Whats the best battery to buy for my truck?

Scott_in_WVA · Aug 11, 2002

I want a good one,I have a Warn 9000 on my truck,I want one that will do the job,even at 20 below zero.
What does the tractorbynet team/buddies say to do?
I am listening.

JerryG · Aug 11, 2002

The only battery that I could get any service from for years was a Diehard. The last few years I have been using Wal-Mart batteries and have had good luck with them. A while back on Agriculture Online Machinery segment the same question was asked. There must have been a hundred responses. I was surprised, but the Wal-Mart batteries were #1 and the Diehard was #2.

karmakanic · Aug 11, 2002

As I understand it, there's only 3 different manufactors of batteries in the country, so there's a lot of rebranding that goes on.

I've been an Interstate dealer for 20 yrs, and I find their batteries to be decent quality, fairly priced, and since they have a nationwide dealer network warranty problems can be handled anywhere. For many years the manufactor for Interstate was the same as the Sears Diehard. I'm not sure if that's currently true.

I've heard good things about the new gel batteries, but don't have any personal experience with them. The concept sure sounds nice. They're completely sealed, so you could even mount them upside down if desired, and no worry about battery acid seeping and corroding the battery tray. And no need to ever add water.

Dave Perry

RobertN · Aug 11, 2002

Optima Yellow Top. It is a gel cell battery made just for you application.

They are a sealed gel cell battery. You can mount them anywhere, including upside down. In the event of a puncture, leakage is minimal, especially compared to a regular battery. They are made for deep cycling, like in a winching application. My brother in law runs two in his Jeep, for running the winch and off road lights. That setup, with the high-current premierr welder/alternator is a great high power, high current setup. It would be really cool to add to one of these compact tractors...

They are also used in all the Medic units in the local fire disrics around here. They handle the lighting load better than any other battery we've seen. When the Medic unit is running both air units, all the outside lights and siren, and all the interior lights, they can really use up the power!

Thier batteries are a little on the pricey side, but they do last; Randy has had his for 8 years now. Oh, he has used them too, with the Warn winch, and big off road lights. I know of others who have got lots of years out of them.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.optimabatteries.com/products/deep_Cycle/index.asp>http://www.optimabatteries.com/products/deep_Cycle/index.asp</A>
Here is thier web page

Ledgemere Farm · Aug 11, 2002

DieHard and John Deere have good batteries. Never had much luck w/ NAPA.

bgott · Aug 11, 2002

Stay away from Exide! I've had to deal with a ton of problems from Exide batteries. Exide had legal problems out of the crap they were selling, it was a while back so I don't remember the details. Same with DieHard, Exide might have been making them. I've had good DieHards but haven't used them in years. Interstate is good, I've worked in shops that sold them and I have never seen a bunch of warranty problems out of them. When I was a kid I'd buy an Interstate green top and it would last for three or four cars. I went through a lot of cars.

The next time I need a battery I'm thinking of buying an Optima or two, depending what I need batteries in.

bgott · Aug 11, 2002

There is a an article down the list on this website about the Exide- Diehard problems. It looks like they settled it a little over a year ago.

http://www.conformity-update.com/0104.htm

This website has a lot of information on batteries in general.

http://www.scoop0901.net/AWAKE/FAQ/Battery/dcfaq.htm

Mosey · Aug 12, 2002

I've had good luck with Diehard and Delco. A winch will put a strain any brand of battery. Be sure and keep the engine running and rev it up some so you don't rely on just the battery. You'll save yourself a some walking and get more power from the winch. If you're really going to be doing a lot, I'd recommend a dual battery setup and a high amp alternator. I had a Blazer and a Jeep with that setup and it makes a big difference. I also had a hand throttle to keep the engine RPMs up so I could use the winch while standing next to the vehicle pulling someone else out, pulling stumps, etc.

Ozarker · Aug 12, 2002

If you go to Warn's web site you will see that the 9000 draws 180 amps for a 2000 pound pull and up to 460 amps for a 9000 pound pull. Add to that the 600 or 700 amps your vehicle needs and it is clear that you need a twin battery setup if you intend to do any serious pulling. You may even need to step up to a larger alternator.

I've seen a lot of winches peter out in the middle of a pull because they drained the battery and the alternator couldn't keep up.