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Just picked up 2 Walmart group 24 Marine batteries...I installed them today and they were almost dead! I looked at the Battery and it said "Manufactured July 02".....is it bad to buy a battery that is so old? Is it ok to just charge it up and use it or am I wasting my time? Battery gurus please tell.....
Seen it before. Take them back with receipt or exchange them for some fresh ones.
Seen it before. Take them back with receipt or exchange them for some fresh ones.
I agree.
Though properly maintained marine batteries will last,,, I'd get rid of those.
They're best stored fully charged.
I hear the sears batteries work very good (Marine ones of course)
I bought a marine battery at SAMS club. worked great but it wasn't outdated. take it back and get a fresh one and you should be fine
Definitely need fresh ones. After three years the lead oxide on the plates has probably formed too much sulfite and the battery probably won't hold a charge very well.
Costco for this kid.
Good return policy.
You can always take them back no recipt,, and they will even auto-pro rate them too no recipt, and take them to any location.
Golfcart batts there too.
Why waste time with walmart batteries :2purples: , get some Optimas and be done with it :)
... get some Optimas and be done with it :)
Optimas rock. :cool:
You can get Optimas at Walmart. :)
Do yourself a favor and buy quality battery/s.
While you are at it, do your country a favor and don't shop at Walmart if you can help it. :idea:
Exide makes huge range of batteries and you may find out that the maker of the battery you are now considering was made by them anyway. If nothing else they have a good informative web site:
http://www.exideworld.com/products/t...ecreation.html
Believe it or not a mechanic turned me on to some Delco heavy duty batteries a while back and I ran them in my Carrera for many moons. I repurchased them after 3 years and got the same good service from them again. I toss Batteries after 2 - 3 years anyway. Who knows, exide may have made them too. They took the abuse.
Also found that carrying one of those Small portable self contained battery units has come in handy on long weekends. You know the type with the built in jumper cables, DC plug, light. You get about 5+ jumps and it can run stuff too. It save my butt at the Parker 425 this year. It is also nice if someone asks you for a jump...you don't have to get your boat wrapped up in the processes of jumping a stranded boater.
Good luck
I think you meant "Optimas are like rocks, except rocks have a better warranty." :cool:
I wouldn't know about the current warranty. I've never needed it.
I bought my first Optima in the early 90s. A friend of mine told me about them. He is a heavy equipment mechanic. They were using them in trenchers and other heavy equipment. He gave me a sweet deal.
That first battery is still going and the others I've bought since are still going.
I've tried a lot of batteries but none will turn my car over as well as an Optima when it's 45 degrees below zero. They must be conservative on their CCA rating because I've tried other batteries rated at 800 cold cranking amps but they don't come close to the power of an Optima in the cold.
I've heard of Optimas going dead because of over charging but I've never seen it. Of course, over charging is bad for a wet cell too. Even though you can add water after you boil it off some batteries, the cells will have taken some damage.
... so I share PowelScooter's opinion. Get an Optima. If you need to charge very often, get a Schumacher automatic charger (also from Walmart). ... and be done with it. :cool:
Take them back to Walmart and get your money back. They will never be good batteries. Spend the extra cash and get Optimas or even better Oddyssey. I have the Odyssey 1700 and it works great.
Do yourself a favor and buy quality battery/s.
While you are at it, do your country a favor and don't shop at Walmart if you can help it. :idea:
Exide makes huge range of batteries and you may find out that the maker of the battery you are now considering was made by them anyway. If nothing else they have a good informative web site:
http://www.exideworld.com/products/t...ecreation.html
Believe it or not a mechanic turned me on to some Delco heavy duty batteries a while back and I ran them in my Carrera for many moons. I repurchased them after 3 years and got the same good service from them again. I toss Batteries after 2 - 3 years anyway. Who knows, exide may have made them too. They took the abuse.
Also found that carrying one of those Small portable self contained battery units has come in handy on long weekends. You know the type with the built in jumper cables, DC plug, light. You get about 5+ jumps and it can run stuff too. It save my butt at the Parker 425 this year. It is also nice if someone asks you for a jump...you don't have to get your boat wrapped up in the processes of jumping a stranded boater.
Good luck
Same old crap from you union people.
