Battery life chart.....huh? (1 Viewer)

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Where do they come up with this stuff?

I've lived in the 'red' area of this chart for the last 50 years and don't find this information to be anything like true (battery life 2-3 years). I've had a number of battery types on various vehicles over the years and can't remember any that didn't last 4-5 years.

Had an Optima Red Top on my '70 model Bronco for 9 (count 'em 9) years before it died. An Orbital on my 80 Series for almost 8 years. I've had single battery set ups, dual battery set ups, winches, Aux lights, etc....

Surely...I haven't just been 'lucky'?

I had a 1969 Jaguar XKE roadster when I was in college that was kinda hard on batteries, but I don't think the alternator was all that great on it. Other than that...my batteries last longer than suggested in this chart:

batteries.jpg
 
:meh:

I’ll say that the top “blue zone” is semi - right for wet sulfuric acid/lead plate construction batteries up here in coastal WA.

Optima is kinda a bad baseline as they were awesome initially, then turned to junk for awhile somewhere around Interstate either buying or dumping them (IDK - I’d heard the worst were some from a “made in Mexico” -era.

I had a early red-top in my 80 that lasted over 5yrs, and the replacement red didn’t last 2yrs (Mexico batch?) - so I jumped over to Odyssey.
Also, we have a local store that just sells batteries & related crap - if a battery is over ~yr old since build date, you get a discount. So at least we can always get fresh(er) batteries when you go buy one.

Maybe they need to differentiate between cars primarily parked in enclosed garages, or left outside, IDK.
 
Looks pretty accurate from my experience. I am in central Florida and in the 2 years I have been here I have had to replace my 2nd battery (interstate deep cycle) twice, my starter battery once (interstate) and also the battery in the wife's explorer which was 18months old. I know the warranty that Costco gives is different depending on where you live (red or blue on the map) but it can't make sense for manufacturers to keep making batteries that dont make it through the warranty.
 
I guess it really depends on what the usage of the battery is too for those areas. I live in the light blue zone and had to replace the battery on my 60 shortly after purchasing it. That battery is now 5yrs old and starting to show signs of an imminent death (cold mornings has a hard time cranking).

Other thing to consider too is what the definition of the lifespan for the battery is by the mfg. and the given area... Is it simply that the battery no longer has as much CCA as originally advertised? Does it no longer hold a charge? Or is a certain drop in percentage on one of those items??
 
Looks pretty accurate from my experience. I am in central Florida and in the 2 years I have been here I have had to replace my 2nd battery (interstate deep cycle) twice, my starter battery once (interstate) and also the battery in the wife's explorer which was 18months old. I know the warranty that Costco gives is different depending on where you live (red or blue on the map) but it can't make sense for manufacturers to keep making batteries that dont make it through the warranty.

Thing is, most people are not car people, and they can't even remember who replaced their battery last time. I can't tell you how many customers rolled into the body shop with failing batteries that were probably still under warranty, but 90% of them had no clue who put it in, or if it had even ever been changed, so actually getting the battery warrantied was nearly impossible.
 
Another thing to think about is Amp Hour rating versus Reserve Capacity.

Rated Capacity in Ampere-hour (Ah)

Battery capacity “C” is specified in Ampere-hours (Ah). An Ampere is the unit of measurement for electrical current and is defined as a Coulomb of charge passing through an electrical conductor in one second. The Capacity “C” in Ah relates to the ability of the battery to provide a constant specified value of discharge current (also called “C-Rate”) over a specified time in hours before the battery reaches a specified discharged terminal voltage (Also called “End Point Voltage”) at a specified temperature of the electrolyte.

As a benchmark, the automotive battery industry rates batteries at a “Discharge Rate” C/20 Amperes corresponding to 20 Hour discharge period. The rated capacity “C” in Ah in this case will be the number of Amperes of current the battery can deliver for 20 Hours at 80ºF (26.7ºC) till the voltage drops to 1.75V / Cell. i.e. 10.5V for 12V battery, 21V for 24V battery and 42V for a 48V battery. F or example, a 100 Ah battery will deliver 5A for 20 Hours.


Rated Capacity in Reserve Capacity (RC)

Battery capacity may also be expressed as Reserve Capacity (RC) in minutes typically for automotive SLI (Starting, Lighting and Ignition) batteries. It is the time in minutes a vehicle can be driven after the charging system fails. This is roughly equivalent to the conditions after the alternator fails while the vehicle is being driven at night with the headlights on. The battery alone must supply current to the headlights and the computer/ ignition system. The assumed battery load is a constant discharge current of 25 A.

Reserve capacity is the time in minutes for which the battery can deliver 25 Amperes at 80ºF (26.7ºC) till the voltage drops to 1.75V / Cell i.e. 10.5V for 12V battery, 21V for 24V battery and 42V for 48V battery.


Approximate relationship between the two units is:

Capacity “C” in Ah = Reserve Capacity in RC minutes x 0.6
 
In the Philippines you don't have ready access to the same batteries we have in the US.
This is the battery I purchased for my PZJ75; it is designed for use in hot climates (Tropicalized).
For the money ($125); this was the best I could purchase with a decent warranty.

Automotive


Gold.jpg
 

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