25% of already great priced batteries. I replaced batteries in my cars during the last sale.
I have saved $40 on my car battery
25% off Exide Car Batteries @ Costco (Membership Required)
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mintopi on 12/08/2022 - 11:15 costco.com.au (845 clicks)
Last edited 12/08/2022 - 11:21 by 1 other user
Last edited 12/08/2022 - 11:21 by 1 other user
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Do they install it for you?
Last time when I bought the battery, they said you need to install it yourself.
No but it’s pretty easy
Went to a scrap metal place the other day.
Out of curiosity I put a multi meter on a few with recent date stamps.
All were 12.4 - 12.55v
Then shorted the highest one with a piece of metal…still 12.51v.
Bought it (metal value) for $13. Starts my V6 flawlessly all winter. Got 11 years out of the last one.
So no idea why people are turfing perfect batteries? Maybe wreckers for scrap value I guess??
The true ozbargainer way
Some people have bought blems at a ridiculous price which have lasted 6 years. You've truly won though.
Just out of interest what tools do you need to test a car battery, and what signs do you look for to ensure that a battery still has plenty of life left in it? I'd be interested in doing something like this when it comes time to replace my battery, which should be any time soon.
You can buy proper load testers.
Alternatively, a normal multimeter reading anything above 12.4 is a good sign (assuming it hasn't been charged recently - which will show a higher number).
Let it sit for 24 hrs then read meter.
Even better if you can start the car and read it.
But, I improvised and used a piece of metal to short the terminals to simulate starting the car.
*Warning - shorting will cause sparks and the piece of metal will get hot fast (as you are effectively making a heating element). So don't hold for too long. Also, hydrogen gas may be present (so battery could in theory explode).
Lastly, Google battery date code stamps. Different manufacturers use different systems. But normally months are letters Jan= A and the year is the last number (which can be tricky if 10yrs + old).
I went with a C1 (March 21). Stick to known brands (Century etc).
Is it better to read the meter after the battery has been sitting for at least 24h, or start the car first/simulate starting the car? What's the purpose of starting the car/simulating starting?
@inasero: Both - Letting it sit, and during starting (ie remove the plug leads so the car cant start). Starting the car simply loads it up.
A battery with 70% of its plates dissolved may appear good (ie decent voltage), however, it no longer has the surface area to provide sufficient current (grunt).
Once the car has started the alternator will be charging it, and pushing 14v at it (so even a poor battery will read 13v for a little while once the car has run). You need to let it rest again before testing.
A battery 'dies' due to either (in simple form).
- it goes flat - ie all the ions in liquid re join with the plates. You need to charge to put the ions back into the liquid.
- The plates dissolve away.
- Bits of the plate break off and create a short at the bottom (ie.join 2 cells together, so only 10V now possible).
- The plates become sulphated (basically the active surface goes hard/ gets covered and the ions can no longer reach the plate). This happens when sitting.
- Not enough liquid to cover the plates (so electricity can't get through from one cell to the next).
Remembering chemical reactions go faster in heat. So when it's cold, your battery is slow (so a battery that is just hanging in will let you down on a cold winter morning).
How do you keep a battery healthy the longest? - Never drain it (ie leaving lights on), keep it used / charged especially during the warm months (as sulphation reactions happens faster in summer), top it up every few months (Non maintenance batteries are a complete fallacy and should never be allowed to be sold). It's an absolute scam (under the guise of people can't hurt themselves now by touching the acid). With this logic, they should also remove the motors from cars to be safe! RAA/ NRMA etc love it. It's really a joke. Without topping up, I'd guess a battery will last 3- 4 years tops.
Do your best to find one that isn't 'maintenance free'. If you can charge and top up, a battery will last 10 years + no problem. I look for batteries that still have accessible cell caps underneath the glued cover.
I'd bet my left nut that 80% + of the batteries at the recyclers are salvageable by breaking open and topping up and charging for a couple of days. If they have been dry too long, they will be oxidised and dead.
Anyway, I chose 3 at random that looked newish, and terminals on the correct sides for my car…they were all good and I took the best one… 12.5v even completely shorted.
@tunzafun001: Thanks for this comment, do you know of an easy way to find a scrap yard in nsw? (One that lets you buy not sell)
Dad gave me his old century battery which sat in his car for over 3 months i charge it with a Victron charger but it lasts 1 week max. The little thing on it does not show a replace symbol though it says charge.
Bought twice and can confirm they are good & cheap. Installation is not difficult even it is a bit heavy. If I do it again, I may need something like this to save the work resetting time & radio.
https://www.totaltools.com.au/128020-tti-memory-retainer-pow…I saw bunnings is also selling these Exide branded batteries
they do and they are similar but I believe there's slight differences to prevent them being price matched. Still good value for an every day of the week kind of buy
Great deal and just in time for me! Got a supercharge battery a few months ago which died today (and the store needs to charge it for 2-4 days to 'test' it before giving a replacement, originally bought for $220 and on special).
got the same type for only $120 from Costco.Nup, don't accept it. You can't flatten a lead acid completely without repercussion. If it's gone flat, then it's dead.
Sure you can get them to charge back up, but the longevity will be reduced, sometimes significantly. If there is no reason for it to go flat in the first place, then it's already dead. They probably allowed it to go flat on the shelf..therefore killed it.
There is no way I'd be taking that battery back unless it was with a pro rata 80%+ refund with it.
Yup, they've said the battery is toast and offered a new one. Will probably just sell it since the Costco one has another 30 months warranty and probably easier to replace if needed.
god dammit
I just bought 55CMD for $145.00
Do you have pricing?