Another one bites the dust (Battery)

[gimpy]

The only complaint I have about owning equipment is regularly I seem to have to replace an expensive battery on one rig or another. An Interstate battery on the mill has gone bad. I'm replacing all my equipment batteries one by one with Optimas. They never seem to fail. But boy are the hard on a wallet.

[Percy]

I rarely get more that two years out of a battery on my 2003 LT70.........I buy the good ones with the highest amp/hr rating and still they swallow the big onion regular like. Cost of doing business I guess.....

[Rougespear]

Gee wizz that is an expensive maintenance cost every two years!  I'm assuming this is the battery for the hyd system yes?  Would almost be cheaper to switch over to a gas-powered hyd system instead of 12v.  I guess it's more noisy though...

[Chuck White]

I got just over 6 years out of my last battery, just put a new one in this Spring.

When it gets to the point where you need to jump-start your mill when it hasn't been used in a week or so, everytime, you need a new battery.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Never operate a mill with a weak battery. 

[Magicman]

So I asked the parts guy last week why the battery was so high priced?  His answer was because of the lead.  I then told him that I brought my old battery with the same amount of lead in it, so he was not selling me lead, so why?  ..........Long silence.   :-\

[Magicman]

Never operate a mill with a weak battery. 

Very correct David.  Low voltage = high current and bad things could/will happen.

[luvmexfood]

So I asked the parts guy last week why the battery was so high priced?  His answer was because of the lead.  I then told him that I brought my old battery with the same amount of lead in it, so he was not selling me lead, so why?  ..........Long silence.   :-\

Guess you confused the poor guy. ;D

[bigred1951]

I guess I'm lucky with batteries knock on wood. I've had my truck for almost 5 years that now has 250k on it and the same old battery in it from when I bought it. Never has failed to start except one time this past winter when it was 0 deg outside and had been sitting for a month. Had to jump it that one time and still going. Same deal with my dump truck. It sits for months at a time and so far always starts.

[Ox]

I think I remember the price of batteries skyrocketing when they shut down the last lead smelter in this country due to EPA regulations.  To my understanding it was the last place here that took lead ore and refined it into lead, not recycling lead.  I started hanging on to all my old batteries years ago for the lead in them and when the battery places were basically begging me to leave the core with them I figured I best keep all the lead I can find.  Someday it'll be worth something maybe.

Does anybody have any long term experience with the Optima batteries?  Like 7 years plus?  Have they been around that long yet?  How do they compare to lead acid batteries in the extreme cold when cranking diesels?

[bandmiller2]

A battery is better being used every day like the one in your truck, if they sit unused their life is shortened. Probably batteries on a woodmizer should be a deep cycle as the hydraulics pull them down faster than the alternator can charge, and many times their not brought back to full charge. If your anywhere near an outlet a battery conditioner would keep the battery topped off when the mill is not used. Frank C.

[YellowHammer]

Does anybody have any long term experience with the Optima batteries?  Like 7 years plus?  Have they been around that long yet?  How do they compare to lead acid batteries in the extreme cold when cranking diesels?

I don't have any long term experience, but like many folks, I have a lot of equipment and a lot of batteries, one of which always sees to be weak, or on its last legs.  I've started replacing the dying lead acid batteries with the AGM batteries, and so far have been very happy.  I put one in my diesel mill some time ago, and it's as strong today as it was when it was new.

[Ox]

Yes, this is the reason I was asking.  I too seem to have dead or dying batteries all the while.  I've always gone with Interstate batteries for the last 10 years or so and I'm happy with them but if there's a clearly better option out there, I might be game.  Thanks.

[sandsawmill14]

i have switched to deep cycle marine batteries on all my equipment and seems to have helped. even replaced the 4d size batteries with them and so far so good but only time will tell

[Kbeitz]

Batterys will last a long tme if you put a battetry minder on them.

[Chuck White]

While my mill is out of service through the Winter months, I always have the 2.5 amp maintainer hooked up to the battery.

