Buying a battery:
There are many cheap batteries and cheap places to get batteries, so why shouldn't you buy them?
Low quality imports:
All of these really cheap batteries are imported from overseas. Most from china, but some from brazil and turkey too. All these places make many different quality ranges. Some of the batteries they make can be considered among the best in the world.
Is the one you are buying one of those? No. No its not. By the time those quality batteries land on our shores the cost of transportation and taxes and so on would make them more expensive than our locally produced ranges. Add the complications in the warranty process on a more expensive item as well as the poor supply chain on these items simply does not make it worth it to sell these batteries here.
What youre buying is a cheap, unregulated battery. This means that although you are buying a 619 with a SABS rating of 40 a/h you are probably getting a battery with a true rating of up to 10 amps below that.
Sometimes you need a cheap battery as a stop gap and thats where these batteries sit, but make sure you're not paying a premium price for a poor quality battery with a pretty sticker on it. Rather buy a cheap local battery since its regulated and the warranty is carried buy the manufacturer and not the reseller.
Here you have the assurance from most (but not all) resellers that their warranty process is not jaded by the loss involved in replacing the battery since the manufacturer will replace it not them.
Quality imports:
You do get higher quality imports, namely the Optima and the Deltec ranges, and there is no quality reason why you should not buy these batteries, however here I would say consider the local economy. Any money spent on imported batteries where there is a top quality local battery available is money straight out of the country.
The warranty concerns as above apply to a lesser degree.
Lower Quality Local:
The only battery I would call lower quality in South Africa is the Dixon. They are still using the hybrid battery technology which as the side effect of gassing. This gassing means you need to keep topping up the battery or it will go dry as well as a very slight risk of explosion from the hydrogen by-product of charging.
That said its still a better battery than any of the cheap imports because although they have a high claim rate they honor their claims without hassle (tho if it dies out of warranty you lose) and they are regulated by the SABS as well as keeping to the SA green initiative. Added to that you have the bonus of keeping your money local.
Higher Quality Local:
Both Powertech and First National Battery have made an effort to keep up with technology and both are using the Silver Calcium technology as a standard in their batteries.
Powertech make Sabat and Willard as well as the Spirex battery for Autozone among some others, First National Battery make Raylite, Exide, Bosch, Midas, and Excis (among others). they also manufacture OE batteries for 90% of all cars made in South Africa including BMW and also the supply the imported range their OE batteries.
First National Battery are one of the best battery research companies in the world, and besides using their technology in their own batteries they also licence other companies all over the world to use their technology. They also manufacture batteries for bower stations, trains, forklifts and many other applications. They have also recently launched the EFB automotive battery which combines technology from the standard flooded silver calcium batteries with the more expensive AGM/VRLA technology to bring an affordable battery that has a higher cranking ability for the amperage.
WTF is this Scrap Loading stuff?
Some people think that you get paid for your old battery when you buy a new battery. This is technically not the case.
There is a scrap surcharge. When you buy a new battery from a South African battery supplier (and many of the importers too) you need to supply your old battery to avoid this surcharge. At the moment the surcharge is sitting at R150 ex vat.
Overall I would say stay away from imported batteries simply because its hurting the economy besides being unregulated.
The best battery to buy the the moment (imo) is the EFB battery, but it is not available in all sizes as yet. Second would be the Silver Calcium range.
Also be aware where you buy the battery from. If you have the know how to test and fit the battery (it can take up to 90 minutes to change the battery on some audi's I kid you not) then you could, as with any other spare part, buy it from a spares shop and fit it yourself. However, if you are not sure then you should go to a Battery Centre or similar place that specializes in batteries so they can test your current battery and make sure that it is the problem, they will also fit any battery you buy from them for free.
Battery Care:
An automotive battery is not meant to stand without working for any length of time. When you talk about the life span of a battery you talk in cycling. A standard automotive battery is a shallow cycle battery which means it operated in the top 80 to 100% of its charge. If it gets too flat it may take damage and any time it gets drained it shortens the life. the goal to getting the maximum lifespan out of your battery is to keep it cycling in that top percentage on a regular basis.
If you have a lead antimony hybrid and you can check the water levels do so at least once every three months in summer and once a month in winter.
If you have a newer tech battery then there is nothing really to check on the battery but you should still be checking the alternator charge rate every three months or so.
A faulty alternator causes more than half battery problems, and if you start having battery problems because of the alternator its often too late to save the battery. Overcharging or undercharging can damage a battery to the point where its a double whammy in that you need to replace both the battery and repair the alternator at the same time. Checking the alternator often can save you a battery.
If you are in the position where your vehicle stands for long periods on a regular basis then it will be worth your while to buy a maintenance charger. The best of these in my opinion is the Cteck chargers, since they are approved by most of the car manufacturers and can be connected while the battery is still connected to the car. While it may cost you as much as a new battery, it will be worth it in the long run because you battery will last longer. Cheaper chargers may not charge with a pure sine wave and may damage the electronics of your car. The alternative is to disconnect the battery but that may cause your car to lose its memory.
There are many cheap batteries and cheap places to get batteries, so why shouldn't you buy them?
