Interstate brand car batteries?
Sanjay Punjab
a Prostart battery from pep boys about a year ago. Bad move. It has
only lasted for a year before needing replacement. I heard alot of
good things about Interstate brand car batteries, especially the
Megatron line.
The only concern is that the Interstate web site states that these
batteries are "low maintenance", not "no maintenance. In other words,
Interstate says you need to occasionally add distilled water. So to
owners of interstate car batteries. How often have you had to add
water? Have you been overall happy with the quality of Interstate
batteries, as far as longevity. Thanks.
Don K
--
Don
"Sanjay Punjab" <picli...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:97d41df6.02060...@posting.google.com...
Jim
All my vehicles have Interstate batteries in them.. if I could get a
Megatron when I needed a battery, that's what I got. The other
Interstate batteries are fine also. They are expensive, expecially
when compared to something you might get at Sam's Club or BJ's, but in
my experience, well worth the money.
Working at Firestone as a technician, in one year I saw more of their
batteries (made by GNB I think) replaced under warranty then in more
than 15 years working at shops that were Interstate dealers.. rarely
have I seen an Interstate battery fail under warranty.
WRT adding water.. I check the level a couple times a year.. maybe
have to add some water every other year. It all depends on things like
what your weather is like, how your charging system is working...
things like that.
I'd rather be able to add water.. it's one of the best ways to extend
the life of your battery. I suspect that the manufacturers that hype
'no maintenance' batteries have calculated how long their batteries
will last without water being added (because _all_ vented lead acid
car batteries will 'use' water), and have adjusted their warranty to
just shorter than expected battery life.
Hope this helps..
Jim
01d...@my.house
(Jim) calmly looked over the stall at me and whispered:
that's one of the reasons I switched to a gel based battery. It's
pricey ($120) but it's maintenance free, can be mounted at any angle,
will not leak, has 900 cranking amps and never needs to be refilled
and life expectancy is 5-7 years.
variabletiming
Interstate batteries is one of the best in the industry. I agree with
Interstate these batteries are not no maintenance, they are low
maintenance. The reason being is that water evaporates. Normally you
only add water every 5 months. But it will depend greatly on the
temperature of the environment. I am happy with their quality
especially longevity. Two most important maintenance factor to
increase the longevity of the battery is proper level of electrolyte
of the battery & cleanliness. Some of the battery manufacturer has
sealed the opening to the cell & will call their battery no
maintenance as the water evaporates & goes below the plates the
battery losses its charge & when you try to start the car it wont
start. Then you take it for a test it fails. This is the time you
will need to buy a new battery & thus the company makes more profit.
But if they make filler holes like interstate you can still bring back
the battery to life by adding water. This is a marketing gimmick used
by some battery manufacturers. Faster turn around means more money
for them. But I am not saying that all battery needs water. Some new
next generation battery doesnt use water instead they used other
chemical in a paste form thus it doesnt evaporate compared to water.
These batteries can be mounted in any position. But they costs a lot
of money. Sorry for the long post. I hope this helps. Keep me
posted.
VT
01d...@my.house
variabl...@yahoo.ca (variabletiming) calmly looked over the stall
at me and whispered:
>picli...@yahoo.com (Sanjay Punjab) wrote in message news:<97d41df6.02060...@posting.google.com>...
I have the Optima battery which I think you're referring to. It's a
"gel based" battery that has the characteristics you mention. Yes
they are expensive, (approx $120 for the red top), however they are
extremely reliable, have very heavy cranking amps (mine has 800ca, a
previous post by me was a typo at 900ca btw), and never need
maintenance. My ad my friends who have the Optima in our trucks have
been *very* happy with them.
Incidently, Optima batteries have been bought out by Interstate and
can now be found/sold at Interstate battery retailers.
Gordon McGrew
No experience with Interstate but I remember when all batteries were "low
maintenance." You had to top them up with a little distilled water once or
twice a year. They seemed to last a lot longer than the "maintenance-free" ones
sold today, at least the good ones did.
Mark Hoffman
battery finally gave out in December 2000.... so, I got almost 4 yrs from
it.
have no idea how old it was, but it was lucky if I added water to it once a
year.
