Recomendations for Batteries?

Can anyone advise me on the best battery to get for my old truck. My old Dodge 575 only gets a run every couple of weeks or sometimes once a month so I'm after a battery that can stand up to sitting around for weeks or months at a time. There are so many different brands these days...can anyone recommed a good one?

There is only a few companies import batteries into Australia. My mate worked for Century Yuasa. He told me that for a lot of batteries, like N50 or N70, there is quite often 50 different brands go on the same battery, price's and warrenty vary, but it is the same battery. The bloke we get our batteries off sometimes puts the stickers on just before he hands them over. I'd just go for a sealed battery, maybe an N70 if it's a V8. The sealed batteries are a lot better too if it goes underwater, I've found that out this week. LOL.

I put a Cat battery in my Autocar an going by some of the blokes who use them the can stand up to intermittent use for a number of years and I think I paid under $200 12 months ago for around 900cca ,Rob .

When I bought my Holden 1-tonner, it had a genuine, Japanese-made Yuasa battery in it. I checked the installation date .. and it was NINE years old!!

I was concerned it wouldn't get me back to W.A. However, it did, and it lasted for about 6 months more before it died. I've been trying to find one the same since, and no luck.

I bought a Sonnenschein (German) deep-cycle battery at an auction for $60. Didn't know the first thing about it. Went to pick it up off the floor and I nearly pulled a muscle!
It was an N70 size .. which normally weighs about 15kg .. and this one weighed 30 KG!

Went home and did some research and found it was a solar system calcium-lead-acid battery, with a guaranteed lifespan of 10 yrs! .. and it retailed at $400!!

Put it in the forklift and it's still going strong after 7 years!

Most blokes I know buy Delco Marine for long life. They are supposed to be good for 7-8 yrs .. but they cost more, accordingly.

in both my AR series Inter and XP Ute I am running batteries bigger than really required. The 'new one' is 6 years old,the other 9 or 10/ (I won't say any more or it will fail in the most inconvenient location and time:)).

If the wiring is fine The old vehicles don't drain the batteries like new ones do and being pre-computer you can unhook the batteries when not in use and still get into the vehicle.

All I know is if they sit on concrete they die quickly but sit them on a board and that problem goes away and they last longer. anybody know why

Hi Mick22
One of my sons has got a fare size boat that sits in his shed for weeks or months at a time result being the batteries would sometimes play up he was told to put a small solar cell on the roof of his shed and hook it up to the battery. The solar cell puts a trickle charge into the battery and it ended all his problems, he has been doing this for about three years now on batteries that hade 2 year warranty so far so good
Ian

bparo

"All I know is if they sit on concrete they die quickly"

Concrete is pourus and draws charge out of batts, don't quote me but its something like 1/2 amp per hr ,when ya think about it, if ya sit on it enough it will drag the piles from ya ring :'(

putting them on a board or rubber fix,s the problem, learnt that trick years ago of a old cocky
cheers Adam

One thing I would recommend is to fit a trickle charger and these range in price. I've got these on everything from Harley to truck (with truck 24volt if you separate with isolator still 12volt) and they were only $20 just needed to change ends to alligator clips.

I thought the batteries drained quicker sitting on the concrete because you are actually putting them on the earth. Electricity goes to earth.

Yes I have never understood that because to discharge you a path of conductivity and the moisture in the environment will provide that so what is the difference between concrete or normal ground ( Just a point on conductivity pure water does not conduct lets see if that causes an argument)
Geoffb