[scsmith42]

I once added up the replacement cost of all all of the batteries that I have here on the farm and it was over 4K  >:(  Since then I've added more equipment too.  Having to replace cheap batteries every couple of years is a loser...

About six or seven years ago I queried the members on this forum for their recommendations regarding long lasting but economically priced batteries.  The overwhelming consensus at that time was Duracel Gold's from Autozone.  I switched over, and have yet to replace any of them.

However, about three years ago Autozone quietly changed their warranty (as well as the product design), and when buying a replacement battery they had both the old and new models in stock.  Picking up both, I noticed that the new battery appeared to be about 15% lighter than the old model.  Hmm... coupled with reducing their warranty period it sounded to me that they had reduced the lead content and possibly the longevity of their batteries.  At that time I switched over to Panasonic Batteries from the local Batteries Plus.  Better warranty than the new Duracel Gold warranty, and I get a better deal on them (business discount).

I had some Optima batteries in some of my equipment, but moved away from them when I discovered that if you let them completely discharge they will go bad.  I had two in an old GMC truck (with an electric winch) that used to sit for months w/o being used.  One month out of the full replacement warranty period (3 years) both of my Optima's would not hold a charge and the pro-rated rate was still higher than a Duracel Gold.  So I switched over and have not looked back.

Ditto the comments recommending desulphanating chargers for batteries that are going to sit unused for a while.  They make a big difference.

[ddcuning]

A friend of mine who helped me get my generator up and going at the house brought me a small plug in type float charger. He explained that if you keep a float charger on the battery, it will last for years and years. I have a large float charger on the two 8D batteries on the mill engine and the charger keeps them at peak at all times. I have not had any trouble with the batteries at the mill (of course, have not run it that much) or the generator at home using the float charger. I think the one for the generator was about $10 and it had a maintenance feature to aid in corrosion issues. Generator has been there for three years now with no battery troubles.

Dave C

[bandmiller2]

Something you guys may want to try. Find out who is the battery distributor in your area many times they have blemished batteries that they will sell very reasonable. I was a fire apparatus mechanic for 31 years and batteries were a lead plated hemroid to me. Best thing that ever happened was battery conditioners, all trucks and ambulance had a land line and conditioner. If you need a powerfull compact battery try what they call a group-31 you can get about 1000 cold crank amps from them. A good quality battery is a heavy battery. Frank C.

[ladylake]

 
Really good price at the local International  truck dealer over here  , $80 for a group 31

[woodmills1]

I thought the lead was replaced years ago by calcium.

[Chuck White]

Speaking of batteries, my truck wouldn't start today, battery issues.

I just put a new one in it a couple of years ago from Auto Zone.

They have a good warranty on them though, 2-year full replacement, I think it's a little less than 2 years ago that I put that in.   :P - warranty

[bandmiller2]

Calcium was added to the lead in battery plates to make the batteries maintenance free. Myself I consider it of dubious value and prefer the old style where you had to add water occasionally. Frank C.

[DeepWoods]

I know this is not the norm, but last fall when I parked my skid steer for the winter I figured I would be replacing the battery in the spring.  Well when I went to start it for the first time this spring it turned over and was up and running after about three revolutions on the engine.  It has always been a good starter, but the battery is now on its 11th year.  I have not changed the battery in the time I have owned the Bobcat.  I don't even know who manufactured it as I have never had a problem with it.  Never even had to jump it.   I also had a deep cycle for my trolling motor in my boat that went 10 years before I had to replace it.  On the other side, I just replaced the battery for my Norwood Mill this year, only got two years out of it. And not covered under warranty. I think they just don't make them like they used to.

[gimpy]

I now replace my batteries with Optimas. I have had two Interstates and both have gone down at what I feel as short term. I am learning to keep my equipment batteries on tenders. But my truck has two Optimas and they are never an issue. Nothing but deep cycle for me whenever possible. I also buy online because I just saved over $50 on my new battery.

[bandmiller2]

Deep cycle batteries are regular batteries with thicker plates, they are very good with long term discharges and light loads. Usually deep cycle batteries are not the best choice for heavy draw starting loads like a diesel in cold weather. Oversize them if you will have a heavy starting load. Frank C.