Yeah, then you can pay three times as much for the priviledge of having it go dead just as fast and they prorate it under it's meager warranty from day 1. Don't get me started. :boxingguy
SD, apparently You don't really know shit about Optima batteries! They have free replacement for 2yrs and pro rated for 6 more! I've been running them for about 14yrs and each one has lasted 8yrs, yes eight yrs! I'm now on my 3rd one and it's not a deep cycle. Further more, I don't have an alternator. I just put it on an automatic trickle charger every 2 or 3 outings. They are worth every dollar I've spent on them. The only people I have found that have had trouble with them is people that didn't shut the battery sw off and stored them for to long. They take a different charging cycle rate to recharge. Most people don't read or keep the paperwork that they got with the battery. I'm not saying you can't have a bad Optima, I'm saying most people don't take care of a battery properly. So don't badmouth a battery you don't know shit about. It's one of a few batteries out there worth every dollar. Budlight
My best battery is a Orbital used in trucks with wicked sound systems, works great and it's about $200.00 compared to a normal battery @ $100.00.......( . )( . )......... :idea:
Screw all this hatred talk here... :argue: Do what I do, I have three mice (and they are blind) who run in one of those circular cages. When running, this cage mitigates power to a cell block which in turn charges the batteries and starts the boat, plays my stereo and keeps my peace of mind at ease. I have only needed to replace 12 of the mice over the last 3 years. Mice cost are $2.50 per mouse so you do the math!
Yeah, you're right. You're the only one here that knows how to read or how to charge a battery. Let me get this straight. Your VAST knowledge and expertise on Optima batteries is based on purchasing three NON deep cycle batteries over the last 14 years? I have more batteries than that in my boat NOW.
I used to be an Optima dealer. Now, I'm not in the industry, but I'd tell anybody looking to spend their hard earned cash to buy an Odyssey. Here's my take, you don't know shit.
Yea BOB, I don't know shit about batteries, we only have 1400 [yes I said 1400 of them] in our fleet! It was the best investment in batteries we ever made. And I do know alot about batteries as I deal with them[work on or with them everyday. So just because I'm not an as opinionated as you don't assume everyone is dumber than you. If you WERE an Optima dealer, you would know the charging procedure and warranty info! DUH Budlight :D :o :argue:
You're really talking about two completely different applications, cold starting your car versus extended duty deep cycle use.
No I'm not, cockface. He said nothing about extended duty deep cycling.
They have free replacement for 2yrs and pro rated for 6 more!
That's what I was thinking too but I don't have my warranty card handy.
There's nothing like hitting the key and seeing the tach jump to 600 RPM with the plug wires off. :D
Spending someone else's money on 1400 batteries is not the same as buying them retail.
That's a good point, however, hit has not a thing to do with battery quality. :D :D :D
You're the one that said I didn't know shit, don't try and turn it around on me. Don't play dumb, you know what you said.
SB, I know exactly what I said. But now you ASSUME I get a great warranty because we have 1400 of Optimas in service. It has nothing to do with that. I was running an Optima batt long before we started to use them at work. But I recommended them to my boss because they stand up great! No acid leakage, no corrosion on terminals. I've been in the Automobile,truck, boat business for 40 years. If I have an opinion, it's because most things I''''''ve learned, I learned from experience or research. I know what I talk about. Budlight
Same old crap from you union people.
Be nice....and 180 off on your comments.
I was hoping for more of a response from my 'cockface' post.
same thing happened to us on our way out of town with the wallmart batteries, we stopped at my work and picked up an interstate none marine battery, works fine and does the job. but most batteries are built the same way with diffenrnt cases. there all batteries, you just need them with a better date than 3 years ago. dont buy batteries that are shelved forever, no good can come out of that. just my .02 :)
coincidentally enough, I purchased two of the exact same grp 24's this weekend in Havi for our trailer. We had to sleep with the slides not extended cuz the batts were toast when we got into town thursday night. I got up 1st thing Friday and went to Walmart. I went to install them in the trailer... and the Interstates I removed must of weighed another 10 lbs each!
I'll go ahead and operate under the assumption that I'll be replacing the Walmarter's next season. :hammerhea
Most batteries do not have a full charge on them when you buy them. They have a partial dry charge, then before they ship them, they fill them with electroylite fluid. [From the factory of course]. All batteries must be run to recieve a full charge. Budlight
walmart sucks :yuk:
Screw all this hatred talk here... :argue: Do what I do, I have three mice (and they are blind) who run in one of those circular cages. When running, this cage mitigates power to a cell block which in turn charges the batteries and starts the boat, plays my stereo and keeps my peace of mind at ease. I have only needed to replace 12 of the mice over the last 3 years. Mice cost are $2.50 per mouse so you do the math!
i take it noone cares about my method?
i take it noone cares about my method?
The last mice I purchased from Walmart came without cheese. Buyer beware.
TB, you got to at least feed them. Do your part of the equation...
The last mice I got at Walmart were weak and ugly, That's because they only buy USA mice if their cheaper! Otherwise they buy overseas mice, which are substandard. What good are mice that can't run fast or last long? Unless you have an old fat cat! Budlight