Interstate Battery

[pfrederi 19,065]

Picked up an Interstate SP-350  (L@G 300 CCA) battery this morning....Made in Vietnam 

[ri702bill 10,199]

Welcome to the world of Global Sourcing & regional Low-cost Providers. Thems is Buzzwords from my days being under the Corporate Thumb!!

[ri702bill 10,199]

1 hour ago, pfrederi said:

Interstate SP-350

Intercontinental SP-350???

[lynnmor 8,131]

1 hour ago, pfrederi said:

Picked up an Interstate SP-350  (L@G 300 CCA) battery this morning....Made in Vietnam 

Just another bit of evidence that Interstate batteries are no better than any other low end product.

[Mike'sHorseBarn 3,362]

2 minutes ago, lynnmor said:

Just another bit of evidence that Interstate batteries are no better than any other low end product.

 

The price would say otherwise though wouldn't it lol

[lynnmor 8,131]

2 hours ago, Mike'sHorseBarn said:

 

The price would say otherwise though wouldn't it lol

As long as folks think that paying more buys you more they can get away with it.  Prices are set by what the market will bear, not by actual value.

[JoeM 9,010]

I pretty much buy batteries on price, Wally World or Rural King are the least money. And when I keep them on a tender, some are now over five years. 

I did have one from Auto Zone in the truck, had to get it on the QT. Just about the time the warranty went out, it was out. 3 1/2 years. 

Interstate was a top dog at one time but probably no more. 

Napa just cost more and are no better.

My neighbor kid's Dad drove delivery for Napa. The kid was getting good used batteries for core money. His Dad said there are some people that change out their batteries before winter as a precaution. More money than brains. 

[Handy Don 14,827]

34 minutes ago, lynnmor said:

Prices are set by what the market will bear, not by actual value.

Learned that in college -- lots (and lots) of years ago! It’s had a lot of names, but “value pricing” (cough, cough) has been around for a long time.

[JimSraj 558]

We have a Deka outlet only 15 minutes away. He sells ‘blems’ (functionally fine but blems in the case or lettering). Usually good pricing and they seem to last as long as any others. 

[953 nut 62,508]

4 hours ago, pfrederi said:

.Made in Vietnam

Some manufacturing is being moved from China to other nearby countries to avoid tariffs,    or they may be made in China and labeled in Vietnam. Lots of battery manufacturing move to Mexico in the 90s.

[adsm08 3,687]

1 hour ago, JoeM said:

I pretty much buy batteries on price, Wally World or Rural King are the least money. And when I keep them on a tender, some are now over five years. 

I did have one from Auto Zone in the truck, had to get it on the QT. Just about the time the warranty went out, it was out. 3 1/2 years. 

Interstate was a top dog at one time but probably no more. 

Napa just cost more and are no better.

My neighbor kid's Dad drove delivery for Napa. The kid was getting good used batteries for core money. His Dad said there are some people that change out their batteries before winter as a precaution. More money than brains. 

 

When I worked at Advance if any of us had a dead or weak battery we would go through the core pile with the tester looking for one that was at least close enough to what we needed and would pass a test. Then we swapped it for our dead one. In three years nobody I worked with ever bought a battery. We changed them a few times a year, bit we never bought one.

[kpinnc 15,879]

With so many tractors, batteries have been a source of aggravation for me for a long time. 

 

I have ONE Interstate battery. I just knew that spending the extra money would get me past the "get what you pay for", and it would be worth it. Sadly, it's weak every time I want to start the tractor. If I plan to use it, I have to put a charger on it the night before. 

 

Point being? Batteries are one area that have become hit or miss at best. Cheap, no name batteries are as likely to be better than not. Name brand means nothing anymore. I have two "powersports" batteries that are half the size of L&G batteries with double the CCA and longevity. They will spin a K321 over like a sewing machine and 10 crank attempts before fading. 

