Is the guy at Advance Auto full of it?

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by 92snowmachine

you may get more life out of them if you run them down before putting them back on the charger.

+1 biggest reason why laptop batteries typically wouldn't last long is because they stayed plugged in most of their lives. Charge, drain a bit, charge, etc is much better and makes them last much longer.

[Huskymaniac]

I got the battery tested at Sears last night and it tested out OK there too. The thing is, they only test the cranking ability and not the reserve capacity so I don't know if the battery is good in that respect. The reserve capacity is supposed to be 110 minutes at 25A of draw. I bought a multimeter with a current clamp (always wanted one) and tested the car under the same exact conditions as the other day. I discovered one thing I didn't think of...the radiator fans. Even though the A/C wasn't on, the car had warmed up enough to kick on the fans. I have no idea how long those fans were running the other day out of the 30 minutes total time I was sitting there. But when they are on, the draw is 35A. I would think the battery should still be OK with a 35A draw for 30 minutes but I don't know how much faster the reserve capacity draws down at 35A versus 25A. I do know it is not proportional. So it looks like I probably did draw down most of the reserve capacity. After the car sat there for another hour or so, it was able to start. So what probably happened is that the reserve was heavily depleted AND the battery got pretty warm. Once the battery cooled down, there was enough reserve left and sufficient voltage to start the car. Ironically, this probably wouldn't have happened in the winter time as those radiator fans would not have been on or been on for very long. Those suckers draw a HUGE amount of current!

Thanks again for the info on the deep cycle batteries. I will definitely change them out before the spring thaw and maybe even before the November rains.

[Conn SVX]

I use batteries in my video work . it is proportional . If I use a 25 Watt light I will drain my battery in 2.5 hours .. If I run the 50W light I run my battery down in is just over an hour The battery is ratted in AH= Amp hours a 12 AH battery will power a 1 am unit for 12 hours a 14 amp unit for 1/2 hr and a 35 amp unit for about 20 min . So u sound like you have a 40 ah battery . 24 amps = 300watts and 35 amp = 420 watts

[kwren]

Originally Posted by Huskymaniac

The battery weakened to the point of not being able to start the car.

It has been several years since this happened and I don't remember the details but something I was doing to the car required that the ignition switch had to be turned to "run". This condition was only for a few minutes, but when I tried to start the car, it wouldn't fire up and I had to wait a bit to get the ignition system to fire. I didn't try to find out why, but simply haven't done that again.

You did not say what happened when you tried to start your car after having the ignition switch to run for "about 30 minutes", but my solution was simply to get the battery charged and go on with my life. Needless to say, I have not let any car sit there with the ignition switch on for an extended amount of time again!

Costco batteries are great and they do not even have a way to test them, if you bring one back during the warranty period, which is a great warranty period, they will just replace it. No questions asked.

Good luck!

Keith

[kwren]

the "deep cycle batteries" unrelated thing.

I am in the process of installing a rod iron fence with an electric automatic gate. This gate is a double 8+ feet high, 16 ft wide, commercial type, with two openers. I plan to totally use solar power with no electrical supply to charge the system. I also am building columns that will each have 3 candelabra bulbs on column that will be illuminated for approximately 4 hours every evening. Our "November rainy season" here in western Washington state lasts a little over 11 months.

Question... Without no transformer to charge the "deep cycle battery, and only solar, does anyone besides me think this will work? Any input appreciated.

Keith

[Manarius]

Originally Posted by Huskymaniac

I discovered one thing I didn't think of...the radiator fans. Even though the A/C wasn't on, the car had warmed up enough to kick on the fans. I have no idea how long those fans were running the other day out of the 30 minutes total time I was sitting there. But when they are on, the draw is 35A. I would think the battery should still be OK with a 35A draw for 30 minutes but I don't know how much faster the reserve capacity draws down at 35A versus 25A.

Originally Posted by Manarius

Well, if the blower fan was on, that would mean you had the car in the "ON" position, not the "ACC" position. In the "ON" position, more than just the blower and radio are on. The whole ignition system is also primed and ready to go. So, that includes the igniter, all the coils, the fuel pump, the radiator fans, etc. So, for 30 minutes for the car to sit in the "ON" position without the car being on with all that stuff going seems pretty reasonable to weaken the battery to the point of not being able to start the car.

I never leave the car in the "ON" position unless the engine is actually running. I don't want to burn up the coils or igniter for no good reason.

