Another Battery!

[DarkBlack]

My experience with car batteries is they last three years. And yes, the prices are nuts!

My 12 year old truck still has the original battery.
I just changed the original battery in my 16 year old tractor a couple months ago

 

[workinonit]

I personally think these battery tenders are not very good for battery life. They keep one charged that may otherwise go dead such as my Polaris. I bet I've put 5 batteries in that thing. They go dead in the garage because I don't use it enough. This last one has lasted a coupe of years I think. I tend to have really good service out of my batteries.

 

[rScotty]

Batteries seem to be a crapshoot the last few years. We've also had trouble with battery cables and connectors corroding. I ordered some nice looking brass battery connectors from Amazon. Although they looked nice, they formed a hard corrosion between the connector and battery post inside of a month. In spite of the red/green pads and sealed AGM batteries.

Finally found some vintage 1950's truck battery cables made out of stranded copper, with old fashioned soft lead battery post connectors. They work great, but I can't find anything like them for sale new.
Let me know if you find good copper cables and lead connectors.

rScotty

 

[grsthegreat]

Napa sells the copper and led ends

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/MPB781126

 

[rScotty]

Napa sells the copper and led ends

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/MPB781126

Thanks. I'll check them out.

 

[DarkBlack]

Thanks. I'll check them out.

Those are most likely not solid lead connectors like almost every other cable. Even advertised lead connectors are currently only lead “alloys”. Pure lead is too soft.
As far as looking for stranded copper, all battery cables should be stranded copper.
Amazon has many cheap stranded copper battery post cables, but they are either with zinc or tin plated cast copper connectors. Copper is a better conductor than lead. You might want to go with a standard cable and figure out what’s causing your corrosion. It shouldn’t be bad from a lead terminal to a zinc, or tin plated copper connector

 

[Thomas]

Some are lucky getting what they pay for,lately you pay more getting less for your $$$'s.

 

[dstig1]

Lately I have been having amazingly weirdly good luck on batteries. Wife's car is over 8 years old and still cranks like new. Tractor is over 11 and is showing signs of "the end is near", but where it is parked is easy to pull the charger/jumper over to start it if(OK, when) it finally gives out. Mower is like 6 or so now. I don't use maintainers constantly but will put the mower on one as spring approaches, and the tractor needs some help if it sits too long (no surprise given the age). My old truck had a slow drain that made it die when it sat, which it often did in recent years but just got replaced with a new truck a year ago, so we'll see how far that one goes...

 

[Gregster613]

My 12 year old truck still has the original battery.
I just changed the original battery in my 16 year old tractor a couple months ago

Darkblack, I read about people like you and I hope to someday achieve that goal but so far it seems unobtainable for me. I will keep trying but as I stated - even with a "smart" charger hooked up it seems to evade me!! Just not as lucky as you are I guess. Thanks for your input though - it gives me continued "hope" that I may "someday" be one of the lucky ones.

 

[alexpops]

For Cables/Posts, I've taken to making my own from welding cable and closed end copper lugs with heat shrink. For Post clamps, either soft lead marine terminals or milspec terminals. You do need to invest in a decent hydraulic crimper to crimp the lugs to the cable. All available on amazon.