Battery rant..

[Arnold]

I feel old I STILL have/keep a "booster" battery and some 30' long 1 gauge welding cable booster cables. Talk about OLD school. Have as in keep..in my trunk..in a battery box.
  "Having"/"keeping"..SEEMS to be the operative word here.
   One cannot keep a fully charged battery around left..in the un heated barn/shop/garage.outside..in the truck..trunk..
   any more..for any length of time really..
   I have bought 11 pretty good quality batteries for 8 vehicles over the last 12 years. From several different manufacturers. I can tell you which ones will still have life left in them after being left in my truck...or in my car trunk..in -30 weather for like 3 weeks.
  NONE OF THEM :evil:
  I did this FOREVER!!! like from the late 1960's to the mid 2000's. Kept batteries..booster batteries..around..I ALWAYSALWAYS had some..even one.
  Stored vehicles..over the winter..stored boats..came spring..charge up jack sh**..TURN KEY START.

  Them days all over :cry:
  I was remembering the good old days with a guy who runs an insanely busy 5 bay 5 mechanic garage and has a huge collection of stuff. He looked at me like I was on glue when I said I wanted to leave a "booster" battery fully charged in my trunk..just like I used to..for like..ANY length of time. 3 weeks came up. He said there was like almost NO chance that ANY battery would be ANY good after being left in my trunk for 3 weeks and it hit -30 and I needed a boost. He even cautioned me NOT to fall in to the trap of buying one of those $300-$400 batteries. He said these people are the WORST..he sees it all the time..for ranting that "their expensive battery" is dead..went dead.

  Off to the Interstate battery dealer I went.."You wanna do WHAT :?..ya..no..
  Then to a large farm equipment supplier..same answer.
  I ended up at a large HD truck place..they said MAYBE a new 1200 amp battery would have HALF of it's life..600 amps..if I left it in my trunk for 3 weeks,Hey..at least these places were HONEST

   That is what I did/purchased..I have not needed it/have not tested it..but it comes out often to be charged.

[rumrumm]

Have you tried attaching a Battery Minder to the battery while it is not being used? I put one on my coupe during the winter in order to keep the battery charged. It works.

[idrivejunk]

I have watched documentaries about Alaska and if they want an operable vehicle in those temps, it must be left running all winter. Br-rrr

Somewhere along the way "good" things were lost to history, including things one might need to bet one's life on. I altered life to suit, living in a moderate weather zone and don't go farther from home than I'd be willing to walk. Thats what we are left with. I don't know what other people do. Kid themselves about dollars vs nature?

Grandpa used to rebuild prewar Ford batteries. I guess if a guy had all the stuff to make batteries and experiment to see which component fails, in time he might could figure out which then seek out top quality raw materials to use to build the ultimate battery. But one day it would be cold and not start. Where in comparison to a store bought battery that day falls would likely take nearly a decade to find enough data to average.

I don't believe a solution exists. I have 3 cars and make sure to operate each monthly at the very least and they stay up but it doesn't even get down to zero here. I find that 45°F is where batteries start to lose their zots. I wonder if theres an electric battery warming blanket out there for this, and if that might have the same effect as leaving a trickle charger on them. If you can plug in a block heater, you could plug in a battery heater. :?:    :?

[chimp koose]

Battery blankets as they are called are pretty common up here. I would wonder if you might want a booster pac . Son in law has a mac tools booster pac and it is compact and very useful with booster cables wired in directly . It seems to keep a charge indefinitely.

[Arnold]

Thanks guys

I just want what I used to have..wanh.. :cry: I ain't pluggin' battery chargers/battery warmers/dual battery set-ups/isolators..ya,,No MORE of that stuff for me..charge the booster battery as I drive..NO..

Just what used to be..leave the booster battery in the battery box in the vehicle until I need it..
In 1996/1997 Walmart began selling Eveready car batteries..as an intro promo they were like $25..iirc..iirc if you bought 2 the 2nd was half price. Warranty was really great..free boost for years if yours went dead. I bought 2..1 sat in the trunk of my car in it's box for years and YEARS..well..after a few years I needed a boost..I BARELY rememberred I even had this
 Unbelievably it boosted my car..barely..charged right up..seemed ok..SOoo I took it back They charged it and tested ok and offered me a new battery. Unlike todays battery warranties..where after the battery is 5 minutes old..you end up FURTHER out of pocket if it quits. I actually declined the new battery offer..wasn't needed. Both those batteries lasted for years and years after.
 I had boats..stored them outside..for decades..put boat away in fall..winter it dropped to -40..spring..turned key another boating season. I NEVER charged a boat battery OR kept one on a tender
 We have small tractors..they get stored in the fall and left outside..come spring..fire right up back to work.

  Times have changed..everyone I talk to..and I mean pretty much EVERYONE..up here could not imagine their vehicle starting in bitter cold..if left for more than a week. I listen to a popular car show up here..last week their panels consenus..was up here..don't be leavin' nothin' for much more than a week..just asking for trouble.

 CK..I think there was a time for the conventional booster packs..I have had them..worked fine. I don't have one now..I have read to many really bad reviews and heard too many bad things...most disturbingly by people who have had good ones. Those little booster thinggies seem to have taken over. From my garage owner buddy.."ALL those booster packs less than $600..throw them out..other people throw those out here too..we have to pay $600 for those things now..they MUST stay inside now ALL the time..be charged often..and kept all toasty warm ready for use.."I might buy another one..but am in no hurry.

 IDJ..Ya..that's the ticket..just leave it running I was a railroad conductor and when train engines quit they had to be drained.
Because they did not run anti-freeze..because it they lost a head gasket the coolant would get in the oil. Talk about batteries..booster cables..boosting..train locomotives. Wailing on frozen drain cocks with huge pipe wrenches..under some train engine.


  I see that Diehard is back..(well it is here anyway)..wonder if they will be any good? Now. They sure were in their day..


  Conventional boosting is pretty much over anyways..took me a while to figure out why there was so much current loss in a newer 4 gauge copper booster cable.. :evil: cause it was aluminum..copper clad

[kb426]

Carquest is selling Diehards now. I have no idea who makes them. Carquest takes bids every year on many product lines. When you go back to get something, it may be completely different than the year before. The warranty on their rebuilds is the best available to me, though.

[idrivejunk]

Theres always the "ringer" factor with auto parts as well, like that way-back-when battery you didn't want replaced. Or the tuned-up plain jane but 350 4 barrel car dealerships kept handy for test drives by folks who can afford 307 two barrels.

Meaning if we give the stuff makers benefit of the doubt...its possible we just got a bad one. HF tools lean heavily on this doubt and amazingly prosper. I reached the conclusion my understander is brokeded. :oops:

[Arnold]

Carquest is selling Diehards now. I have no idea who makes them. Carquest takes bids every year on many product lines. When you go back to get something, it may be completely different than the year before. The warranty on their rebuilds is the best available to me, though.

 KB..our local Carquest..has them..they start at just over $200 (Cdn. of course)