Batteries

[RebelYankee]

So I'm looking to replace my 4 year old H7 with a H8 and thought I would share some info I found.

I created a spreadsheet of details for the most popular brands of batteries and who makes them.

For the H8 AGM, Duralast, Diehard, Interstate MTX, and EverStart are all the same battery. Literally identical and made by Clarios.

On the high side, interstate is $290, and on the low side, EverStart is $180. Duralast and Diehard are both $250. And as for warranty, EverStart has a 4 year replacement whereas the others are 3.

What am I missing here? Over a $100 difference for the same battery? And a better warranty to boot?


In case you were wondering, you can do a Google search for all these batteries and they are the exact same picture with a different label. Same dimensions, and same specs.

95ah
900cca
160rc
59lbs

 

[Rover Range]

You have to remember.
The batteries might be made by the same manufacturer. But. The batteries that don't meet the quality criteria are sent to the big box stores.

 

[Al Pizzica]

Marketing is one of the answers to your question.
Look at all the VWs and Audis or nissans and Infinitis that are the same vehicle with slightly different fenders and interior materials.
Google "brand positioning"

 

[f1racer328]

Paid $185 for an Interstate H8 AGM back October 23, and $193 for the same battery May 2020.

From Costco.

 

[RebelYankee]

That interstate at costco is $169 now, and it has the same specs as the others. Its $120 cheaper than the equivelent Interatate MTX. How can that be the same battery? Crazy.

I actually sent a note to Clarios to ask them about quality/build differences between battery brands. I wonder if they will reply. If they do I will share here.

 

[powershift]

I've been buying all my batteries at Oriellies (sp) for over a decade. Whatever brand they sell they stand by throughout the mfg warranty period at the front counter. It might be EverStart or some other name with the word Start in it. That's the one I'd reccomend.

But I'm impressed with the Land Rover brand battery tbh. I've been taking measurements at least twice a day on it and putting it on a charger each day. Its a 60 AMP charger that I bought for a DIY Lifepo4 battery pack. The battery born on date is 5/21 so its nearing the 3 year mark. I bought some jumper cables and cut them to connect the charger. I tried the Battery Tender Jr and that was stupid all around. 800ma is all it put out. With the 60 AMP charger it would be more efficient to hard wire it. I've been thinking about wiring an Anderson connector to it and then I can put the battery compartment lid back on.

 

[ftillier]

I've been thinking of setting up an Anderson connector from the battery to somewhere near the grill, so I can hook up my compressor without having to pop the hood. Could also be used to hook up a battery charger or tender. I still dream of getting a hood mounted solar panel to keep things topped up, someday... The battery for ours lasted a good while, despite long periods of just sitting there in the driveway. I didn't look to see when the battery was put into service, but we'd had the rig over 6 years by the time it died. A little Li-Ion jump pack that we got from Costco did the trick to get it started again, so I was happy to get a field test of that while in town. Replacement battery was from Costco, seemed a really good price for an H8 AGM.

 

[itsaguything]

And just to add, those pro rated warranties are a waste of time in my mind.
For the mere few dollars in savings they are buying customer loyalty.

Most of you have more patience than I; I don’t bother putting the battery on the charger unless I’m working on the vehicle. The moment the battery can’t perform as its supposed to, I’m replacing it. And fwiw, some of my vehicles sit for 2+ months, not on a charger. With quiescent draw at a mere 30 mA, its going to take more than 3 months to drain a good battery.

On the other end of the spectrum, I have optimum batteries on my sailboat. They are fantastic and when this LR provided battery gives up the ghost, you know where I’m going.

Cheers All!

 

[powershift]

While in the city I don't use a charger, but when overlanding I'm pretty much living out of it and keep the charger for a few hours daily. Its minor effort to prevent running down the battery.

I've also moved away from using the 12V power outlet in the rear for the refrigerator since it gets power when the engine isn't on. Instead I use a small lithium 16ah battery and connected a cigarette lighter socket to it and now I don't worry about running down the starter battery at all when running errands. At the same time, when I'm in the store the refer can get the juice it needs.

The battery is small enough to stuff into those HVAC lines in the back behind the plastic, but it would need a custom mount. Then the rear 12V socket could mount directly to it and charge it independently. I need to mount a Lifepo4 battery inside somewhere securely.

 

[ftillier]

I believe all the 12v sockets are powered for 3 minutes after you turn the engine off, then power down automatically. You have to jump through hoops to make them stay on.