A good lead acid battery?

[kellymoe]

I need to buy two lead acid batteries tomorrow, not the gel cell or spiral cell design. What are some good rugged recommendations? They will be mounted under the passenger seat in a closed seat box which is the normal mounting site in a Defender.

I have a PTO winch so there is no great stress on the system and the only other accessories I use are a water pump and some LED lighting.

I have searched but it seems most threads discuss Optima, Exide or Odyssey.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[mrbishi]

I've had a really good run with Exide Extremes in my Mitsubishi Challenger dual battery setup. Survived all the abuse I can dish up here in Australia without any drama.

 

[craig333]

A lead acid battery under the seat? I wouldn't do it. Thats a perfect spot for an agm battery. Whats your reason for not wanting to go that way? Cost? Whats the cost going to be when the acid fumes start eating away at everything. Or the weekly maintenance needed to make sure that doesn't happen.

 

[Pskhaat]

It would be breaking a mold, but I've never been let down with either Panasonic or the OEM Toyota "84 month" Group 27F. The things have taken beatings and constant discharges without a hiccup in who-knows-how hot and cold of conditions underneath my hood.

 

[spencyg]

A lead acid battery under the seat? I wouldn't do it. Thats a perfect spot for an agm battery. Whats your reason for not wanting to go that way? Cost? Whats the cost going to be when the acid fumes start eating away at everything. Or the weekly maintenance needed to make sure that doesn't happen.

Lead Acid batteries off-gas hydrogen when overcharged. There aren't any "Acid Fumes" resulting from the use of a lead-acid. I have two lead-acid batteries in Boomer which have not presented any problems. They DO need to be vented to the outside to prevent hydrogen buildup, but other than that, not an issue. AGM's are great if you don't want to vent, or want to mount other than straight up, but they aren't a mandatory item.

Spence

 

[Antichrist]

As I mentioned in the Jeep section battery thread, I used Sears Diehards for close to 40 years without issue, aside from the normal wet cell battery issues. Both regular starting batteries, and deep cycle.
Some people will claim they are crap, but my entire family, including inlaws, has been using them for that long so that's probably serveral hundred battery years of good service, by time you factor in the number of cars and number of batteries.

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Sears Diehard are hard to beat, but give COSTCO KIRKLAND a looksee

They are good price/ good ratings and 3 yr free replacement !!!

Costco alone has a TOP reputation

:costumed-smiley-007:safari-rig::safari-rig: JIMBO

 

[Antichrist]

Something else to consider for travelers is how easy it would be to get a warranty replacement while on the road.
That would lead me to want something that has a lot of outlets. I have no idea how rampant Costco is (I don't shop there) but I know Sears is a lot of places, as is NAPA and Interstate (I've never bought Interstate batteries so I don't know how good they are).

 

[SunTzuNephew]

Lead Acid batteries off-gas hydrogen when overcharged. There aren't any "Acid Fumes" resulting from the use of a lead-acid. I have two lead-acid batteries in Boomer which have not presented any problems. They DO need to be vented to the outside to prevent hydrogen buildup, but other than that, not an issue. AGM's are great if you don't want to vent, or want to mount other than straight up, but they aren't a mandatory item.

Spence

Yes, they do. The charging process generates heat, which causes the electrolyte to evaporate. That is separate from the H2 gas that is released.

However, there is another reason not to put a battery under the seat - the hazard of a 50-70 pound object flying around the cab..

 

[Antichrist]

Under the seat is the stock location for a lot of Land Rovers. They are secured, from the factory anyway, by a battery hold down. There is a compartment lid that is also secured. Then there's about a 1" gap for the battery to pass through to get in to the cab, assuming it breaks loose of the hold down and breaks through the compartment lid.
If you're in a bad enough wreck that your battery is flying around the cab then it's going to be the very least of your worries. In fact, you'll probably already be dead.

 

[spencyg]

Yes, they do. The charging process generates heat, which causes the electrolyte to evaporate. That is separate from the H2 gas that is released.
QUOTE]

The amount of heat generated in a well maintained lead acid battery isn't going to evaporate the electrolyte per se'. Any evaporation that occurs due to charing a battery too fast (thereby heating the battery) will release water vapor, not sulphuric acid vapor. A majority of electrolyte loss found in a common deep cycle flooded lead acid battery comes from overcharging or charging too fast, which breaks out hydrogen and oxygen from the electrolyte mixture and releases it through the fill caps in the form of gas.

2 points to be made here:

Your charging system should be up to snuff and not be cooking your batteries...regardless of what type of battery you're running, a poor charging system is going to cause trouble.

Your battery should always be bolted down...always! The battery should be in a sealed box which is vented to the outside, and the box should be secured to the floor with either bolts or ratchet straps which can't come loose in the event of an accident.

Spence

 

[James86004]

When choosing a lead acid battery, start picking them up. The better quality ones will be really heavy for their size, because the lead plates are real thick. These usually have the longest free-replacement warranty (as opposed to the pro-rated warranty).

I read somewhere about a decade ago that all lead acid batteries sold in the USA were made by one of 4 manufacturers. I remember Johnson Controls was one of them, but I can't remember the rest.

 

[kellymoe]

Here is what I ended up doing. I went to Costco with the intention of buying two Kirkland batteries but in the end I bought a 795 CCA Kirkland for my starter battery and a Optima Marine battery for running accessories such as lights and water tank pump in the camper area of the truck. The Kirkland was $70 and the Optima was $140 and came with a $25 mail in rebate.

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Heh Heh, good choice, I've got the Kirkland 48 for my trailer and an OPTIMA Blue top for my fishing boat/emerg power

Here is what I ended up doing. I went to Costco with the intention of buying two Kirkland batteries but in the end I bought a 795 CCA Kirkland for my starter battery and a Optima Marine battery for running accessories such as lights and water tank pump in the camper area of the truck. The Kirkland was $70 and the Optima was $140 and came with a $25 mail in rebate.

:safari-rig::safari-rig: JIMBO