Battery Additives

[SteveInMD]

Snake oil

 

[Transit]

Well Steve, be it Snake Oil or Possum Piss, how do you explain how I get 15 years service life from the batteries that I've treated?

 

[Coyote machine]

You may not have heard of Seatow, but then you live in Ohio, yes? Not exactly a seacoast area last I checked... and before you start the..'well you live in VT and its not seacoast either', I spend most of my summer /fall at my coastal CT home, where many, many boats still use lead acid batteries, and have not switched to AGM; (which stands for advanced glass mat)- and though one can turn them upside down they are not the best battery for all engines, especially starting batteries that need huge amps to provide starting current for Mercury Optimax engines, among others. I know because I have a 200hp Merc Optimax saltwater engine. And sealing a battery is nothing special- many batteries sold today that claim to be sealed can be filled with distilled water when the electrolyte drops below full.

As to Costco- if you carefully read what I wrote I said: "among a number of other well known and recognizable name brand manufacturers and companies that use it: for instance- Costco, etc."
I did NOT say anything about Costco manufacturing anything- just a company that uses the product....

Costco SELLS things...they dont make anything!

As far as "seatow" goes ( Ive never heard orf them??) anyone I ever heard of that operates "off shore" switched to AGM batterys that are SEALED ( ya cant add anything to them) and will operate 100% even if turned upside down

 

[Coyote machine]

I second this statement too- what do you base your snake oil claim on? fiction? facts? If facts, please present them for the rest of use to study....

Well Steve, be it Snake Oil or Possum Piss, how do you explain how I get 15 years service life from the batteries that I've treated?

 

[Coyote machine]

I can't say why a battery manufacturer would endorse a product, but if you read the testimonials you will see that at least one did.And if you want to know why- write them and ask them why... I'm not their endorser- they are. And you assume that it would decrease sales of their products, but there is nothing to show that in fact that would be the consequence of endorsing something that works in conjunction with their battery(s)- that is pure conjecture, NOT fact.

Why would a battery maker endorse something that would decrease sales of their product?

 

[Coyote machine]

I agree in part with your logic. But it is hard for an entrenched manufacturing base like battery manufacturers to move over to trying to sell new technology- especially now, and even more so due to economic restraints- even if the battery manufacturers could provide a battery that lasted twice as long it would be difficult to break into the market against what is already out there. It would be even more difficult to start the slide toward the new battery if it cost 10-15% more than what people are used to buying.
They seem content to make their profits by doing exactly what they have been doing for years- selling a product that has a finite life and taking their profits on each sale. Without producing more batteries they have less chance of keeping their profits sustained over time.

If a battery company endorsed it, why wouldn't they just use it, double their warranttee and sell their batterys for an extra 5-10% over the competition??? They are in business to make a PROFIT, not just produce more batteries...

 

[Sully2]

You may not have heard of Seatow, but then you live in Ohio, yes? Not exactly a seacoast area last I checked... and before you start the..'well you live in VT and its not seacoast either', I spend most of my summer /fall at my coastal CT home, where many, many boats still use lead acid batteries, and have not switched to AGM; (which stands for advanced glass mat)- and though one can turn them upside down they are not the best battery for all engines, especially starting batteries that need huge amps to provide starting current for Mercury Optimax engines, among others. I know because I have a 200hp Merc Optimax saltwater engine. And sealing a battery is nothing special- many batteries sold today that claim to be sealed can be filled with distilled water when the electrolyte drops below full.

As to Costco- if you carefully read what I wrote I said: "among a number of other well known and recognizable name brand manufacturers and companies that use it: for instance- Costco, etc."
I did NOT say anything about Costco manufacturing anything- just a company that uses the product....

I use a 1450 CCA AGM battery as a start battery for a 330 HP Cummins. Cant get much larger than that! As far as "many boats have not changed to AGM's...MANy HAVE changed to AGM because there is no way for them to spill acid if turned all sorts of directions when in heavy seas.

Whether Ohio or Vt either is or is not a seacoast state doesnt bother me even an iota because I dont care at all for the "coast" and all the hoopla about how great it is. Ive seen the Gulf; seen the Pacificl seen the Atlantic and also the Great lakes..and guess what? I cant see the other side and they ALL look the same to me and smell of dead fish...or should I say carry the same aroma as this tale of great longevity and batterys that last for eons!
\And BTW..Absorbant Glass Mat batterys ( AGM) CANT be opened without destroying them and no electrolite can be added!

 

[Sully2]

Some unnamed source from Cosco...who might very well be the dude that sweeps the floors since it doesnt state his name nor his company position
and some battery company called Industrial Battery Engineering....which Im sure is one of the "biggies" in battery manufacturing!!!!!!

You guys MUSt be kidding me!

 

[Coyote machine]

Maybe you ought to consider remedial reading before posting in future.... Once again, you miss-state what I've said. I never said that AGM batteries could be opened to fill with electrolyte. I did say that many sealed batteries can be opened to fill with electrolyte, so called 'maintenance free' batteries fall into the category I was referring to.
Whether you like the coast or water in general, salt or fresh is irrelevant to this discussion.
And no we're not kidding you- you can go on believing there is nothing that can extend a batteries life and it will have no effect on anyone but you.
You can convince yourself that AGM's have overtaken the battery market because if a boat were to flip or roll severely in rough seas it would continue to have uninterrupted power to the circuits and not spill acid, but unbeknown to you the battery market is still predominately saturated with the older lead acid batteries due to costs and market share.
And I'm sure if the guy at Costco who made the endorsement of the product shared his name that would be the straw that would cave your argument about the floor sweeper?!
And since you haven't heard of the battery company that endorses the product you assume they have no part of the battery market in the USA? Europe? Worldwide?
What would it take to convince you anything stated is valid? Possibly a note from the mother of the guy who invented the product?
YOU MUST be kidding the rest of us? What are you- consumer reports?

I use a 1450 CCA AGM battery as a start battery for a 330 HP Cummins. Cant get much larger than that! As far as "many boats have not changed to AGM's...MANy HAVE changed to AGM because there is no way for them to spill acid if turned all sorts of directions when in heavy seas.

Whether Ohio or Vt either is or is not a seacoast state doesnt bother me even an iota because I dont care at all for the "coast" and all the hoopla about how great it is. Ive seen the Gulf; seen the Pacificl seen the Atlantic and also the Great lakes..and guess what? I cant see the other side and they ALL look the same to me and smell of dead fish...or should I say carry the same aroma as this tale of great longevity and batterys that last for eons!
\And BTW..Absorbant Glass Mat batterys ( AGM) CANT be opened without destroying them and no electrolite can be added!