Moral to the story is, if you're sitting in the car, either ACC or engine running. Sitting in the "ON" position is no bueno.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Huskymaniac

I have an unrelated question for you. I have a battery backup sump pump. It was installed in January 2006. The batteries are deep cycle batteries from Interstate. They have been on a battery monitor/charger for these 5+ years. Any idea how long I should keep them before replacing them? I am starting to get some stuff seeping out of the caps so I suspect they are at the end of their useful life.

A new battery is cheap insurance.

My dad's battery sump pump failed 20 minutes into the Irene-induced power outage. Cause was an old battery, which turned out to have almost no reserve power. Result was a lost night's sleep for him and me, failure to get the pump rigged up to a car battery before the basement flooded, and a $2400 bill for cleanup/dryout/decontamination.

[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by wdb

A new battery is cheap insurance.

My dad's battery sump pump failed 20 minutes into the Irene-induced power outage. Cause was an old battery, which turned out to have almost no reserve power. Result was a lost night's sleep for him and me, failure to get the pump rigged up to a car battery before the basement flooded, and a $2400 bill for cleanup/dryout/decontamination.

That sucks. If there is any place with worse weather and water problems than here, it is NE PA. How old was the battery?

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Huskymaniac

How old was the battery?

5 or 6 years.

[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by wdb

A new battery is cheap insurance.

My dad's battery sump pump failed 20 minutes into the Irene-induced power outage. Cause was an old battery, which turned out to have almost no reserve power. Result was a lost night's sleep for him and me, failure to get the pump rigged up to a car battery before the basement flooded, and a $2400 bill for cleanup/dryout/decontamination.

Update on this. I drove to a side of our neighborhood I don't usually drive to. Why? The Servicemaster van was in the driveway of one of my neighbors. They also had a dumpster full of debris. Next door to them I saw a very long corrugated pipe coming from their neighbor's house. I'm guessing those two tropical storm remnants flooded basements of houses that don't usually get water.

So I am starting to look more closely at replacement batteries. I have two currently hooked up to my backup pump. The manual for the pump says the pump can run for 9 hours on a typical group 27 deep cycle battery (rated for 105 AH when drained over 20 hours). The two batteries I have now are blemished Interstate SRM-27B batteries. They have a 20 hour rating of 102 AH. They are made by Johnson Controls. I can replace them with full cost versions of the same model from Interstate.

Sears has recently switched from JCI to Deka batteries. For the same cost as the full price SRM-27B ($115 each), I can get a Deka DP31DT which has a 20 hour capacity of 100 AH. While slightly less capacity, Deka batteries (made in the Reading, PA area) are supposedly much better batteries with a longer operating life.

Another, cheaper, option is to buy a JCI battery from Autozone. They have the JCI SRM-24 for $80 and each battery has a 20 hour capacity of 86 AH. That is a better deal but it is a JCI versus a Deka.

I am leaning toward the Deka due to reliability. With two of those batteries my pump can run continuously for 16 hours verus 13 with the Autozone JCI battery. And those run times assume pumping 900 gallons per hour at 10'. I don't think our pump rate gets quite that high nor are we pumping up a full 10'. Plus, we have a bit of a siphoning effect as the outlet is below the pump level in the back yard so that helps a little.

Anyone have any experience with Deka/East Penn batteries?

[Huskymaniac]

On a related note, does anyone live near the East Penn factory that might be coming up to NY soon? I hear they have a factory store and the batteries are a great deal there.

[92snowmachine]

i see a lot of deka batteries in work vans/trucks. they seem to do the job but have problems with corrosion and leaking out. they still function fine but always seem to look terrible. don't know why, could be the way the customers treat them. if you buy the deka battery i would set them on battery mat just in case.

[Hocrest]

Originally Posted by Huskymaniac

On a related note, does anyone live near the East Penn factory that might be coming up to NY soon? I hear they have a factory store and the batteries are a great deal there.

Do you have an address?

[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by Hocrest

Do you have an address?

Deka Road
Lyon Station, PA 19536

There is also a facility in Yeadon and Pittsburgh.

[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by 92snowmachine

i see a lot of deka batteries in work vans/trucks. they seem to do the job but have problems with corrosion and leaking out. they still function fine but always seem to look terrible. don't know why, could be the way the customers treat them. if you buy the deka battery i would set them on battery mat just in case.

I'm curious to see how they compare to the Interstate JCI batteries I have now. Those are leaking quite a bit. I think the stuff I am seeing is lead sulfide crystals.