I'd prefer a 7 month old battery to have been resting in Minnesota, as opposed to South Florida. temperature increases self discharge. Resting discharged causes sulfation and loss of capacity
Doubt they ever top charge them. Bring a voltmeter, Hope to see 12.6v+.
They still give the warranty from date of purchase.
Good price, good warranty, I'd be tempted, but then I can bring the battery to 14.8 volts for as long as required for the specific gravity of the electrolyte, measured with a temperature compensating hydrometer, to max out on each of the 6 cells.
If the SG never got upto the 1.275 level, i would go as high as 16.2 volts.
if 16.2v could not return specific gravity to 1.275 on all cells, I would not expect a good lifespan from the battery and would warranty it within the free replacement period. Costco is good like that.
Expecting a vehicle to top charge such a battery is unwise as higher electrical pressure is required for longer to max out the specific gravity and dissolve the sulfation.
The degree of sulfation depends on just how much self discharge has occurred since the battery was put on the shelf, combined with its stat of charge when it was put up there.
In theory batteries ship fully charged.
In reality the electricity and time required to top charge batteries before they leave the factory eats into max profit, and thus he batteries do not leave the factory top charged.
All lead acid batteries always want to be fully charged, and kept cool, for maximum longevity and performance/reliability during that life.
If vehicles actually were designing charging systems with max battery life in mind, they would insure full charge actually occurs.
nowadays modern vehicles hope to keep the battery at a low enough level, so that when the brakes are applied the voltage regulator can ask for higher voltage, loading the alternator, asking it to feed the battery 20 to 50 amps, and thus the engine, and help MPG by 0.0006.
if the battery were fully charged then it would not be able to accept 20 to 50 amps with a higher voltage requirement, and not be able to make it appear that the vehicle gets better MPG's.