Battery Maintenance or not

Mex and Niner are discussing stuff way over my head. When my battery goes bad what do I need to replace it with? At my age I seldom buy green banana's so I don't need a 10 yr. battery.
Thanks , Marvin

And...............

If I may add, German engineering takes seriously current draw at rest which is a battery killer via cycling.

The Japanese, especially Nissan, Mazda, and Subaru were notorious for .020-.050 quiescent current. un-curable because the bleed down was feeding ECU and computer PROM. Early Hyundai was another loser. Italian ultra cars needed battery float maintenance.

One of the most prolific violators I find down here are aftermarket boom-boom car stereo amplifiers. Designed by take-another-hit-Murf and turn up the vay-yoom. As much as half an amp suckdown at rest.

Checking at-rest voltage drawdown is good juju. For chassis batteries. My toad has .0013 ampere which is as good as it's going to get.

That AGM Deka compared to a Varta is like Comparing a Rolex Oyster to a Hwang Zhang piece of time from Hong Kong.

Take a look at your photo on the left side, near the top. See that clear vent hose? Stop and ask your self, what does it mean? Your existing battery is a non AGM battery.

Your battery is strong because you use it frequently enough to keep it nearly fully charged, and infrequently enough that it doesn't go through a lot of charge /discharge cycles. It also helps that your diesel probably starts up first time, every time, very, very quickly, due to low mileage on the motor. Nothing is easier on a battery than starting up once in the morning cold with glow plugs, and then going 200-300 miles before the next diesel refuel at the end of the day, then shutting down for the night, to repeat the process the next day. Only one major glow plug running discharge session and one cold start per 200 or 300 miles is easy, peasy life on a starting battery. Do that 2 to 4 times a year, between sitting there stored, fully charged, and it's an easy life.

Thanks Guys, DEKA it is. NINER------so mine is still strong at nearly 9 years old, amazing to me. 6 years is usually tops for me and my other batteries.
The DEKA is $20.00 cheaper than Duracell.
Duracell Ultra Platinum AGM Battery for 2010 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 3500 V6 3.0L 850CCA Diesel Car and Truck.


Deka 9AGM49 AGM
Intimidator Battery

Group size: 49
Marvin

Thanks Niner for a much needed clarification on group size. No way Jose is the Varta worth 200+ dollars. Cal/Cal batteries can survive as lomg as they never EVER are allowed to get overly-discharged multiple times or even once and have to endure it for a few times. Ah yes the old Delco FREEDOM batteries. Delco dumped them on Costco at a bargain and as senior management John Booth told me "We took it in the shorts on that one". Vehicles with abnormally high quiescient draws eat cal/cal like peanuts. Even emergency UPS lighting is shunning them now. Germans are brilliant but we must remember their Panzers and Tigers caused them nightmares at Kursk. But then again there was Lucas. Innovator of the first disposable car battery. USA battery manufacturing reins supreme. The Indians tried building sub batteries and the squealed for help from Exide.

I am showing that that 2008 sprinter takes a GRoup 49 AGM battery,
so please double check before buying or ordering

Deka Intimidator Group 49 AGM

I have a 5 year old VARTA AGM sitting under the drivers seat of my 2012 VW Touareg TDI Sport, May 2012 build. Without question, I equalize charge it 1x per year, whether it needs it or not. I KNOW, for a fact, that doing this and desulphating the cells 1x per year will help with the longevity of the battery in that car. VARTA, when treated properly, makes great batteries. That said, I run a used DEKA Telecom Surplus AGM in my Travel Trailer. If the utilities company like Verizon at their cell phone sites in remote locations is using DEKA, on contract, all I can say is that you know THAT model of battery is good.

I would trust DEKA in my MB Sprinter, as I would VARTA. I do drive all german cars, and I do use all german brand filters and oils in them too, with good reason. East Penn /DEKA makes nothing but batteries. You can bet they are very good at it.

The battery in your Sprinter was made in the 33rd week of 2008, FYI.

Delco is dead

Varta wants $300+ shipping + tax for Mercedes Benz battery

Varta brand alkaline batteries are junk compared to Copper Top

Soooooo

Why not investigate DEKA as an alternate? AGM. Probably 5-times the battery as a Varta But the catch is - what will fit. I sure would investigate.

Your link failed to load 10-times on this miserable net connection.

A big AGM will render 1000+ CCA and it is to a point cyclable far and away better than any cal/cal battery.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Calcium/calcium is soooo tempting for many battery manufacturers. The construction inherently carries a higher level of voltage - at rest. Good CCA. Minimum water loss, minimum corrosion. Minimum self-discharge. Extremely low level of fumes.

Catastrophically poor cyclability. Nightmare incorporated to equalize. A single 100% depth of discharge and it's boot hill. Feeding a cal/cal battery in conjunction with a high antimony battery is like trying to feed a dining table consisting of Mexicans and Englishmen with a single course. The calcium battery demands bulk and float voltages that will fricassee a flooded antimony battery.

Mex, is this what you recommend? Thanks,
MarvinClicky

Calcium/calcium is soooo tempting for many battery manufacturers. The construction inherently carries a higher level of voltage - at rest. Good CCA. Minimum water loss, minimum corrosion. Minimum self-discharge. Extremely low level of fumes.

Catastrophically poor cyclability. Nightmare incorporated to equalize. A single 100% depth of discharge and it's boot hill. Feeding a cal/cal battery in conjunction with a high antimony battery is like trying to feed a dining table consisting of Mexicans and Englishmen with a single course. The calcium battery demands bulk and float voltages that will fricassee a flooded antimony battery.

Is that actually a hole punched in the cap? That alone would tend to make me nervous about it.

I wonder if the magic eye left and someone punched a hole in that single cap to add water.