I got 12 years (couple months short (August) on this past set. I maintained them every month (cleanliness and water level) kept on a Shumaker On-Board Charger (1.5 amps) and every six months Desulfated with a NOCO Charger. They were Cosco Branded. I replaced them when my Battery Tester said "Replace". No issues whatsoever.

Replaced with Motorcraft 850 CCA. We'll see what happens.

 

Can't complain about a 12 year run. I do well with batteries for some reason but I've never gotten that far with them.

 

I've read good things about the Costco batteries. Your diligent maintenance most likely played a big role, especially desulfating. I've brought back some totally unusable batteries using a charger/rejuvenator from Renaissance Charge.

 

My friend, you have bragging rights.

 

I thought the only ones that get 12 years on batteries was NASA. That Mar’s rover keeps going and going and going!

Impressive! Mine go every 3 or 4 years thanks to either the starter or alternator.

 

Surprisingly, Motorcraft were $139 ea - Johnson Controls Manufacturer's them.

The Parts Guy kept saying I needed the 700 CCA, even turned the screen and showed me the suggested battery for a 99 7.3L I thought that was strange. I got the 850 CCA.

I retired in 2009. We were putting 850 CCA's in up til then in all Diesel Platforms. Perhaps they have better batteries now (?)

 

Original equipment batteries were 750 CCA.

They still are today.




For the same given battery size and chemistry, the higher quantity and thinner structure of plates that produce higher CCA numbers, are simultaneously less tolerant of deeper discharge cycles.

Therefore, in the real world, in less than perfect maintenance environments (other than Pirschwagon's pristine monthly routine), higher CCA batteries can be more prone to degradation when the lights are left on, or the radio is left playing, or the trailer is connected, etc.

Motorcraft also offers a little known 900 CCA / 1,000 CA Group 65 battery, called the "Super Duty". (Part number BSD-65, where "SD" stands for Super Duty). Ironically, Ford does not install these "Super Duty" batteries in Super Dutys.

I think for OEM production, Ford is striking a balance between minimally necessary CCA to assure cold starts, while still recognizing that new car inventory spends a lot of time sitting in staging lots, riding on rail cars, waiting in storage lots, and having the doors opened and closed all the time in dealer's lots... all activities and inactivity that accumulates to deep discharging that the plate design and quantity of high CCA batteries is not suitable for. If the battery is dead, the vehicle won't be bought that day off the lot, so Ford knows that a good battery needs to be installed on the production floor if they want to keep selling through inventory.

Between Motorcraft's 650 CCA, 750 CCA, 850 CCA, and 900 CCA group 65 batteries, Ford chose the 750 CCA as original equipment. Most people replace these with 850 CCA in Motorcraft aftermarket versions (which don't have the green eye that OEM production Motorcraft batteries have).

In early 2003, I tried a pair of the Super Duty 900 CCA batteries. They started strong, but didn't last long (less than 4 years). At that point I switched to pure lead AGM batteries, which have lasted 10 years, through two alternator failures. I haven't maintained them the way Pirschwagon has maintained his. I'm going to buy a new set of TPPL AGM batteries, and will endeavor to be more disciplined about plugging the truck in regularly, to see if this next set of batteries will be the last ones I ever buy for this particular truck. If Pirsch was able to eek 12 years out of regular cheap wet cells of recycled lead with fastidious maintenance, and if I was able to eek 10 years out of pure lead AGM's with almost no maintenance, then what kind of battery life can be eeked out of pure lead AGM's with a Pirsch maintenance regimen? Ask me in 20 years? (although you might have to ask the Executor of my estate).

 

They are probably the same as Walmarts Everstart batteries, they are made by Johnson Controls also.

 

Did not know that about 850 vs. 750.

I believe 65-2 are 850?

Auto Craft Gold are also Johnson Controls.

