Duracell Car Batteries?

[Bingster]

I went into a battery store that sold only Duracells.  I didn't know Duracell made a car battery.  Any experiences?

[Merle Coggins]

I believe Batteries Plus carries Duracell auto batteries. I believe I have one in my motorcycle and it is fine. 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Merle Coggins

[wallytoo]

i have a duracell AGM battery in my cj5.  so far, so good.  the real test is how many years will it last; i bought it earlier this summer from batteries plus.

Edited September 21, 2022 by wallytoo

[vintage6t]

I have a 6v in my 41 plymouth from Batteries plus as well. It's at least 2 years old. When I bought it, it seemed like a decent battery at a decent price. So far so good. Btw- if you buy it from Batteries plus, order online for 10% off and pick it up at your local store same day.

[greg g]

There are only 2 or 3 places left in the USA making car batteries.  Lot of sticker brands coming out of those manufacturers.   Last 6v group 1 that I got lasted 7 years.  The current one, Predators branded is 3 years old and going strong.  It has never been exposed to Temps under 20 F.  In the garage for winter it gets disconnected  and set up with a black and decker maintainer 1.5 to 3 Amp charge rate.  Same for the 12 v preditor in the Studebaker truck.  Been buying batteries from our battery world fo 15 years or so. 

[Sniper]

Interesting, my job is to maintain/fix industrial and commercial uninterruptible power supplies.  I just tested 72 batteries today, date coded 0/2013.  About 12 failed, the rest passed.  I have a very fancy, and expensive, battery tester for work, sometimes it manages to test my car battery, lol.

 

 

[keithb7]

An average 6V battery is about $120? Average battery life 6 years.  $20/year is pretty cheap.  Pretty easy to get six or so years from a battery if you look after it and do don’t buy a cheap unknown brand. 
 

The Duracell brand name probably means very little on a car battery. Car batteries are not what they are known for. They’ll put their extremely well recognized brand name on one though, so they sell more. I’m doubting Duracell owns a flooded cell battery manufacturing plant.  Look at Caterpillar, and Harley Davidson. They put their brand  name on all sorts of junk. Imported battery chargers. Footwear. Tools. Whatever. Tons of junk that people think of as quality, due to the household brandname recognition. It means little. 

Edited September 21, 2022 by keithb7

[Sam Buchanan]

Mr. Google says Duracell lead acid batteries are manufactuered by East Penn Manufacturing.

 

https://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/east-penn-releases-new-duracell-automotive-batteries/#:~:text=For more information contact East,for more than 40 years

 

Company info:

 

https://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/

 

Berks county, PA

 

https://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/about/facilities/

[Los_Control]

2 hours ago, greg g said:

There are only 2 or 3 places left in the USA making car batteries.  Lot of sticker brands coming out of those manufacturers. 

Thats my story & sticking to it!!!!

 

LOL, Here in my small town, the mechanics only stock & sell Interstate batteries for $200+ for my truck. ... !991 chebby.

While walmart sells a battery for $100 .... My walmart battery is now 6 years old but working perfect. A Interstate would not have a longer warranty.

 

Just saying besides batteries there really are few manufacturers and they just put a different name on the same product.

 

[keithb7]

East Penn Batteries = USA quality. Go for it!

[John Fleming]

I have a Duracell 6 volt in my 48 P15 . I did buy it from Batteries Plus. I chose Batteries Plus because their battery had the newest date of manufacture . Also look for a battery that has the highest cold cranking amp rating. When my car is not in use it is connected to a two amp battery maintainer. Be advised that many maintainers will indicate a battery is charged even when it fails a load test .

[Sniper]

14 minutes ago, John Fleming said:

Be advised that many maintainers will indicate a battery is charged even when it fails a load test .

 

Those are two different things.  A maintainer only looks at the voltage with no load on it.  A load test really loads the battery and will find issues no maintainer is designed to find.  Your starter can be used as a load tester.  My Craftsman Engine Analyzer has a shunt setup you install between the battery terminal and the cable to the starter, it will measure starter amperage draw, which can be hundreds of amps.

[PareosWC]

These battery discussions are always so intriguing to me. We all love free enterprise and capitalism, but manufacturing labels have now become so confusing for both the ignorant and well-informed. My Uncle (Harley rider) was giving me a hard time about my 70 Triumph T100r, and talking about how he supports only American! However, his boots, wallet, shirt, and even some parts are all Chinese...

