Duracell batteries

[Wertles]

Sams Club sell these in Group 65 for $86. 00 each. They are made by East Penn which make Deka batteries. Has anyone used these or should I just stick with the more well known brands. I have read many threads on different batteries but have never heard a discussion on Duracell brand. I will be going with Sears Die Hard batteries if these are not good batteries.
EDIT: Just came from the local Deka dealer and their Group 65 battery with the same specs (880 CCA) is $120. 00.

 

[seafish]

Deka makes an excellent battery...

They have been the oem battery supplier for Caterpillar for years, and you KNOW that Cat needs something that will always start.

I also have been using them in my equipment for 5 years now... . alwyas start.

I will likely use them in my truck when the originals die (knock wood:-laf)

unless I decide that I can afford the Diheard Platinums P2, which are a rebranded Odyssey that Sears sells for $220 each !!!

 

[Wertles]

I know Deka is a good battery and is definitely on my list but I guess a better way to phrase my question would be is the Duracell the same battery as the Deka? Cadillac and Chevy are both made by GM but one is definitely better than the other.

 

[Grizzly]

Can't get any better than a Johnson Control made battery from Costco in a Kirtland brand. They were best rated on Consumer Reports.

 

[Wertles]

Unfortunately we don't have Cosco within hours of where I live. I bought the Duracell today. 880 CCA at 0* and 1040 at 32*. They were 84 dollars a piece. 3 year free replacement and 8 year pro rated at Sams club. They are on the charger now and I will replace them this weekend.

 

[rbattelle]

Wertles, I was going to say you should get them. For $84 with a 3-year warranty, how can you lose?

-Ryan

 

[CBari]

I bought two of them two years ago and all has been well with them. I went to sears and bought their plantnium die hard, and they wanted another 75 dollars to put them on so took them with me and said I would put them on that evening. I then stopped at Sams to fill up and they had a sign at the pumps on the batteries. I think I gave 65 each installed.



The guys at sears weren't real happy when I brought the die hards back.

 

[Wertles]

I was really tempted to buy the Die Hard platinums but 440 plus tax is just insane. I had to put myself in check and get back to reality. Currently, I am only planning on keeping my current truck for 2 more years so spending an extra 300 dollars for batteries would just be quite stupid of me.

 

[Blakers]

We have hundreds of Deka gel mat deep cycle batteries on our gas wells and most are starting to go bad after about 5 years. Not sure what the life expectancy should be. They seem to be well-made batteries, but not sure how they compare to the competition.

 

[mwilson]

I know Deka is a good battery and is definitely on my list but I guess a better way to phrase my question would be is the Duracell the same battery as the Deka? Cadillac and Chevy are both made by GM but one is definitely better than the other.

Don't quote me on this but 800 CCA is 800 CCA.



However the construction of the battery may vary as required.



For example, CAT want's a vibration resistant plate and connections. They will spec that from East Penn for a CAT branded battery.



Duracell could care less about extra vibration in that battery as your Dodge Pick-Up is not going to get shook like a D-9 would every day. So the plate and connections will be a standard spec which makes them cheaper as well.



I checked for fun and the CAT HD Group 65 battery is pushing $150. 00 retail.



You have purchased a good battery in my opinion.



Mike.

 

[rbattelle]

I checked for fun and the CAT HD Group 65 battery is pushing $150. 00 retail.

You know, that's a lot cheaper than the $220 for Die Hard Platinums (Odyssey). Which is surprising, what with the Cat tax and all.



Maybe I should consider going with a Cat battery when the time comes?



-Ryan

 

[HBarlow]

I have bought nothing but SAM's Club batteries for fifteen or more years whatever brand they were selling. I had one early failure years ago and it was warranty replaced. I've bought them for trucks, cars, RVs, whatever.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Can't get any better than a Johnson Control made battery from Costco in a Kirtland brand. They were best rated on Consumer Reports.

No Costco within 100 miles so I buy Wal-Mart batteries as long as they have "Manufacturered by Johnson Controls, Inc" in fine print on the label.



Bill

 

[Wertles]

I put the batteries in yesterday and both the battery blankets and holding brackets fit perfectly. I haven't bought batteries in a long time and the batteries at Walmart, Autozone, Pep Boys, Advance Auto and Sams all had CCA's rated at 0* and 32* F. I am not sure if this is a marketing strategy to make the batteries seem stronger than they really are but I only took the 0* rating to compare them all. Something I have never really considered as a plus that I now do is that these batteries have the carrying strap on them and they were so much easier to put in than taking the OEM ones out of the truck without the straps. I know it is a small thing but not having scraped up fingers at the end of a job is a huge plus for me as people at work have to look at my hands all day and most don't want to see grease or healing wounds.

 

[J.BURCHFIELD]

I like Interstate batteries. I recently stupidly left my ignition on and the next day when i went to go somewhere both batteries were dead. All the way down. I used my charger for 24 hours and then checked with a hydrometer and both batteries seemed OK To make sure I went to the local Interstate dealer and he checked and said nothing wrong. Here in Florida the heat works a hardship on a battery. The batteries were 3 years old at the time and now several months later no problem. I used Interstate batteries in my Peterbuilt back in the 70's. Whew! where did the time go?