Low quality imports:
All of these really cheap batteries are imported from overseas. Most from china, but some from brazil and turkey too. All these places make many different quality ranges. Some of the batteries they make can be considered among the best in the world.
Is the one you are buying one of those? No. No its not. By the time those quality batteries land on our shores the cost of transportation and taxes and so on would make them more expensive than our locally produced ranges. Add the complications in the warranty process on a more expensive item as well as the poor supply chain on these items simply does not make it worth it to sell these batteries here.
What youre buying is a cheap, unregulated battery. This means that although you are buying a 619 with a SABS rating of 40 a/h you are probably getting a battery with a true rating of up to 10 amps below that.
Sometimes you need a cheap battery as a stop gap and thats where these batteries sit, but make sure you're not paying a premium price for a poor quality battery with a pretty sticker on it. Rather buy a cheap local battery since its regulated and the warranty is carried buy the manufacturer and not the reseller.
Here you have the assurance from most (but not all) resellers that their warranty process is not jaded by the loss involved in replacing the battery since the manufacturer will replace it not them.
Quality imports:
You do get higher quality imports, namely the Optima and the Deltec ranges, and there is no quality reason why you should not buy these batteries, however here I would say consider the local economy. Any money spent on imported batteries where there is a top quality local battery available is money straight out of the country.
The warranty concerns as above apply to a lesser degree.
Lower Quality Local:
The only battery I would call lower quality in South Africa is the Dixon. They are still using the hybrid battery technology which as the side effect of gassing. This gassing means you need to keep topping up the battery or it will go dry as well as a very slight risk of explosion from the hydrogen by-product of charging.
That said its still a better battery than any of the cheap imports because although they have a high claim rate they honor their claims without hassle (tho if it dies out of warranty you lose) and they are regulated by the SABS as well as keeping to the SA green initiative. Added to that you have the bonus of keeping your money local.
Higher Quality Local:
Both Powertech and First National Battery have made an effort to keep up with technology and both are using the Silver Calcium technology as a standard in their batteries.
Powertech make Sabat and Willard as well as the Spirex battery for Autozone among some others, First National Battery make Raylite, Exide, Bosch, Midas, and Excis (among others). they also manufacture OE batteries for 90% of all cars made in South Africa including BMW and also the supply the imported range their OE batteries.
First National Battery are one of the best battery research companies in the world, and besides using their technology in their own batteries they also licence other companies all over the world to use their technology. They also manufacture batteries for bower stations, trains, forklifts and many other applications. They have also recently launched the EFB automotive battery which combines technology from the standard flooded silver calcium batteries with the more expensive AGM/VRLA technology to bring an affordable battery that has a higher cranking ability for the amperage.
WTF is this Scrap Loading stuff?
Some people think that you get paid for your old battery when you buy a new battery. This is technically not the case.
There is a scrap surcharge. When you buy a new battery from a South African battery supplier (and many of the importers too) you need to supply your old battery to avoid this surcharge. At the moment the surcharge is sitting at R150 ex vat.
Overall I would say stay away from imported batteries simply because its hurting the economy besides being unregulated.
The best battery to buy the the moment (imo) is the EFB battery, but it is not available in all sizes as yet. Second would be the Silver Calcium range.
Also be aware where you buy the battery from. If you have the know how to test and fit the battery (it can take up to 90 minutes to change the battery on some audi's I kid you not) then you could, as with any other spare part, buy it from a spares shop and fit it yourself. However, if you are not sure then you should go to a Battery Centre or similar place that specializes in batteries so they can test your current battery and make sure that it is the problem, they will also fit any battery you buy from them for free.
Battery Care:
An automotive battery is not meant to stand without working for any length of time. When you talk about the life span of a battery you talk in cycling. A standard automotive battery is a shallow cycle battery which means it operated in the top 80 to 100% of its charge. If it gets too flat it may take damage and any time it gets drained it shortens the life. the goal to getting the maximum lifespan out of your battery is to keep it cycling in that top percentage on a regular basis.
If you have a lead antimony hybrid and you can check the water levels do so at least once every three months in summer and once a month in winter.
If you have a newer tech battery then there is nothing really to check on the battery but you should still be checking the alternator charge rate every three months or so.
A faulty alternator causes more than half battery problems, and if you start having battery problems because of the alternator its often too late to save the battery. Overcharging or undercharging can damage a battery to the point where its a double whammy in that you need to replace both the battery and repair the alternator at the same time. Checking the alternator often can save you a battery.
If you are in the position where your vehicle stands for long periods on a regular basis then it will be worth your while to buy a maintenance charger. The best of these in my opinion is the Cteck chargers, since they are approved by most of the car manufacturers and can be connected while the battery is still connected to the car. While it may cost you as much as a new battery, it will be worth it in the long run because you battery will last longer. Cheaper chargers may not charge with a pure sine wave and may damage the electronics of your car. The alternative is to disconnect the battery but that may cause your car to lose its memory.
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I think I got lucky with the last Dixon. Today this battery decided to no longer deliver. I'll check the alternator voltage tomorrow as well as the current draw tomorrow in a off state but I reckon this battery suffered from premature failure!