What to avoid when buying a battery?

DominicHillsun@lemmy.world to Cars - For Car Enthusiasts@lemmy.world – 20 points –

My battery died (can't get above 10.5V, loosing voltage while sitting etc) and I need to get a new one. What should I look out for? There are a lot of different types of them like AGM, Lithium Iron, Flooded Acid etc

Car is Integra (1998)

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Lead acid is fine. I’d get the cheapest one you can find with OEM- level cold cranking amps. Otherwise they’re almost all the same and made by basically 3 or so companies. Ignore the marketing.

AGMs are very durable and tolerant of poor maintenance but you pay for it.

Hmm, it seems that the situation with three companies are in USA. I am from Europe, been looking into Varta batteries

Varta makes the Bosch batteries we get. I think they’re owned by Johnson Controls, but that’s their only involvement. Solid bet IMO. Well-made and reliable.

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I ran Varta on my Corsa, no complaints. I got it for a good price and never failed me.

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Just make sure to keep it charged and use it occasionally. The electrolyte will crystalize to the lead if the battery is left in a discharged state for a long time, which will make the battery weaker or inoperable. If you keep it charged, your battery will last for decades.

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