07-01-2015, 06:32 PM
May just be bad fortune on my part, of course, but over the past few years, I've learnt to avoid any product which starts with the prefix "Dura . . ." 
Al.
Al.
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Vehicle Battery Duff?
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07-01-2015, 07:25 PM
Seems to be getting worse,recently I've had both Duracell and Energiser cells leak.
I've been buying cheap batteries for a while now, this site... http://www.batteryshowdown.com/ convinced me that premium batteries weren't worth the money. Latest buy, a pack of 8 AA Kodak Xtralife (4 +4 free) from Poundland dated 2024! Jim
07-01-2015, 08:12 PM
Google..... duracell fake...
Lawrence.
07-01-2015, 08:43 PM
I generally buy Procells from reputable suppliers like CPC - I stock up when they are on offer. They are astonishingly cheap when you compare them to the high-street price of Duracells. Yes, they can leak when exhausted, but I don't know if Procells are any worse than any other alkaline battery in this regard; either way it's no hardship to keep an eye on them. For high-value items, like radios or DMMs, I'm in the habit of removing the batteries if I'm not using them (yes, I have a DMM collection
 )Regarding car batteries, we've been extremely lucky with our current cars. My wife's 2003 Fiesta still has the original battery, and my 2001 Focus had the original battery until relatively recently. The garage had been warning me that it was getting "low" - whatever that actually means - for a few years, and I finally let them change it one year when the service had been a modest one. The Focus hardly gets used these days - I do about 2,000 miles a year in that car - so the battery was probably fed up with being ignored! I think they've done pretty well. Both cars have heated front screens which take many 10s of amps - much more than a rear screen - and we do mostly short journeys that batteries don't like (in theory, at least). The batteries are calcium types - when replacing, don't skimp and use regular lead-acid types. Calcium types are able to withstand over-charging, which the alternator can do under control of the ECU if it decides it's needed. I'm out of touch with cars these days, so have no idea if other manufacturers do this, or if this is unique to Ford. Our local Ford dealer does the genuine Ford batteries at half-price, which makes them about the same price as a "premium" regular lead-acid battery from Halfords et al. They do this to encourage their customers to fit the correct type, which I think is decently far-sighted of them - when I first researched mine, I found nothing but complaints on the forums, written by folk who had fitted regular batteries that had only lasted a year or two at best. Before this point, I had no idea that the calcium types existed... The battery in my previous car - a VW Golf - lasted just 3 or 4 years. I must say that I was disappointed with that. The battery was a Bosch type, and I would have expected much better than that. Goes to show that brand can only indicate so much - there is a sizeable element of luck with anything, irrespective of the marketing...
08-01-2015, 02:17 AM
A lot of Lucas car batteries in th '60s just switched off, the cell straps under the plastic top were badly spot welded.
Automatic battery chargers will not charge batteries that have a duff cell, they just tell you that it is fully charged when they are shot. Our old petrol Hyundai S Coupe had a Japanese diesel battery, 60Ahr fitted as a replacement. When the car went it became the starter battery for the boat (BMC 1.8 diesel) where it is still performing well, its now about 14 years old! Can't remember the make. If you can find GP alkaline cells, you will have what I consider to be the best around. I have many that are 10 years old, never had a leaker and they go on and on and on. Bought most of them in Hong Kong.
Boater Sam.
08-01-2015, 12:42 PM
A long time ago an old car of mine had a completely knackered battery, on cold mornings it could barely work the radio or sidelights, turn the key and you would lucky to hear the solenoid trying to move, however I had a 12V 30A power supply which I used to connect up in the mornings and after only about 20 seconds of charging it would have somehow 'woken the battery up' as it would then crank the engine as if it were a brand new battery, I don't know what it actually did to the battery but it worked.
John |
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