Another battery question.......

[orfunauto/Darrell]

I need to replace my four over sulfated 8D batteries installed by the p/o five years ago, but never used.  They won't accept a charge.

Anybody out there using the Interstate AGM style battery - part number SLA1175 for house batteries?
I have a chance to get four of these at dealer cost which is a pretty good discount.
A few specs from the Interstate Batteries web site are as follows:
Nominal capacity: 77.5 Ah
Weight:58 lbs
Charge retention: 1 month  = 97%
                        3 months = 91%
                        6 months = 85%
Life expectancy: standby use = 3-5 years
                       Cycle use: 100% depth of discharge = 250 cycles
                                      50%   depth of discharge = 550 cycles
                                      30%   depth of discharge = 1200 cycles

Expert opinions appreciated!  Thanks!

[luvrbus]

This outfit states that the only 2 true deep cycle AGM batteries are Concorde and Deka I don't know if it is true or false but they do have a lot of information on batteries  www.windsun.com

[orfunauto/Darrell]

They are absolutely correct!  If I had looked at the part number long enough, it might have come to me that the "SLA" in the part number stood for Sealed Lead Acid !
I would still  like all expert opinions though!    Will these batteries work for me?   

[Sean]

This outfit states that the only 2 true deep cycle AGM batteries are Concorde and Deka ...

Absolute balderdash.  There are dozens of manufacturers making "deep cycle" AGM batteries.  As with any competitive industry, some are better than others, and there are differing price points.  Also, be aware that "deep cycle" is a vague term, so I have no idea what "true deep cycle" means. I can think of at least a half dozen distinctly different battery constructions that would qualify as "true" deep cycle.  One such type is a traction battery, and Concorde, for example, doesn't even make one of those.

... it might have come to me that the "SLA" in the part number stood for Sealed Lead Acid !

Umm, AGM batteries are "sealed lead acid."  Well, as sealed as any battery gets -- there is a pressure relief valve, in case of catastrophic overheating.  That's why AGM's are a subtype of a broader category of lead acid batteries known as "VRLA," or "Valve Relieved Lead Acid."

HTH,

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[makemineatwostroke]

77.5 is not many amp hr how many were you planing on using and is it a 12v or 24v system

[Busted Knuckle]

Well as with anything, there are good and there are bad! And also there are fans, and there are haters! OK I am not on any band wagon for or against Interstate batteries! But I've heard many many complaints about them. Now on the other hand I had an Interstate battery rack in my shop once! And "somehow" it seemed at the time just about everything in my "family circle" that used a battery had one "borrowed" off that rack. And the Interstate guy would come in and say "Oh I see ya sold one of these and 2 of those this round!" (he came every 2 wks) And I'd always have to sheepishly tell him "naw I needed one on the wrecker so I {borrowed that one} and well my sister had a bad one so I let her have that one, and ...."
Well dude was good to me "and my family" for 6-7 months. So finally came a day when he said "look my field supervisor is calling on me to provide accurate inventory details, and..." I stopped him and asked "OK so what is it gonna take to settle ya up so I can keep the batteries that {we've used, but not sold}?" He asked me "honestly is it really worth you having a battery rack since ya ain't actually sold any?" And before I could answer he said "how about I take the rack out, and tell them it just wasn't something you needed at this time. AND you pay me OUR cost for the ones you used?"
So I happily paid the man, and he took the battery rack out.
Now to be honest, we could have sold quite a few batteries. But when folks asked "how much, can't I get one from Walmart for about half that?" We were honest and said YES! On top of that Woody & Lamont (my mechanics" would always add "I have a Walmart battery in everything I own, and if I ever have trouble ANYWHERE I can get it replaced with out having to find a DEALER!"
So we didn't really try to sell them. But it was handy to have them on a shelf, so if we did need one it was there! I can't tell ya how many time we'd take 4-6 brand new batteries off the shelf and load them on the truck on derby night "so we'd have plenty of good batteries!" Come Sunday afternoon, or Monday morning when we'd unload they'd get cleaned up and put back on the rack! The rack had a built in maintenance charger which would maintain 6 at a time!  LOL!

OK I never had a problem out of about 9-10 batteries I finally paid for. They all went well past there guaranteed life span! Shoot I still have 3 of them in use today 7 yrs later! So I for one can't say anything bad about them! But I have heard numerous others have nothing but bad luck out of them! Of course some folks never are happy with anything either! SO you decide! FWIW   BK 

[orfunauto/Darrell]

Makemine, I'd be using at least four.  thanks for asking.

luvurbus, thanks for the link.

Sean, I wasn't looking for a lesson on who makes them, who is wrong and who is right, I was looking for an opinion on the above mentioned battery type/style/ make, and weather or not they would get the job done. But thanks for your knowledge anyways.

