Portable Jump Starter

Desert Captain wrote:
"Batteries are a wear item, typically should be able to get 8-10 yrs then replace them."


I used to sell a lot of batteries {starting and deep cycle} as the marine chandlery I worked in was a Trojan dealer. The Trojan rep assured me that the planned obsolescence of any battery is 3 years... yes lots of folks do better depending on use and maintenance not to mention weather {our southern Arizona sun can kill just about any battery in 3 years or less.

When the local auto shop sells you a 5, 7 or more year battery that is the same 3 year battery sitting next to it on the shelf but just with a much higher price. Battery manufacturers know that the average owner of a vehicle turns it every 3 - 5 years and chances are they will never have to prorate much less replace it. At three years I start watching it closely and know that before 5 it will need to be replaced.

Some folks keep tires for 8 - 10 years but in both cases you are inviting a problem and Mr. Murphy is not your friend.

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

Battery manufacturers do not build to "obsolescence" so I really do not understand how that "dealer" could spout that.

They build the battery to PROVIDE a certain amount of energy and YOU pay for the "warranty period" buy paying a "premium price" from that brand (in your case Trojan and they are not known for low cost batteries because they warranty the batteries for a longer period than most).

Bring your "Arizona" battery up north for summer and winter time.. You think Arizona heat is hard on batteries, try on some summer heat of upper 90's then plunge below zero for winter for weeks on end.

If all you get is 3 yrs out of a starting battery, there IS something wrong with your vehicles or how you use them.

My DW has a very short commute, 11 miles round trip, THAT is hard on batteries, vehicle NEVER really gets the battery fully charged after each start. Even then, typically am able to get 5-6yrs out of the batteries in her vehicle.. They are consistently under charged. You really need 30 minutes of driving at moderate speeds to put back the energy that was pulled when you started the vehicle. Short trips, stop and go traffic and use of a lot of accessories can easily prevent your vehicle from fully recharging the battery.

Contrast that to my commute of an hr each way, the worst battery life I have gotten out of vehicle batteries has been 9 yrs, the best has been 13 yrs! And yes, I drive and keep vehicles for a long time, the highest mileage one was 240,000 miles and 16 yrs old when I sold it, it had exactly ONE battery replacement. By the way, that 13 yrs WAS with the ORIGINAL OEM battery!

The life you get out any battery highly depends on the depth of discharge and how fast you FULLY recharge it, not so much with brand name or just how much you paid for that brand name. In other words, if you care for it, it will treat you with a long life.

Abuse the battery and it treats you to a very short life.