past few years.

There was a thread not too long ago where all the great minds got together about brand/rebranding and who the big 2-3 manufacturers were. Very knowledgeable thread and the consensus was that it’s all the same chit.


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costco/ interstate

$90 give or take and 4 year warranty.......


i know most of them are made by Johnson controls but for some reason they seem to last, ive killed the one in my ranger multiple times from it sitting and the jetta battery in the wife's car is going on 6 or 7 years now and 5 of that was in Colorado.....


the last set from orielly auto parts died about 2 months out of warranty and costed double to buy again, so costco got my money this year.

 

oops, I said Exide, I meant EnerSys (who makes Odyssey). they are small fry compared with Johson and EastPenn.

actually, its Exide *and* Enersys. Exide is pretty big, but they've gotten caught doing shady chit over and over so they are off my list. Lots of third tier stores sell house-branded Exide's, like Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Camping World, etc.... Enersys makes Odyssey, and is part of Yuasa but mostly makes industrial (non-car/truck) batteries

well, when the charging completes, I'll disconnect the two batts, and test them with my digital CCA tester, see what they say. its a cheap chinese tester, I don't 100% trust it, but I don't have a proper carbon pile load tester.


edit: fixed some details in blue.

 

I did the Walmart battery thing. Was looking at the Interstates, but they were 3x the price of the walmart brand. Warranty replacement is easy, and even if I had to pay full price again every 3 years, I have a hard time believing that the interstates would last the 9 years they'd have to to break even, and that's assuming I don't have a problem that drains and damages them in the mean time.

Now, on the mustangs, I've just been turned onto Northstar batteries. They're supposed to be 100% lead, and the word is that they have state of the art facilities and are the go-to brand for the the military. Their AGM group 65 battery, for example, is 1070 cold cranking amps. They're pricey, and they won't go into my truck, but they may be the best by reputation.

 

COSTCO NOW SELLS INTERSTATE BATTERIES AND HONORS THE WARRANTY.....

THE PRICE IS JUST UNDER $100.00 EACH FOR THE ONE OUR TRUCKS USE.....

 

Parts store battery, therefore you can easily have them warrantied due to many locations.

I ran advance brand gold batteries in my 7.3 for 4 years before they went bad. Have a new set in there now and they work just fine.

 

Not when I bought em dude. So, you can chill out with the all caps. Yeah I saw the earlier post.

 

He always uses caps

 

Oh, then I guess he's always mad? lol Alright my bad on the misperception.

 

Chill here for awhile and you’ll know everyone’s attitude. Some are real sensitive. Others dish jokes but can’t take jokes, others will put you in their hate list for bumping elbows. As for Furios, he’s a cool cat.


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its his thing... we all have a thing.

 

I’ve been using Motorcraft Max batteries.

Think I paid 250 for the set, great warranty.

3 year replacement, 5 year pro rated after that.

Had a cell go bad 1 month before the 3 years was up, called them up and asked what I needed to Fulfill warranty, just needed the receipt which I had. Took both batteries in and they swapped them, no questions asked. Every other battery warranty I’ve ever tried to claim it was a fight to get them to swap both, as we all know it’s best to replace in pairs. I was prepped for a fight, but none was needed. They put two new batteries on the counter and gave me a receipt that restarted the warranty fresh.

I’m sure that your mileage may vary based on your local dealer, but I’ll continue to buy Motorcraft until it no longer becomes beneficial.

I will say that I ran off the one good battery for two weeks until I could get to the parts department. Truck started and operated just fine off the one battery. No cold temps, but every other battery I’ve ever tried with just one has struggled to start the truck. Not the almost three old MC battery, it worked just fine.

 

IMHO, The best batteries that money can buy, are Optimas, yellow or red top are the ones I would go with, the last time I had to buy a new battery I bought 4, as my truck at the time (2005 Peterbilt 387, 15L Cat) required 4 batteries wired in parallel . Unfortunately the way the battery post placement on top of the battery for the newer super duties, the 6.7L factory battery cables are too short for them to work without spending lots of money to have custom battery cables made. If you have a Carquest or Advance Auto parts store where you live I would go with their branded battery or if you have Auto Zone buy their brand battery, as they have a 3 year, no questions asked, free replacement guarantee, and they will remove the bad battery and install a new one at no charge anytime the battery goes bad.

In my opinion it is very important to be able to have it fixed no matter where you are, nationwide, that's why I went to an auto parts store that has stores in all 48 lower states to get a new battery. Not all auto parts stores have a replacement policy as liberal as Auto Zone has.

I had an issue with my 2005 F-150 that the Ford dealer could never figure out what was causing it. Without fail, every 3 months the battery would have at least 1 and sometimes 2 dead cells in it. This issue started after another ford dealership replaced the alternator and hooked it up incorrectly, which fried it less than 5 miles away from the dealership. It took them 2 days to get another alternator and install it, the charging system was never right after that, I traded it in on a 2016 F-250 6.7L 3 years later. Auto Zone never refused to replace the battery, even after replacing it 12 times over the next 3 years that I had the truck.

 

Wal-mart Ever-start group 65s are in both my trucks. I've gotten no less than 7 years out of each set and they were STILL going when I pulled them because they started to get a little weak. Last set was this year and under $90 each.

 

I chatted with an engineer I know who's in the battery business. He says EAST Coast Walmart uses East Penn, but in the Western US, Walmart uses Exide.

 

Went through 6 batteries in 4 months on my 7.3 from various manufacturers. (Exidr, duralast, autocraft) Went back to interstate and never had a problem again. So i always put interstate batteries in mine. Not the cheapest but not the most expensive either and seem to hold up the best in my experience.

 

I've always figured Odyssey AGM's were the best but at $300 per unit they are ridiculously expensive. It looks like those Northstar's are a very comparable product at a very similar price if you look at the specs on them. It looks like they both are mfg somewhere in Missouri as well which is an odd coincidence I guess. Enersys corporate offices are in Reading, PA while NorthStar looks like it's actually a Swedish owned company for whatever that's worth.

I have a fairly new pair of Interstates in mine so I should hope I won't be having to worry about this for a long while.

 

so, hmmm. isolated both batteries after the truck has been parked 2 days... both read 12.60 volts, ok, thats good. my cheap chinese CCA tester says one of htem is about 400 CCA, the other a bit over 750CCA (which is what the label on these 'DGB' batts say they should be).

my bookie-err-wife says we gotta wait a few months before dropping $300 or $400 on new batts, so I went ahead and swapped them, hoping that will equalize their use.

 

Wal-mart EVERSTART group 65 are under $100 each, good for about 7 years.

 

This time of year you could probably start the motor with 1 good battery so 1.5 batteries should limp along just fine until cold weather comes back.

 

Cold weather? I live in santa cruz. we get a few frosty mornings each winter, and thats about it for 'cold'.

 

Cold weather?....in Santa Cruz?...LOL. We never shovel snow, scrape windshields, plug in block heaters, or ever really need to wear shoes. Pretty much flip-flops and hoodies 24/7, 365.

 

nah, Keens and T-shirts for me, with a flannel shirt for evenings out. don't like flip-flops or hoodies.

 

I have motorcraft in my 2002 7.3 and walmart in my 2006 6.0. they all work just fine.

 

That’s ok LCG, you live on the west side. We’ll let it slide.


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actually, I live on the north side.