Put RV or Marine in the equation then add 30% to the price. I know what we paid for our marine batts and I know what we sold them for, yes nuts stupid mark up.

 

They wanted to sell me a deep cycle, but what I needed was an engine battery to crank a 454.

 

^^^ LOL somehow that does not surprise me.

 

most of the kids that work at places like walmart don't know anything about what they sell. i bet there is no one at my local walmart that know the same filter that fits my dads ford and big block dodges would also work with my 318 but the good local parts store that just sells auto parts do.

 

Just most things.

If you look up the battery manufacturers (there are actually just a few large ones that sell under many different names), Walmart's batteries are actually made by a very good company, although I can't recall the name off the top of my head.

Wife and I get the high end batteries from Advance Auto. Probably not the cheapest, but I am not going to sweat over $20. They have yet to fail us. If I had been really thinking, I would have taken the 3 month old (or less) battery out of the wife's Jeep when she totaled it, before we sold it to the junk yard, as her new 2006 Durango needed a battery soon after we bought it. Oh well.

 

I got my last battery (for a different truck) new at Rural King for $45 after exchange. It's an Exide and seems to be sufficient for what I needed at the time.

They currently have a 78DT-60 (650 CCA) on sale for $50 after exchange..... It's not the biggest or best battery available, but I'm thinking it would suffice in a mild climate. Exide's website showed it as a fit for my '01 too.

I have a feeling I'm going to get flamed for this...


jasonw, I believe this website will be of some help with who makes who;

http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm

 

Up here in the great north a good battery at canadian tire runs just over $100 , comes with a 3 year replacement warranty . I abuse the hell out of them with a stereo and a winch . I have damaged cells in two, and exchanged for a brand new one both times no questions asked .

 

Thanks for the great replies guys. Seems that batteries have shot up just about everywhere. I wonder if it's an increase in the cost of lead, acid, or more Fed regulations? Either way, it's all made in China but we don't seem to see the discounts at the register. For a bad economy, it's amazing how everything seems to be getting more and more expensive (and they say there is no inflation, BS).

The batteries at WalMart are not bad at all. They are made by Johnson Control and I have been running them for many years now on different vehicles. The run long, strong and leak free. I had some other batteries years back from auto parts that would leak and corrode the terminals, cables, tray, everything. They required constant cleaning. They were really a PITA! Can't tell you what brand because they are always relabeled. I just know about the Johnson Control cause I read it on the battery.

As far as getting help at WalMart, well, that's about as good as getting help at many auto parts. Most of these folks now days don't really know what they are doing. If it's not in the computer, they have no clue. I just look up the car and battery in the book they have by the batteries and find the biggest one I can fit in the tray. I always buy the biggest. That is one way I can tell you we are being screwed in SOCal, is the CCA. They for some odd reason keep limiting the Cold Cranking Amps to 750 and wont go higher. I used to get 850 and even 1000 a while back but now they tell me they can't sell them in SoCal. Why, I have no idea since no one can tell me.

As for buying used batteries, that's a good idea for a car that I would be selling, but not for the wife's car. If you are married, you would know the HELL I would catch if I did that! You guys in the frozen North, I don't know how you do it. Seems like you pay double what we pay on everything. I would go broke with all those fees on everything.

 

ya people at the parts store do rely more on computers now a days but the places that just deal strictly with automotive stuff are usually way more useful than the people that work at places like Canadian tire or walmart. i would say only 1 out of 3 parts i get from Canadian tire are correct for the vehicle i am working on.

and even triple sometime. the steering gear for my truck is about is about $300-$400 plus another $200-300 core charge. on rock auto they have them for $130-$160 plus $75-$100 core charge. this is why i am not planning on changing mine any time soon. just keeping it topped up.

 

Anyone tried converting their lead-acid battery to lead-alkaline?

Dump out the acid mixture from a weak battery and fill it with a mixture of 6 ozs. Alum and 60 ozs. water.

I have heard that it works most of the time, but not always. Not supposed to rinse out the battery before refilling, as the sulfates on the plates help it to take a charge.

It won't have quite the cranking amps of the lead-acid (if it works at all).
I haven't tried it myself yet, but I have an old battery I had to replace because it reached the point where it wasn't reliable. I've been trying to get to where I don't have a bunch of other things with a higher priority to do just so I could try it.
It would be an interesting experiment. The Alum can be picked up at the grocery store, it's the same stuff they use to make pickles.
If anyone has tried it, or does in the near future, I would be interested in hearing how it went.