BK, thanks for your opinion on Interstate.  I have had nothing but good luck in using this brand, but I am not familiar with the agm/sealed/vented/what-ever battery you want to call it, that I mentioned above.  So I'm trying to determine weather or not I should invest in these, or some other brand/type.  And coincidentally, I worked for a large truck shop in Minnesota back in the 70's that sold Interstate exclusively.

[Don4107]

There is dealer cost, then there is dealer cost.  What are you going to have to pay for them.  Dollar per amp/hr is always part of a battery choice for me. 

4 group 24s are going to take up a lot less space than 4 8Ds and have a lot less capacity.  What is more important to you?

Good luck with whatever you do,
Don 4107

[Sean]

Sean, I wasn't looking for a lesson on who makes them, who is wrong and who is right, I was looking for an opinion on the above mentioned battery type/style/ make, and weather or not they would get the job done. But thanks for your knowledge anyways.

You may not have been looking for "a lesson."  But you asked a question in a public forum, and many other people come here (possibly years later -- this stuff gets archived) looking for information.

So my response was not, actually, directly related to your question.  It was a correction to (IMO) misinformation supplied by a vendor and then propagated here, where it will live in perpetuity.

I'm actually in the middle of a Red Cross relief operation right now, and my ability to spend real time here on the BBS to answer questions is limited.  But as long as you reiterated your query:

Any battery can "get the job done."  That's never the real question.  The real question is usually along the lines of "is this battery the best value in terms of its expected usage and life cycle?"  That's harder to answer.

I have a low opinion of this battery.  It is rated for only 250 cycles at 100% DOD, and 550 cycles at 50% DOD.  The way I use my bus, I'd need 22 of these, and they would last perhaps two years at most.  The way you use your bus might be very different, and the battery might be an acceptable choice.

For AGM house batteries, I'd be looking for at least 1000 cycles at 50% DOD, and over 500 cycles at 80% DOD.  FWIW.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[orfunauto/Darrell]

FWIW - Your second reply is what I needed the first time.  And I publicly thank you for it.

[Ednj]

 I have been using 6 of these interstate U1850HC with no problems 

[JohnEd]

Sean,

Thank you for your reply.  I thought that the "SLA" comment was an expose of the "true" type of battery.  Glass mat is a variant of the common lead acid?  Didn't know that!

Your data on selection criteria is great and I don't care a scintilla how busy and distracted you are.

Please keep talking.....I always learn something from you.  We keep hearing from self confessed "lurkers" that have been voyeurs here for years.  No telling how many people you have helped for now and in the future.  Thanks for your effort and service.

It is my understanding that Interstate is the manufacture of "all" batteries except Delco and a couple others that nobody ever hears from.  I have owned Interstate branded bats and got good service from them in my cars.  My all time favorite is the By-Mart brand.  They seem to give me unquestionably superb service such as free replacement in the first year and they rate the warranty in my favor when I exchange.  I tried to get my warranty for two that were 9 years old and they balked at that.  Seems my paperwork was for two others and I got them switched.  We are on good enuf terms that the clerk smiled and said "oh!  Sure, John.  Clerical error.  Right!" and we all got a laugh.  Sold me the new bats at the expired sale price.  I can't beat these people.  My house bats never really last more than 3 years (usually)but I don't take care of them.  Mostly they just run down and stay there till they swell up.  Turning over a new leaf though with my brandy new Smart Charger.  Inspired/Driven by the cost of fuel.  By-mart is made by Interstate, I'm told and so is Wallmart.  Using Wall Mart for warranty in the lower 48 seems a reason for me to switch when we go full time.

Thanks Sean and all,

John

[luvrbus]

John Wal-Mart batteries are made by Johnson Controls in Mexico fwiw they are the largest battery manufacture in the world

[Busted Knuckle]

John Wal-Mart batteries are made by Johnson Controls in Mexico fwiw they are the largest battery manufacture in the world

OK so that explains where all those used batteries we used to haul overweight loads of all the time from Chicago, ST. Louis, OKC, Little Rock, Memphis areas down to Nogales, Yuma, Calexico areas in refers with no hazmat placards were headed! Used to load at this battery shop or that little shop, load after hrs because the truck took up the whole lot & part of the street. Run like mad through the night dodging open scales and blowing by closed ones! But we were glad to get the loads
going directly to the areas produce was coming back out of! And usually these loads went to renegade Mexican outfits who took them from the shipper to the receiver with out swapping trks at the border! So when we were able to snag them we did!   BK 

[JohnEd]

Luvr,

My info was 10 years old or a little more.  Its OK (with me)if I was wrong about Interstate making everybody's bats.  I never heard of Johnson so I guess I lead a sheltered life....maybe.  Is it possible that Johnson makes Interstate?  Did Interstate used to be the BIG gun in bat mfr.?  Some co.s relocated south to escape the EPA laws or the new ones are held by the same people/corps.

Thanks for the info my brother(Knut).

John