Lead/acid battery longevity

[hereward]

I have just fitted a new battery to my car that I bought 13 years ago; is that some kind of record for a battery to last that long, or is it a common thing?

 

[cowboybob]

I wouldn't know about a record, but that's about twice (plus) what is the norm...

What were your driving situations and weather?

What brand/model battery?

 

[ronsimpson]

I have had a batteries last 11 years.
Usually I get 1 to 3 years.
My tractor shakes the battery so bad they only last 1 year.
Some tractors are not run in the winter, so every spring they get a new battery. I now keep a trickle charger on unused batteries and they last 3 years or more.
If you leave the lights on, allow the battery to discharge, it will not last.
Cold weather will kill the battery. When I lived in the north, we brought the batteries in at night or connected a charger all night. It is asking too much from a battery to deliver current at -50C. The engine starts hard and the oil is thick.

 

[tvtech]

Seeing this is a Battery thread, I think I should post here...

I had no clue that Ni-MH have a a useful life of only 5 Years....working or not.
I know that SLA have problems. Ni-MH...I never heard about problems before. Till today....

So, luckily when I started my project, I only purchased around 10 of them....that was in 2010....Some have worked hard and cycled daily, some have just sat on a shelf...

Tested today after all being fully recharged ...they all have the same reduced capacity. Cycles do not matter....age does.

Little PP3's. I have learned....I almost bought 100 of them a few years back at an excellent price....

I would have cried today.

Regards,
tvtech

 

[hereward]

Thanks for the replies, I was quite amazed that it lasted so long. What brand? Not sure it had a name on it, I had only just taken it off when it was snapped up by a passing scrap woman. It was on a Daewoo Matiz. Here in the UK we do not get extremes of temperature (not in recent years anyway) the Gulf Stream helps. I’m still reluctant to put heavy demands on a battery; a hangover from the days of dynamos.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

You can take a look at www.batteryuniversity.com for what's necessary to care and feed all sorts of batteries.

Climate is going to play a major role as well as how far the battery has been discharged and how many times. Maintenance is also going to help.