Batteries can drive you crazy! There is no way beyond sales talk and marketing to know what you are getting. This is such an ever changing business with manufacturers, suppliers and dealer networks changing all the time. I used to buy all my batteries at Walmart, but they were getting lighter and lighter and eventually did not perform to my expectations. I have been removing ten year old Yuasa Gelled lead acid batteries recently. Replacement ones, same rating and manufacture last two or three years, and are mysteriously much lighter in weight.
We are being dupped!
I try and put battery disconnect switches on my equipment. This may help to prevent the slight drain of the battery through the leakage of the diodes on the alternators. A healthy diesel, with a good starting system and battery should start at freezing after a month of not being used if not longer!
But back to Walmart. I used to believe in getting Big expensive "Industrial" batteries but found that they didn't last any longer, so might as well buy cheap ones. Always wanted to try JD strongbox but have no idea what I am really buying. A friend works at a place that uses maybe a couple thousand commercial batteries a year and I get the impression that they really don't know what they are getting either! It's all just Sales talk, in other words, most of the time pure B.S.!
