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skirk55

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 15, 2010
Posts
381
Location
Newtown Pa. 18940
I purchased a Deka battery at my work that we sell. Two years and a cell is bad. The battery is disconnected when not in use. Never drained. Fluid full all the time. Warranty  2 years! Anyone ever use Deka batteries?  :mad:
 
I had a pair of MK (Same company) AGM's.. Worst batteries in the house. Nuff said. Of course if I'd done more reearch I'd not have bought AGM's.. I took other's word for it that they last longer and outperform Flooded wet cells.

Had I done my homework I'd have found out the manufacturers do not support those claims at all.
 
Our Lifelines will be 8 years old next month and are still going strong.  AGM batteries do last much longer than flooded cell batteries, almost enough to make up for the higher price.  And the peace of mind of maintenance free makes them even better.
 
Ned said:
Our Lifelines will be 8 years old next month and are still going strong.  AGM batteries do last much longer than flooded cell batteries, almost enough to make up for the higher price.  And the peace of mind of maintenance free makes them even better.

Do you ever wind up doing maintenance on the cables with the AGM's Ned? Even without the off gassing it seems like you'd eventually have some oxidation between the cable and post.

Ken
 
Our first set of Lifelines lasted 9 years. Never touched them, never cleaned cables. We are now on our second set.
 
I've never seen or heard of a cable corrosion problem with AGMs, but that doesn't mean it can't ever happen. And I've had excellent life from the top-quality AGMs I've used - Lifeline and Trojan. Not quite as good with a private label brand, but still better than most flooded cell types.  The exception would be flooded cell golf cart batteries, which should equal or exceed an AGM if not abused.

Flooded cell golf cart batteries are by far the most cost-effective battery solution, but you have to be willing to do the periodic maintenance, water in the cells and perhaps some cable cleaning.  I say "perhaps" because some installations seem to need it fairly often, while others rarely or never. I suspect it has something to do with the degree of outgassing (which is charger-related) and maybe compartment ventilation, but have never seem a credible explanation.
 
bucks2 said:
Do you ever wind up doing maintenance on the cables with the AGM's Ned? Even without the off gassing it seems like you'd eventually have some oxidation between the cable and post.

Nope, I've done nothing to them except blow the dust off every few years.
 
Deka is the in-house brand of East Penn Manufacturing, one of the USA's largest battery manufacturers. I think they make a decent battery, both AGM and flooded cell, though probably not in the same league as the premium Trojan and Concord (Lifeline).  Deka is the label, but they make a whole range of battery types and sizes, and at different target price levels. Which one did you get?

A bad cell in just two years doesn't speak well of their quality, though. What was "bad" about it? Shorted? High resistance? Of maybe just showing a low specific gravity?
 
bucks2 said:
Do you ever wind up doing maintenance on the cables with the AGM's Ned? Even without the off gassing it seems like you'd eventually have some oxidation between the cable and post.

Ken,

About 4 years ago, I added "Water Miser Battery Caps" to my batteries and have had no corrosion to the terminals since and have added water about once every 3 months. http://www.solar-electric.com/baacma.html  About $60 for most of the benefits of the AGM batteries.

Just a thought.

BTW, our previous flooded batteries lasted over 7 years and were good till one somehow managed to freeze.  Not sure what caused it but the others tested good, actually very good and the 3 of them were used by the owner of the shop in something there, I have forgotten what for at least another year.  I no longer use that shop as the labor rates are  high and the work is only OK.
 
The reason I ask is that I'm toying with putting an AGM in my old BMW Isetta, where battery maintenance includes taking out the seat. I've used many floor scrubber, golf cart and other deep cycle batteries with little trouble. I run 4 in my MH and 10 in my boat. Checking and toppng up the water with 3 stage chargers is no problem on those. If the AGM runs well without even cable maintenance then it may be my answer.

Ken
 
I purchased Deka's best marine battery.I have it at my work and I cant see the code. We use this for the emergency brakes. After the old battery was five years old I wanted to replace it.
I called Deka and they were no help. I checked the charger, water level and cables. 
I just wish Deka would have stood behind there battery. Wal mart has a 5year full replacement. I can not tell people that the battery I install in there tractor or generator is a good battery.
 
I keep hearing how AGM's often last a Decade,,,,, My Flooded wet cells are 7.75 now and still strong, And Ive seen maintenance free (Wet, not AGM) hit 9 to 10.

I've also seen them fail in a season not properly taken care of.

But even if wet cells last only half as long as AGM, at 1/3 the price (or less) better bargain.
 
Just Lou I have no idea where I read 5 years? In fact the warranty I read today  is 1 year. Also the mind is the first we loose!
 
skirk55 said:
I purchased a Deka battery at my work that we sell. Two years and a cell is bad. The battery is disconnected when not in use. Never drained. Fluid full all the time. Warranty  2 years! Anyone ever use Deka batteries?  :mad:

That's the problem right there the batteries where left disconnected and not kept up with a charge so most likely they self dis-charged over time and possibly froze a cell or two doing the damage so by next time they failed. I always leave my batteries hooked up and the RV charger plugged in and going. 3rd year on my batteries. I also go out and check the water level monthly.

Just because you disconnect the batteries doesn't mean they will hold a charge. All batteries self discharge over a period of time doesn't matter if its a AGM or Lead acid they all do.
 
The rate of self-discharge is much less on an AGM than on a flooded cell, but it's still not zero. They will indeed discharge over time, whether disconnected or not.
 
Regarding 5 year warranties......

Most battery stores have a range of batteries,  Some are 1 year (some 90 days) some 2,3,4 and the "Gold line" is usually 5 year warranties.

That's on starting batteries though.

J.C.Penny auto used to offer one with a Lifeline warranty, in 1977 it cost me like sixty bucks,,, A week later it failed and they put in a new one free.

Several years later (I forget how many but by that time I was married and I think had a daughter) As I was headed to the rehersal for my brother's Wedding 2.0. (I'm still on 1.0) the dang thing died yet again.... Got jump started, no time to replace so spent the day parking at the top of hills (Stick shift) and got it replaced that evening on the way back home.. Manager at the NOVI J.C. Penny store gave me a hard time over it but he also gave me a new 160 dollar 5 year (They no longer had the lifetime units)  that one lasted till the car was turned over to a recycler.
 
Battery warranties are sometimes not worth the paper they're written on. I purchased a new battery for my daily driver from our local Les Schwab dealer about 5 years ago, with a 7 year warranty. It went bad 4 years and 3 months into the warranty. By the time they "adjusted" the replacement, it cost just less that the battery originally cost.

You see the pro-rated credit is based on the price you paid. The new battery is sold to you at full the list price at the time of adjustment , not the price you paid, and not the current selling price, or the current sale price, the list price. The list price is the pie in the sky price made up out of thin air.

It might be hard to understand exactly how they did that, so I'll give you a round number example. The battery when originally purchased cost $70. 4 years and 3 months use cost $43(round numbers). So, the unused portion of the warranty is a $27 credit. The battery list price is now $90 minus the $27 credit, so using 2/3rds of the life of a $70 battery costs you $63.

And yes that warranty method is all spelled out in fine print on the back of the paperwork they give you after you purchase a battery from them.

Ken 
 
And the battery with a list price of $90 may regularly sell at the discounted price of $79 in that store, but that typically doesn't affect the warranty replacement cost, which is handled at the manufacturer's list price.

I've heard that Walmart uses their store price, but don't now that for a fact. Anybody done a battery warranty return there?
 
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