Jim Lane

Have you had some particular problem with Intersate?

I have run interstate batteries in my truck as a starting battery for the last 12 years, and yes I have had them fail but I have also had every other brand battery fail at some point in my last 54 or so years of driving.

I would never expect a battery to last as long as the warranty, that would be like driving on your tires till the last remaining tread was showing.

If you didn't know Interstate batteries are made by Johnson Controls and not Interstate, they are just another company that sells them, re badged batteries that are also sold as Duralast, Diehard, Kirkland, Motorcraft, Ever Starts and Interstate.

They also make Optima, Varta, LTH, Heliar and many other private labels.

I just replaced my failed battery a few months ago with a Group 31 Workaholic which only came with a with a 1 year free replacement and an 18-month prorated warranty.

But I have enough batteries in my truck that it could fail on Sunday and I could still drive it for a few days until I could get it replaced.

Also I got my battery from the Interstate Distribution Center in Upland CA. and not an authorized retailer, the guys listened and learned about my years of experience as mechanic and automotive electrician involving batteries and were most professional.

Has anyone tried an Odyssey battery yet?

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc2150.htm

Jim

Jim Lane

My Axillary #2 batteries are mounted behind the drivers side wheel well inside the bed, I used to have an Interstate 8-D diesel battery but the electrolyte was always spilling out of the cells from the trucks rough ride, I made a vent system for it using stoppers and a container to catch the acid that I would have to add back to the cell every time I checked and added water to it.

I finally took out the 8-D and replaced it using 3 AGM gell batteries taken out of a computer UPS, all 3 are connected in parallel to act as 1 unit, this is also connected to my charging system through a Sure Power Separator so it can also be paralleled to my starting battery when needed.

This battery is used to power my inverter and work lights.

So if you mount them in the rear of the truck just be aware that you might loose your electrolyte so make sure you have them in a marine battery case so they don't eat up your truck when it spills.

Jim

sooty

i think your referring to exide, they are----, the interstate batteries i sell do last for premium service time, including 8 years in my truck, im running the group 31 optima blue, they dont puke acid, and keep the area clean around the cables.

ARbowhunter7

Jim, thanks for your input. I have had countless problems with Interstate batteries in hard-use environments. I own a site development company based out of Atlanta, and the problems with the batteries in our heavy equipment made it all the way up to my level pretty quickly. The starting/charging issues were a routine issue, and the lost productivity is something I don't even want to think about. Our service contract was with a certain Caterpillar dealer that I (otherwise) hold in VERY high regard, who (for one reason or another) installed Interstate batteries instead of Caterpillar's calcium or AGM batteries (mfd. by East Penn Battery, who makes Deka). This is when the issue began, and their customer service was the worst of the worst. Thankfully, the Cat dealer made the issue right at no cost.

As for Optima, I was a strong advocate of their product until the point in late 2000 that the brand was purchased by Johnson Controls, and the manufacturing facility was almost immediately moved to Mexico. I no longer recommend the Optima brand because, while their name is still held in high regard, the quality of construction is not what it was.

As for Odyssey, this will probably be my next purchase for the Dodge. I have a pair in each Duramax. They seem rock solid, albeit at a much higher price. I love the AGM design in a truck.

mhuppertz

Group 31 Optima yellow top. They are immune to vibration damage and last a long time because they use virgin led.

NE frmhnd

Our tractors ate Deka batteries and we went probably ten years running nothing but Interstates. When the first pair of Interstates went bad and we needed batteries NOW, we got Deka's. They gave us a pair of 12V instead of 6V, and I don't know if they would last as long as the Interstates (had to sell out before they got that old), but they lasted a lot longer than the 6V Deka's did. At least 2 years instead of 1. We did have to change the cables around, but that was simple enough for the price difference.

Oh, and we ran them in all our tractors, from the Super M that would numb your feet if you stood on the drawbar, to the 1566 that had the pump turned up to the point you could follow its path around a field by the smoke trail on a cool, calm night, in the TD-8G, and Ford 555B.

dzl_damon

IDK why you need so much CCA's when you live in GA, but to each their own I guess...

Just use 2 batteries and save yourself some money if you feel you must have all that cranking power! It's cheaper to use 2 65 series batteries. NAPA replaced both my batteries after 1 failed after over a year. It was my fault since I didn't have it strapped down good enough. They didn't care.

The_Head

I am curious to know why you won't do a 2 battery setup.

dzl_damon

x2 65 series fits in there nicely. I screwed on a 7/16" of plywood to the top of the original battery tray inside the original lip. Then, I screwed 2 battery trays from NAPA sideways onto the plywood (it was about flush with the original lip since the plywood was a spacer in there). Solder up some new connections cause the old ones were terrible anyway, and you can have over 2000CCA's at 32*F, and 1760CCAs at 0*F. All of this was the same price as the single 31 series in my other truck (~$150), and they honored 1 batteries warranty to both of them.... when 1 failed, they gave me 2 new ones.

ARbowhunter7

Has nothing to do with temp, CA's equal reserve power. I am in situations on a regular basis where I need to illuminate a jobsite (or backed up to a bonfire with the stereo cranked) and I don't want to worry about my batteries having the juice to crank the truck after the fact.

New_Dog93

Group 31 NAPA 31110 (1125cca) starts my truck unplugged @ -35deg C.... It's much happier if plugged in tho! Lol