 

All of my tractors have quick disconnect cables. At least this way I can swap one in 5 minutes with minimal effort as well as hard disconnect if I suspect a drain. I use whatever works...

 

 

Edited 17 hours ago by kpinnc

[squonk 44,713]

We are required to test our generator batteries once a month and replace them after 2 years no matter what at the hospital. This also goes for all of the emergency lights that are not on genny power. Needless to say we buy a lot of batteries. I have no use for a Group 4D battery but I grab the group 31's I made a jump start cart years ago and used a 31 and never had to charge the battery ever. Those e light batteries made their way into my battery back up for my PC internet and porch camera a few times. A long with the battery for my garage door. 

 

We just had our big Joint Commission survey done. Every 3 years they come up with some new ridiculous thing we have to do that they somehow missed the other zillion times they have been here. This time they said we need to install eye wash stations at all of our generators ( we are required to test battery specific gravity every month) or install maintenance free batteries. Well these are out side and a little bottle of cleaning chemicals won't fly as a station. It has to be a full blown eye wash. So with the cost of the equipment, running a water line,  an enclosure and heat we went for the maint.free batteries @ $450 EA. X 4 for 3 of our biggest generators. Then we needed a special tester to satisfy the monthly test requirements. Another $400.  Now we need a special charger maintainer for each generator. 6 of them at $1500 each, By the the time all was said and done we were at about 12 grand! 

Edited 10 hours ago by squonk

[ri702bill 10,199]

13 hours ago, adsm08 said:

 

When I worked at Advance if any of us had a dead or weak battery we would go through the core pile with the tester looking for one that was at least close enough to what we needed and would pass a test. Then we swapped it for our dead one. In three years nobody I worked with ever bought a battery. We changed them a few times a year, bit we never bought one.

 

I used to have a great independent Automotive Jobber about 3 blocks from my house. A true "Jobber" - they dealt mostly with Commercial accounts - garages & repair shops. They did allow walk-ins to their counter (I did not say they welcomed them!) They were accustomed to dealing with folks that knew exactly what they needed.

Living nearby and having the "fleet" of 3 vehicles, I frequented them on a regular basis.

 

So, Number 1 Son got the itch to buy & flip older vehicles - I allowed him to park ONE at a time on the grass with a 30 day rule. It can stay for 30 days, no longer. If you do not sell it by day 30 - I will. He scored a first year, 1984, Ford Ranger pickup from a neighbor whose FIL had passed. It needed a battery, so I went to the Jobber with multi-meter in hand to trade it for a core that would fit & at least let it start to sell it. Got a decent one, left the old one & a Five to buy the guys coffee. True to form, I sold it on day 30 for what he paid for it - and gave him half the cash!!! Dad's house, Dad's rules.....

Edited 8 hours ago by ri702bill

[squonk 44,713]

1 hour ago, ri702bill said:

I used to have a great independent Automotive Jobber about 3 blocks from my house. A true "Jobber" - they dealt mostly with Commercial accounts - garages & repair shops. They did allow walk-ins to their counter (I did not say they welcomed them!) They were accustomed to dealing with folks that knew exactly what they needed.

Living nearby and having the "fleet" of 3 vehicles, I frequented them on a regular basis.

 

So, Number 1 Son got the itch to buy & flip older vehicles - I allowed him to park ONE at a time on the grass with a 30 day rule. It can stay for 30 days, no longer. If you do not sell it by day 30 - I will. He scored a first year, 1984, Ford Ranger pickup from a neighbor whose FIL had passed. It needed a battery, so I went to the Jobber with multi-meter in hand to trade it for a core that would fit & at least let it start to sell it. Got a decent one, left the old one & a Five to buy the guys coffee. True to form, I sold it on day 30 for what he paid for it - and gave him half the cash!!! Dad's house, Dad's rules.....

At least the "Ready for Sale " truck didn't get covered by a load of manure from a spreader! ( My B-I-L at age 14 started selling cars out of his yard. His first foray was a Chevelle that this happened to!)