 

I have no idea where my NAPA 6v industrial came from- but its going on (7) years. Stays on a tender, fires up a Dodge about a dozen times a year, is starting to swell and leak at the caps, but still keeps going...

[busycoupe]

Back in the day when a car wouldn't start we would turn on the headlights then hit the starter.  A good battery should crank the engine with the lights only slightly dimming.  If the lights go out it is an indication of a dead battery some problem in the battery cables.

[Bingster]

That answers my question!!! Fleet Farm has a 6v with 540 cold cranking amps for $76.00.  I only need to start my car after eight years sitting but maintained. Rebuilding the fuel pump now.  So after I start it (hopefully) that'll be it till Spring. But every time I do this I lose the good weather and a new battery goes dead and it wasted. This time I want to beat the cold.  So is 540 cca adequate for that chore?

[greg g]

I believe the predator has apx 700 cca rating.  Sometimes these places have seconds, labeled crooked, scratched case, or over 6 months old on a shelf at a retailer get returned to the warehouse.  Usually 50% off retail with 1 year warranty.   Last one got for the p15 was 55 bucks lasted 6 years.  But you need to speak to the manager and ask.  Interstate warehouses do this too.  Battery in my JD mower was 95 retail, 67 at Interstate for second.  It's going  on 7 + years.

[Bingster]

Thanks. I wondered how you'd get those types of deals. I wonder a lot.

[Marcel Backs]

I have had great luck with Odessy AGM batteries with not one failure yet. My battery in my Tacoma is on it's second vehicle after 15 years. I never cheap out on vehicle batteries since the "you get what you pay for" concept directly applies to these devices. M 

[Sniper]

15 year old batteries were probably not made the same as they are today.  When Optima first came out they had a real good reputation, I had one.  Then they got bought out, production was moved to Mexico and the quality dropped off.  Cost cutting?  Poor workmanship?  Dunno, but they aren't the same.

[wallytoo]

1 hour ago, Sniper said:

15 year old batteries were probably not made the same as they are today.  When Optima first came out they had a real good reputation, I had one.  Then they got bought out, production was moved to Mexico and the quality dropped off.  Cost cutting?  Poor workmanship?  Dunno, but they aren't the same.

 

for sure.  the first red top i put in my jeep served me for 15 years.  the replacement, same model/size, lasted 2.5 years.

[Pete]

On 9/21/2022 at 4:46 PM, keithb7 said:

East Penn Batteries = USA quality. Go for it!

 

The last batteries I bought from both NAPA and O'Reilly's were manufactured by East Penn.

 

Pete

 

[Marcel Backs]

odyssey is mil spec and made in the states., so I would imagine they are the very best chance you will get at consistent quality over time. I have a 6v Optima that will be replaced by an odyssey when it croaks after about five years of use. I have several of these odyssey batteries in most of my vehicles (Tacoma, diesel tractor and side by side included) and even though I live in a northern climate with brutal winters, not one of these has needed replacement for way over 5 yrs. They do not off gas and can be mounted at pretty much any angle which are two more advantages of this battery type. M

[Sniper]

Mil Spec really doesn't mean anything if they don't tell which spec.  It could mean nothing more than the red meets mil spec for that specific color and yes, there are mil specs for colors, lol.  So I dug around the Odyssey site, darned if I can find the term much less any info regarding it.

 

[Bryan G]

I strongly suspect that all of the "old school" 6 volt car batteries may now be coming from East Penn. The photos I've seen online all showed the same unique case, just with different stickers. I generally get mine from NAPA; I had problems with overcharging and the first one I installed in my Chrysler was shot in a year. I bought a replacement from the local Federated store and it was identical except for the decals. Anyway, I say buy from wherever you get the best deal/best service and don't worry about the brand. Duracell, once part of the old Mallory company, is now just a brand name owned by a consumer products company. Nothing wrong with their products, but the company has no special expertise in car batteries, nor is East Penn slapping their decals only on the factory seconds

 

[Marcel Backs]

I stand corrected on my battery,  it is not Military spec. but never missed a start in 15 plus years in 2 different vehicles. However, they do manufacture batteries for the military as well as aircraft, indicative of a higher end product with consistent reliability associated with it. The reliability of this brand in a northern climate with brutal winters backed up with extreme durability does it for me. The fact that it does not off gas is also something very worthwhile.