Battery...which one to get...?

Madman88 said:
I'm not sure of the quality of Probe. They used to be crap, but they seem to have some big companies behind them in South Africa so we will have to see.
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Had a Probe that lasted about 5 years. Recently had to replace it, used an AutoZone branded battery which according to the salesman, is made by Powertech, was about R200 cheaper than the Sabat.
 
Madman88 said:
As for Duracell car batteries. I sceptical. Its something else that's been re branded as Duracell. Could be a Deltec, but I don't know for sure. I would be careful about laying out that kind of cash for what's actually an unknown battery.
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Surely being sold by tiger wheel and tyre, gives this battery some quality guarantee??, or at the very least, you know your warranty is intact.

scienide said:
It is never maintenance free!

Open it up, pour water in and it will be good for another year. Did that with mine
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Madman88 said:
Utter nonsense.
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Not sure, as I know when I took the battery for a check up with the battery center guys about 8 months ago, the guy opened it up and added water. I told him that its maintenance free, but he said that only they are allowed to do it. Maybe that killed the battery, or it was on its way out and rather than take in under warranty, the guy added the water so it would just run a bit longer to pass warranty :(

btw, the battery I have is Raylite EFB ... only took it cause I did not want issues, and wanted it to last, which I was promised it would, but here I am again :(
 
lucifir said:
Surely being sold by tiger wheel and tyre, gives this battery some quality guarantee??, or at the very least, you know your warranty is intact.
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That does carry some weight. Still, a tyre company selling batteries... would you buy some new brand tyres from Sabat?
The thing is, you have no idea what's in the box. Anyone can go and print labels and stick them on a plastic box and put frikking "DEEP CYCLE HEAVY DUTY KRYPTONITE POWERED PLASMA ENHANCED PLATINUM PLATED CELLS" on the label. You need to know where your batteries are coming from.
lucifir said:
Not sure, as I know when I took the battery for a check up with the battery center guys about 8 months ago, the guy opened it up and added water. I told him that its maintenance free, but he said that only they are allowed to do it. Maybe that killed the battery, or it was on its way out and rather than take in under warranty, the guy added the water so it would just run a bit longer to pass warranty :(

btw, the battery I have is Raylite EFB ... only took it cause I did not want issues, and wanted it to last, which I was promised it would, but here I am again :(
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The battery is maintenance free under normal operating conditions. I can get all technical about the different technologies such as Lead antimony vs calcium calcium vs silver calcium vs AGM and their gassing properties, but it gets kinda boring.

If your alternator is charging too much you may lose more water than you are supposed to. Then you can add water, tho that's not going to counter the damage done by the overcharging. The battery centre guys check the levels with a hydrometer and should never really need to add water, but sometimes they do.You should be popping in to them once every 3 months or so anyway so they can do a charge rate test anyway since that's the real battery killer.
Its not a matter of filling the battery water along with the windscreen water at the petrol station any more. The battery isn't supposed to be full to the brim so to someone who doesn't know it may look like the battery needs water. Then there is no space for the electrolyte to expand and you end up with acid all over the inside of your engine compartment.



TLDR: Adding water to your battery is not going to extend its life. If it needs water then its a symptom of some other problem. Or, in the case of these cheap imports, the tech inside is not the tech on the label.

Personally I think the EFB is the best battery on the market and by far the best mix of silver calcium and AGM technology. AGM is always better, but not cost effective. Like any other manufacturing line a couple of duds get through. Thats what the warranty is for.
 
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Our first Sabat (orange) lasted 8 years! So we went for a Sabat again! (red+black) what a **** decision! It just stopped working today... 18months down the line... What should I buy now?
 
Proton said:
Our first Sabat (orange) lasted 8 years! So we went for a Sabat again! (red+black) what a **** decision! It just stopped working today... 18months down the line... What should I buy now?
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As with anything that is man made, you get good ones and bad ones. There is absolutely no guarantee that any battery you now buy will be better or worse than the Sabat, and don't kid yourself that it will be.

Tiger Wheels is running a special on Duracell car batteries, and you might as well try them out, but don't be upset when it finally dies, as all batteries have finite lives, as do humans, and we just don't know when any of those lives is going to end.
 
Fazda said:
As with anything that is man made, you get good ones and bad ones. There is absolutely no guarantee that any battery you now buy will be better or worse than the Sabat, and don't kid yourself that it will be.

Tiger Wheels is running a special on Duracell car batteries, and you might as well try them out, but don't be upset when it finally dies, as all batteries have finite lives, as do humans, and we just don't know when any of those lives is going to end.
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Deep man; very deep
 
eg2505 said:
Question though,

Any real diffrence between 618 battery and 615?

Besides the size of course...
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Yes, they have different ratings - just a a battery that you have in a diesel car is stronger than one in a petrol, as it has to work harder to turn the engine over, as diesels have very high compression ratios.
 
Fazda said:
Yes, they have different ratings - just a a battery that you have in a diesel car is stronger than one in a petrol, as it has to work harder to turn the engine over, as diesels have very high compression ratios.
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Ok, so in my car they fitted a bigger battery to power the amp, problem is its too big pysically to fit in the engine bay, so they fitted a cone filter,

Now im slowly returing everything to stock, and need some advice, before i sell....

Got myself battery clamps(just hope they adjust)
And want to swap out my 618 battery to a 615 what was original size for this car....

Pros/cons?
Also what to do with the old battery? Still works just too big for the battery bay.....
 
eg2505 said:
Ok, so in my car they fitted a bigger battery to power the amp, problem is its too big pysically to fit in the engine bay, so they fitted a cone filter,

Now im slowly returing everything to stock, and need some advice, before i sell....

Got myself battery clamps(just hope they adjust)
And want to swap out my 618 battery to a 615 what was original size for this car....

Pros/cons?
Also what to do with the old battery? Still works just too big for the battery bay.....
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If a 615 was OEM then it will be fine - as for your old battery, you can either keep it and let it die a slow death in the garage, or trade it in when you get the 615 - they will give you scarp value, which is better than nothing.

If it was me, and the 618 was still working and not falling around, I would just keep it - why spend money on something that you are going to sell.
 
628 Duracell at TWT is R1100.... Aby idea what other good batteries cost?
 
Proton said:
628 Duracell at TWT is R1100.... Aby idea what other good batteries cost?
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I was quoted R 1300 for a new battery for my Jetta yesterday, and that was for top of the range - he said that he could get me a "cheapie" for R 800, so that Duracell price sounds correct.
 
How much is the raylite, who stocks tbem them and what type of guarantee do they carry?
 
I really cant believe my old battery lasted 8 years and the new one only little more than a year... Both Sabat... :(
 
Dont buy batteries from fitnent centres. Find a distributor... they all will sell to you. Its a dog eat dog world out there. I have not paid retail for one battery since 2007.

Local distributer helps a lot. I ise probe batteries in our entire fleet from Mercs right down to Ford bantams.

Range from R450 for a 619 to R800 for a 695 or other... (Thats the bigges one I ever had to buy its for an E240... and its also the last one I had to buy.)
 
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