Felt like a family member left, but I'm over it.

[SnowDrift]

The twins have been with our family over 9 years. They've been all over Ohio, to the aftermath of Katrina, been to Michigan and Indiana and this is the second truck they've been in. They NEVER failed me. Whether near 100 degrees or below zero after sitting idle for two months on end. Yesterday, they had to go. My Interstate MegaTron batteries have been replaced.

 

[btfarm]

RIP at the recyclers oh reliable twins!:bow:

Replaced with same no doubt?

 

[Paveltolz]

Too Funny. Thanks, I needed a laugh.

 

[SnowDrift]

Replaced with same no doubt?

Yes, without hesitation

 

[bfourman]

Hopefully you get the same service life out of the new ones. Unfortunately battery quality has dropped off since those were new. I had redtop Optimas in all my vehicles for a long time, most lasting 6-7 years, then all of the sudden they started failing every year or year and a half. There are only two or three battery manufacturers anymore, just different labels. I know the Interstates are reputable, hope they live up to their reputation.

 

[WarWagon]

That is almost unheard of life out of batteries. Call em and see if they want them back - to make sure this doesn't happen again! :hihi:

Heat or lack of has a lot to do with battery life. Just tossed a pair of MegaTron's to the recyclers and they were ~3 years old.

Optima's suffered bigtime when Johnson "cheapskate" Controls bought them out. Moved production to Mexico and started using recycled lead among other changes. They since reversed some detrimental changes. Look up the buyout for some interesting info via Google.

 

[GM Guy]

looked this summer on one of our combines, and we have a battery from 02. I think our little federated battery is still kicking around in one of the pieces of farm equipment, I think it may be an 01. this is all up on the Idaho farm, so much cooler temps. we have combines out of the late 70s, and there interiors are still like new, and out here in Kansas, our combines of the same age have no headliner or backliner, and batteries never last as long here on the KS farm. Heat sucks!

 

[SnowDrift]

The battery I put in my bride's Suburban (MegaTron I installed when we bought the Burb) was 8 years old. I only replaced it this past spring because I replaced the alternator and was concerned that if the battery was getting too weak, it might put too much extra load on the new alternator, itself. It didn't really show signs of weakness, though. More of a preventative thing, I guess.

 

[jmack91z28]

Optima's suffered bigtime when Johnson "cheapskate" Controls bought them out. Moved production to Mexico and started using recycled lead among other changes. They since reversed some detrimental changes. Look up the buyout for some interesting info via Google.

Johnson Controls is building a huge manufacturing facility down here in Florence, SC. It's not done yet but they will be building batteries here from what I've heard. Maybe we'll see an increase in quality. That or they'll just ship in cheap import materials and assemble them here to brand them "made in USA".

I'd never jumped on the Optima bandwagon. I have heard good things of interstate. They also rewind Dewalt batteries too which I hear are a great deal.

 

[SnowDrift]

Out of curiosity, I checked on Optima only because they claim 2x the battery life. They're also 2x the price, so I didn't see the benefit for my situation. I'm a hard sell, though, on anything but Interstate, so I didn't have to convince myself too much to keep with what I knew worked.

 

[GM Guy]

I got some interstates that came with the 95 GMC when I bought it, we will see how long they last. they are a matched pair, and after your luck, I hope I get close!

 

[Woody35]

i replaced my interstate megatrons after 7 years and they were still going good. i just wanted to do it because they spent a long winter cranking a long time on cold starts because of a dying ip. i figured they wouldnt last much longer.

 

[HighSierra86]

I personally havent had the greatest luck with interstate batteries. Granted the trucks I had them in dont get used that often, which can be hard on any battery. I just thought for the price they should last at least 4-5 years. I have really good luck with NAPAs commercial line of batteries as well as the ACDelcos right from gm. The prices really arent that outrageous when you figure they last 6-7 years on average. Just my .02

-Nick

 

[tanman_2006]

I have 7 yr old napa's in my 93 and they are TOAST as of this summer. The recent cool morning have them showing their age. If it sits for more than 1 night then no cranky in the AM. I am going with Interstates next.


My 95 has duralast batts and alt that as fine after the first yr still. They are manufactured by the same company as napa after some checking around so I'm not too worried.

The Dmax has Blem's lol. They have a napa part # but 1/2 price. They crank good but I am keeping an eye on them.

My 8920 has 06 batts and it does quiet abit of sitting in the winter.

 

[Burning oil]

I tried optima bats about 10 years ago? mainly because it was going in a show car and I did not want the acid leaking like others can do. They seem to be real good bats and I bought them for the rest of my vehicles. After 6 years or so they need r&r.

 

[WarWagon]

Only ever had one Optima leak on me - made in Mexico and was 6 years old.

We were using them when they first came out in air cooled single banger diesel light plants. These would beat, vibrate, everything to death and very short life on batteries. The Optima's stopped the frequent battery replacements and call outs - it's 2AM and who gives a damn if it is under warranty or not on a call out to get the light plant running again...

There are other and now better brands of AGM batteries out there, of course, more expensive. The AGM's suffer with heat as well.

However, with as many AC Delco batteries I have had leak and eat cables, battery trays, and wiring under the batteries... The extra money is worth it for me for nearly zero leaks. That and zero acid seeping out of them. Most Interstate and other batteries I see have a good build up on the around the vents. The Optima's stay very clean during their life.

The pair of Optima's I had in the 1993 still started the engine after being crushed by the elk even though one top was blown nearly off the battery. A regular battery would have been acid city everywhere.