Time for new battery

I've had very good luck with Interstate. I once replaced one preemptively because it was well over 10 years old and was scaring me! OTOH, I also had one die after about 3 years - still was under partial warranty. *shrug*
 
Interstate lead acid batteries are one of the best cold weather batteries available. In a hot climate I wouldn’t take one for free. I’ve been using AGM batteries for years and have never had a regular lead acid battery go as long in the heat.
 
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Interstate lead acid batteries are one of the best cold weather batteries available. In a hot climate I wouldn’t take one for free. I’ve been using AGM batteries for years and have never had a regular lead acid battery go as long in the heat.
Now *this* is interesting - the 3 year old Interstate was purchased new here in Florida - and you don't need me to tell you that its hot here. OTOH, the Mercedes has one that's currently about 6 years old that has spent its last 4 here in Florida...
 
Florida heat and Arizona heat isn’t the same. Batteries here last 2-3 years. That’s it. I get a little over 4 with an AGM. When I moved here 30 years ago I couldn’t believe it. Where I grew up in the cold country 5-8 years on a battery was normal. The interstates were the ones that still cranked over when the temps went below 0.
 
There's a lot to be said for the traditional, wet cell lead acid battery. Their biggest downside is weight.
 
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Florida heat and Arizona heat isn’t the same. Batteries here last 2-3 years. That’s it. I get a little over 4 with an AGM. When I moved here 30 years ago I couldn’t believe it. Where I grew up in the cold country 5-8 years on a battery was normal. The interstates were the ones that still cranked over when the temps went below 0.
Its starting to look like they last about 4 or so here - I'm still learning...
 
Its starting to look like they last about 4 or so here - I'm still learning...
I sold my last truck that was a little over 8 years old with the factory Motorcraft battery, it lived in temps over 100 to as low as -40 and was still going.
 
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There's a lot to be said for the traditional, wet cell lead acid battery. Their biggest downside is weight.
I good AGM isn't going to be any lighter than a good flooded cell. Battery quality and longevity (AGM and flooded) boils down to the quality of and how much lead is used in the making of the plates.
 
I sold my last truck that was a little over 8 years old with the factory Motorcraft battery, it lived in temps over 100 to as low as -40 and was still going.
Here in the Sonoran desert we see temps of 110 plus for 90 days straight and almost half the year over 100. Big difference. A cold battery will recover when it warms up. Every time a battery overheats it takes life out of it. I would imagine the running under hood temps here are regularly over 200 if the ambient is 115.
 
Here in the Sonoran desert we see temps of 110 plus for 90 days straight and almost half the year over 100. Big difference. A cold battery will recover when it warms up. Every time a battery overheats it takes life out of it. I would imagine the running under hood temps here are regularly over 200 if the ambient is 115.
man y'all out there just need to install the pull rope mod to your jeep !
 
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I sold my last truck that was a little over 8 years old with the factory Motorcraft battery, it lived in temps over 100 to as low as -40 and was still going.
The biggest killer of auto batteries when heat is a factor is evaporation. AGM batteries like heat even less than flooded cell batteries, BUT under normal use they don't get hot enough to cause damage.
AGM batteries are of a recumbent design so they don't succumb to evaporation like flooded cells. When buying a flooded cell battery in dessert climates it's best to buy those that are serviceable. Check regularly and top off cells with distilled water as need...
 
The biggest killer of auto batteries when heat is a factor is evaporation. AGM batteries like heat even less than flooded cell batteries, BUT under normal use they don't get hot enough to cause damage.
AGM batteries are of a recumbent design so they don't succumb to evaporation like flooded cells. When buying a flooded cell battery in dessert climates it's best to buy those that are serviceable. Check regularly and top off cells with distilled water as need...
Exactly. Once the plates are exposed to air they start to oxidize. The oxide coating on the lead prevents the reaction. Unfortunately finding batteries with removable caps is getting very difficult anymore. In fact I think in some states is illegal due to local environmental laws
 
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Exactly. Once the plates are exposed to air they start to oxidize. The oxide coating on the lead prevents the reaction. Unfortunately finding batteries with removable caps is getting very difficult anymore. In fact I think in some states is illegal due to local environmental laws
Oh you must be talking about Commiefornia :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
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They didn’t have a agm in stock. Ended up getting a MT-34

The Interstate MT-34 is a good conventional flooded lead acid battery. So is the Interstate MTP-34 which is identical to the Costco Interstate Group 34 battery (Item # 850241) which retails at Costco for about $90. [For warranty purposes Interstate and Costco Interstate batteries are different even though the batteries are the same inside - Costco Interstates must be warrantied by Costco; Non-Costco Interstates by Interstate or by the retailer. Its contractual, not because the batteries are different.]

Summers are very hard on batteries where I live, with temperatures similar to Phoenix and Yuma although we are much farther north. Three years of useful life can be expected from FLA batteries. AGM's last an average of only five years or so. Under those circumstances it is difficult to justify the cost of a premium AGM battery on a $/mile or $/month basis.

I doubt you will regret your purchase of an Interstate FLA battery unless you roll over and spill battery acid. If you are not a hardcore rockcrawler the odds are in your favor that will never happen. However, for your next battery consider an AGM if you want to reduce the odds of battery acid damage to zero.

For future AGM battery shopping, the mid priced AGM offerings from NAPA, O'Reillys, Autozone, Duracell, Batteries Plus, etc. are good buys. Most are relabeled Deka Intimidator AGMs manufactured by East Penn, very highly rated, typically about $150-170.

See:

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/battery-recommendations.16469/page-2#post-268671 [Post 29]

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/battery-of-choice.33328/#post-541632 [Post 18 and the quoted article from a trade journal]