New Battery, 7 months old

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I need a new car battery so I went to Costco to see what they have. They have Interstate batteries for very good prices.

They had about 20 batteries of my size. Everyone of them was made in December of 2017. Do you think this is a problem being 7+ months old? You know they have never been charged or topped off in the last 7 months.

What are your thoughts? How many months is acceptable?
 
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.
 
Originally Posted By: 2010Civic
I need a new car battery so I went to Costco to see what they have. They have Interstate batteries for very good prices.

They had about 20 batteries of my size. Everyone of them was made in December of 2017. Do you think this is a problem being 7+ months old? You know they have never been charged or topped off in the last 7 months.

What are your thoughts? How many months is acceptable?


Are you sure? You can be that guy that takes them out of the rack to check the date of the last battery. Usually the newest one is at the back. I've done that a couple times. You get a battery that's one month old instead of 5-6. Also they sometimes go by the sticker on the battery so if it's just a 2 or 3 year warranty, you're losing 7 months worth of warranty. For me, one or two months is acceptable, otherwise I'm just going to go to another store.
 
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: 2010Civic
I need a new car battery so I went to Costco to see what they have. They have Interstate batteries for very good prices.

They had about 20 batteries of my size. Everyone of them was made in December of 2017. Do you think this is a problem being 7+ months old? You know they have never been charged or topped off in the last 7 months.

What are your thoughts? How many months is acceptable?


Are you sure? You can be that guy that takes them out of the rack to check the date of the last battery. Usually the newest one is at the back. I've done that a couple times. You get a battery that's one month old instead of 5-6. Also they sometimes go by the sticker on the battery so if it's just a 2 or 3 year warranty, you're losing 7 months worth of warranty. For me, one or two months is acceptable, otherwise I'm just going to go to another store.


Yep, the way the rack was I could easily see all the date stickers.
 
The good thing about buying it at Costco is they will warranty it with no issues or questions asked. I've bought three Interstate batteries from them, one was warrantied at 2 1/2 years without question. It did however cost me $3 for the disposal fee,
 
Batteries plus Duracells marketing state the store returns them after 2 months so supposedly fresh batteries and these are made in USA whereas about all others are made in Mexico. All of AAP, AZ, etc are Mexican made, Costco, Sam's and BJs Mexican as well I believe. Optima's went downhill IMO, once they switched production to Mexico, now average IMO.
 
Years back service stations and auto repair centers would "prep" the batteries they sold when you bought them. They would fill the electrolyte and charge them only after they were purchased. (Batteries were shipped in a box dry with the acid packaged in a separate container right alongside). And after charging they would check each cell with a Hydrometer to be sure it was up to full capacity, and top off each cell with electrolyte before installing it.

Today that's not economically viable, so they ship them "ready to go". And many times they end up sitting for months. All depending on how brisk battery sales are at that particular place, along with the popularity and age of the vehicle they are going into. I always put any new battery I purchase on a slow charger, (6 Amps), and many will take a couple hours or more before they come up to full charge. I've seen some batteries in auto parts stores with dust covering the top of them. Were they kept fully charged over these long time periods? You tell me.
 
Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
The places I use up here use the receipt, not the sticker for the warranty. I keep the receipt in the glove box.


I've bought a couple of their batteries in the last three years from two different stores. Neither bothered with punching out the sticker, and I don't think many do, if any do at all.

Costco keeps a record of purchases and returns made on a membership in their system, and that can always be referenced without a receipt.

One of them failed prematurely (I think due to lights being left on too often by the driver), and it was a simple as plopping it on the counter, and getting a full refund.
 
Costco keeps track of all purchases in their computer. No sticker or receipt necessary. They go by purchase date. Best place to get a battery, IMO. They will return it for a refund for any reason too. Satisfaction guaranteed
 
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Besides looking for the freshest date code, I carry a small multimeter and pick the battery with the highest standing voltage.
 
I called a different Costco location. They have one made in June of this year. Much better than December of 2017!
 
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