"Sanjay Punjab" <picli...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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Roger Brown
> I have the Optima battery which I think you're referring to. It's a
> "gel based" battery that has the characteristics you mention. Yes
> they are expensive, (approx $120 for the red top), however they are
> extremely reliable, have very heavy cranking amps (mine has 800ca, a
> previous post by me was a typo at 900ca btw), and never need
> maintenance. My ad my friends who have the Optima in our trucks have
> been *very* happy with them.
>
> Incidently, Optima batteries have been bought out by Interstate and
> can now be found/sold at Interstate battery retailers.
Actually they are not a "gel based" battery, rather they use an "absorbed glass mat" or "starved electrolyte" technology.
Instead of having plates with gaps between them filled with liquid acid, they use a fiberglass mat between the plates that is
dampened with acid. I have some information on that class of battery on my page, below:
http://4crawler.cruiserpages.com/4x4/BlackPanther.shtml
I've been running an Optima Red Top for years now, for about 3 years in my 4Runner then moved it to my VW diesel.
variabletiming
Yes you are right I am refering to Optima Batteries. They are one of
the best batteries money can buyr. They are constructed with the
latest technology today.
VT
Gml...@scvnet.com
> a Prostart battery from pep boys about a year ago. Bad move. It has
> only lasted for a year before needing replacement.
Odd, I've had good luck with Pep Boys batteries. In any case, if the
battery is only a year old they will replace it for less than $10. I'll bet
that your battery going out was a fluke and that you will get better service
out of the replacement.
George
do_not_spam_me
> And I replaced my stock battery with a Prostart battery from
> pep boys about a year ago. Bad move. It has only lasted for a
> year before needing replacement. I heard a lot of good things
> about Interstate brand car batteries, especially the Megatron
> line. The only concern is that the Interstate web site states
> that these batteries are "low maintenance", not "no maintenance.
Interstate batteries are made by Johnson Controls, which also makes
brands like Eveready, Diehard (Sears dropped Exide a few years ago and
went back to Johnson), Motorcraft, some Wal-Marts (including all the
yellow ones), and Autozone Duralast. Their batteries are low
maintenance instead of no maintenance because they still contain
antimony in half their plates. Most of the industry switched to
lead-calcium plates 20 years ago to make their batteries lose much
less water, but calcium plates make them more vulnerable to permanent
damage from deep discharge, and sometimes leaving the headlights on
overnight just once can kill a lead-calcium battery. Johnson does use
lead-calcium, but only for the negative plates, and the positive
plates are still lead-antimony to make the batteries more resistant to
deep discharge. Johnson said that their batteries are made to
withstand 6 accidental deep discharges.
do_not_spam_me
> Interstate batteries is one of the best in the industry. I agree
> with Interstate these batteries are not no maintenance, they are
> low maintenance. The reason being is that water evaporates.
Very little water evaporates from an unsealed car battery but is
instead lost through electrolysis. Today's batteries lose much less
water, and it's not because they're running much cooler or in much
more humid environments than batteries made 50 years ago.
George Macdonald
Well, funnily enough, the Prostart and Interstate batteries are made by the
same company - Johnson Controls. This, however, may highlight the
advantage of the Interstate brand name, their batteries normally being
rated very highly. Interstate is basically a distributor and their
batteries are supplied to dealers on consignment and are not allowed to
stand on the shelf for extended periods of time - they are replaced with
freshly charged batteries and the "stale" one taken back for recharging
regularly by an Interstate rep. Since batteries can be easily damaged by
physical shock, and Interstate specializes in distribution, it's possible
that Interstate ships and handles their batteries with more care than Pep
Boys.
IOW the Prostart may have either sat on the shelf too long or may have had
some rough treatment to cause it to fail prematurely. I've certainly no
complaints with the Interstate battery in my car but it's only been used
for 3 years, the original car battery (Panasonic) having lasted 7 years.
As others have noted, I prefer a "low maintenance" battery - there is no
magic here, water does evaporate and batteries "gas-off" somewhat even with
a good charging system - and check them once a year or so and they require
very little topping up.
As a matter of interest to Honda owners, Johnson also makes Honda branded
batteries, whether exclusively or not I don't know but some U.S. made
Hondas come with AC/Delco branded batteries. Check out
<http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/> for detailed info on batteries.
Rgds, George Macdonald
"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??
01d...@my.house
<r.c....@ieee.org> calmly looked over the stall at me and whispered:
ah...ok, thanks for the clarification Roger.
cheers,
01dyna