[Chuck White]

Correction in my above post, the battery from Auto Zone was put in back in 2011, but still, that's only 4 years!

Went to Advance Auto Parts yesterday and got another one, 800cca w/1000reserve, whatever that means.

Should be good to go for a few more years, the truck just turned over 160,000 miles just a while back.

[oros35]

Optimas used to be good, then a few years ago quality significantly declined.  Not sure if they have corrected their quality or not.  As I heard it, they moved their manufacturing to Mexico at the same time they had quality issues. 
I know a ton of Jeep offroaders that used to swear by optimas, then got the crappy quality ones that prematurely failed and will never go back. 

I run Odyssey batteries.  Been quite pleased so far.  You could also get them about 30% cheaper through Sears brand.  The top of the line Sears Diehards were rebadged Odyssey's.  My oldest one is just now needing replaced, wouldn't start my jeep @ 10 degrees out.  Still fine when the temps are up.  It's about 8 years old and I'm not easy on it.  Sits for long periods, tons of vibration and bouncing in the Jeep, and often very long hard pulls using the winch. 

[Lumber Grader]

A friend told me something I never knew about batteries.  He said they will last forever (almost) if you will add pure battery acid back to them and not water.  He said water shortens their life and dilutes the strength every time you add water to a battery.  He gets his battery acid from a farmer who gets it from a auto parts store. He said most auto part stores will not sell battery acid to the general public, but a lot of farmers buy their batteries "dry" (without any battery acid in them) and then they add the acid into the battery themselves.  I never knew all this before he told me.  Hope this is helpful to all Forum Members!

[Ox]

That's kinda funny because I was told just the opposite!  :D  I was told that it's water that's boiled off when batteries are used and you need to refill with distilled water (for impurities) because if you refill with acid it changes the mixture or strength (?) and makes the battery fail faster.  Beats the heck out of me which way is right.  I always refilled with water cause that's what the old guy said was right and as everyone knows, I listen to the old timers.

We need a battery guru here and not just hear say because it seems alot of the time hear says are different!

I really would like to know what's the proper way, though. 

[beenthere]

Ox and Lumbergrader
The link here may help answer the question and the hearsay.

Suggests reasons for just adding water, plus some other good tips.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/water_loss_acid_stratification_and_surface_charge

[Ox]

Thanks for that link, beenthere.  It was informative and nice to see that once again the old timers were right on!  Love 'em.

[Lumber Grader]

Thank you BeenThere!  I read that article. I guess my buddy was wrong.  Great info and thanks for posting that!

[Lumber Grader]

Thank you BeenThere!  I read that article. I guess my buddy was wrong.  Great info and thanks for posting that!

[Trapper John]

I also found that if you completely discharge an Optimax battery, it's a goner.

[bandmiller2]

There are very few battery manufacturers in our country today, thank the EPA. Its not so much the brand name on the battery as the grade, most make good, better, best and private label. I've had the best luck with the better grades of Delco and Exide. The better batteries have a lot of lead in them and lead is expensive now ( just buy a 25lb bag  of birdshot) Frank C.

[Ga Mtn Man]

WM recommends Deka batteries made in the USA by East Penn Mfg.  If you can find them, Astro-Lite batteries are also made by East Penn and are the exact same batteries as the Deka but at a much better price.

[gmmills]

       I would burn up a standard group 31 commercial battery in as little as 9 months.  Some would make it to 12 months. This short battery life also attributed to short alternator life. Installed the Deka battery that WM sells and the short battery life was no longer an issue. This battery lasted over 4 years and no alternator issues. After 4 yrs  it was replaced as it dropped close to 100 CCA and Winter was fast approaching. The battery is not a conventional commercial battery. It is an AGM, absorbed glass mat, configuration which in turn makes it a deep cycle starting battery. This battery is now standard equipment on all new Super series and lT 70 mills.  It is the only replacement battery that I will purchase for our application.  This battery is Deka's Intimidator AGM series part # 8A31DTM