I have read a lot of battery threads. I thought one concluded that what creates the great reviews for WalMart, CostCo, and also the AutoCraft Golds (Advance), is a simple thing: high turn-over. The battery they sell you hasn’t been sitting around long before you buy it.

But the original post here - hats off!

How does one “de-sulfate” a battery?

All I do is occasionally clean the top, rest the terminals on felt pads, coat everything with sealant, and also very occasionally bring up the water level a little with a clean eye dropper and some distilled water if necessary. Off pavement a lot, that is necessary.

 

Everytime a battery gets re-charged it gets "desulfated", that's how they work.

As a charged battery becomes depleted the sulfuric acid (electrolyte) basically splits off into H20, that's why we can measure the state of charge with a specific gravity test. Or at least used to, virtually all batteries sold today are sealed. The sulfate part of the electrolyte is all bound to the negative plates and only water remains in a dead battery. That's one reason why batteries are topped off with water, and not sulfuric acid, it will return to the electrolyte after charging. It's also why a dead battery will freeze in cold weather, the electrolyte has turned to water, yet another reason to keep them charged. A fully charged battery won't freeze till something like -65° F below zero, a dead or weak battery will freeze, and they tend to explode when charging or jump starting, and would have been junk anyway when thawed out.

A 100% charged battery doesn't have any sulfate on the plates, it's in the electrolyte where it belongs, in an undercharged battery over time (days, not weeks) the soft, easily converted sulfate turns into hard crystals on the plates that are very resistant to conversion back into electrolyte.

Some charger manufacturers claim to be able to rejuvenate permanently sulfated batteries with special charging routines, but it usually represents a permanent loss in battery capacity. That's what kills most batteries before their time, is permanent sulfation. High temperatures speed chemical reactions, so the natural rate of self-discharge increases. They lose their charge even when not being used. That's why saying goes that batteries "die in July, but don't fall over till October". They no longer have enough current capacity to start the engine once the temperature drops. This is also why the battery tenders work, they provide just enough voltage to "float" the cells at 100% and help prevent permanent sulfation.

Just buy a good external charger and use it, and skip the chemistry lesson! It will pay for itself.

 

I apply a coat of grease to my battery posts and clamps, this prevents corrosion.

Many may dispute my methods but...I also have my negative terminal ends adjusted so they are tight just before they bottom out on the post. Then I push them on by hand with a twisting action to tighten them up. To disconnect the batteries on any of my vehicles (except for GM connections) I can grab the terminal, twist it and pull it off. With the grease on there I have never had a problem and that includes winter starting on my diesel.

 

1. CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS:



I use them all, plus a brass bristled tooth brush that didn't make it in the photo.


2. LOCATE THE ENEMY:



Even brand new Fords, delivered to mild salt free climates, with not even 30 miles on the odometer, nor 30 days of burning fuel under its belt... can still have insidious corrosion at the battery cables that if not brought into check, will creep up the cable, and corrode the strands, creating havoc within a few years.


3. ATTACK!

(Warning: Viewer Discretion Advised)



A bloody looking mess, but someone has to protect freedom... from corrosion issues down the line, even with new batteries.

 

I have said this for years, but try to convince people where here in the US the "bigger is better" mentality prevails.

 

How long do you leave them on the charger between starts? Do you periodically put a starting load on them to keep dendrite growth to a minimum? Also when you de-sulfate, do you disconnect them from the truck and how long do you leave them on the de-sulfater?

 

For the same given battery size and chemistry, the higher quantity and thinner structure of plates that produce higher CCA numbers, are simultaneously less tolerant of deeper discharge cycles.


The high CCA batts with thinner plates also tend to be more prone to internal damage from vibration and shock, important if offroading and rock crawling is a consideration. If someone lives in say, North Dakota or Saskatoon and places like that they want a high CCA battery, but folks who live in temperate climates are wasting their money by exceeding the CCA requirements, heavier batteries with thicker plates and longer reserve time capacity last the longest in use and usually cost less to boot.