Group 51 Battery Recommendation

[Blitzboy54]

Like a lot (maybe most?) of you I installed a Breeze battery box. This uses a group 51 battery. I am on a budget (that I am hilariously over) so I purchased a NAPA brand battery. It was roughly half the cost of the high end unit but I did the same thing with my last car and it was never an issue. Early on I had left the cockpit lights on overnight. This obviously would drain it some but it ran it down pretty good. These were LED's though and it should have barely moved the needle. But I recharged it and moved on.

Recently I had not started the engine in nearly a month. I went to fire it up and it wouldn't start. I had 10.5v according to the gauge in my dash. Yikes, I put the charger on the battery and realized after 6 hours it still wasn't fully charged, then left it overnight and STILL not fully charged. This is very odd. I assumed I have an excessive parasitic draw. I disconnected one half of the battery and tested. I consistently measure around 0.03 amps or 30 milliamps. According to the internet normal draw on a modern car is between 0.02 - 0.05. I am well within spec. I also pulled a number of fuses to things I though might be pulling extra and none of it moved the needle. Most of that draw is coming from the ECU.

I disconnected the battery entirely and put it on the charger. It won't charge past 13.1v (the charger wants 13.5). I pulled it and put on the bench. According to my Fluke it was 12.9v last night and this morning it's 12.6.

I clearly have a dud. The good news is it's under warranty. The bad news is I didn't save the receipt apparently. So if I am going to eat the cost of a new battery I would like it to be a good one.


What say you?

[Jeff Kleiner]

Whatever you do please DO NOT FALL INTO THE OPTIMA TRAP!

Go to Interstate and be done with it. ;)

Jeff

[cv2065]

Walmart Everstart! Can’t go wrong!

[rich grsc]

Walmart gets a bad wrap on almost everything, but their batteries are pretty good. They stand behind the warranty, don't even need to 'keep' the receipt, they will have it on file.

[TrackDay17]

I put a DieHard AGM battery in my Toyota Tacoma in 2019, its still going strong.
I bought it at my local Advance Auto up the street.
A tip for you I learned, If you buy online and pick it up you can apply the 20-25 percent discount they offer online.
When I went to buy it at the store the older guy I get parts from there clued me in to it.
I went home two miles and ordered it and picked it up after dinner, saved myself like 50 bucks !

[PNWTim]

As Jeff pointed out Optimas have a bad rap but I am planning on using a yellow top for my build. I have had one in my Camaro for the past 5 years with zero issues. I have an Interstate in my F-150 with zero trouble as well after 7 years.

[cv2065]

I believe there are only a couple of companies that make all of these batteries with Johnson Controls (Now Clarios) making Duralast (Autozone), Diehard (Advance Auto), Kirkland, Motorcraft, Interstate, Super Start (O'Reillys), Optima and Everstart (Walmart). Most of the battery housings are very similar except for maybe Optima.

[MPTech]

As others stated, I replaced my battery 2 years ago with a Walmart and have had no issues.

[PMD24]

If you paid with a credit card, maybe NAPA will step up if you show that. It won't matter to them as they will simply be sending it back to the supplier.

Walmart Everstart's are consistent top contenders in independent battery tests, and always near or at the top when price is factored in.

Harbor Freight has an inexpensive battery load tester. I use mine pretty often... 4 vehicles, 2 tractors, 2 mowers, 3 electric golf carts, and other stuff. Lots of batteries!

[JJ in Cbus]

I run Interstate batteries from Costco. Never had an issue in my daily drivers, The Cobra over the winter you need to put a battery tender on it once in a while. I spilt the battery tender time between my lawn mower and the Cobra. If you do not keep a decent charge on them I only get about 2 years out of them.

[Dgc333]

When I purchased my 68 Barracuda in 1997 I purchased the cheapest battery Walmart had. I figured once I was done with the restoration I would replace it with a better battery. It lasted 12 years so I replaced it with a higher capacity Walmart EverStart MAXX battery. This one lasted 14 years. I replaced it with another EverStart MAXX.
Autozone was the only place that had a group 51R battery in stock when I needed it so I got a Duralast Gold for my 33. Same manufacturer as the Walmart batteries so I expect similar life out of it.

[Dgc333]

I run Interstate batteries from Costco. Never had an issue in my daily drivers, The Cobra over the winter you need to put a battery tender on it once in a while. I spilt the battery tender time between my lawn mower and the Cobra. If you do not keep a decent charge on them I only get about 2 years out of them.

I have 4 cheap battery tenders for my Barracuda, the FFR 33 and my two camper batteries. Based on the life I have gotten out of the batteries in my Cuda they are well worth the investment.

[BornWestUSA]

Walmart, Costco or Honda for a group 51.

Drive it into the garage and immediately plug into a Battery Tender.

Always.

This should give you 5 year battery life going forward.

Lead acid batteries like to be kept fully charged.

[JMD]

Another vote for the Walmart Everstart. That's what I put in my project last year. It sat uncranked since last November (been fitting body, etc) and I just got in and fired it up today. No problems. I've used them in many cars and never had a bad experience. They almost always last longer than they're rated for and usually significantly cheaper than getting a battery at the autopart store.

[gbranham]

I know the Optimas get a bad rap these days, but my yellow top has been fine since I bought it in December of last year.

[SteveHsr]

12.6 volts is a fully charged lead acid car battery.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Thought it was 6 cells @ 2.2 volts fully charged?

[Dave Howard]

My yellow top Optima was bought in 2012. The car started fine again this spring after coming out of hibernation. No battery boost or trickle charge. Turned the key and VROOM.

[Blitzboy54]

12.6 volts is a fully charged lead acid car battery.

That’s right. The problem is it was 12.3 by the end of the day. It stopped holding a charge.


UPDATE - because the battery was so new and I had the CC receipt they swapped me out. I appreciate all the input.

Onward and upward, UNLESS you coat your side pipes and realize you aligned the seam on the muffler you welded installed UP on the drivers side. You can’t un see it. I don’t make a lot of mistakes twice but I make all of them once.

[PNWTim]

That’s right. The problem is it was 12.3 by the end of the day. It stopped holding a charge.


UPDATE - because the battery was so new and I had the CC receipt they swapped me out. I appreciate all the input.

Onward and upward, UNLESS you coat your side pipes and realize you aligned the seam on the muffler you welded installed UP on the drivers side. You can’t un see it. I don’t make a lot of mistakes twice but I make all of them once.

Mistakes are just unrealized wisdom. That's what I tell myself at least...

[ggunter]

When batteries sit or are discharged by cranking etc., they give off lead sulfate. As that lead sulfate falls to the bottom of the case it eventually builds up and when it touches the lead plates it causes a short across the cell. AKA a shorted cell, which no amount of charging will recharge the battery for use because it is in a state of constant short circuit. Also, as the battery sheds this lead it has less lead on the plates to work with. A battery tender will prevent this and give you at least double the life of your batteries if always used.

[Presdough]

I came here to say that...

[DavidW]

Optima is the best battery out there, lol
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=214362&d=1748368795