Ahhh, Global Warming....

 

It is all the rage these days, I hear.

 

Man, this thread sure took off while i wasnt paying attention, lol.

 

Funny where they’ll lead sometimes..

 

Here we are, one year after warrantying my 2-year old Everstart Max batteries:







At least Walmart let me warranty the passenger side battery...again.

She said "Let's see what the voltage looks like."
I said "I called this morning and the guy said it should be warrantied if it's boiling over. I don't understand the need for a voltage check"
She said "What makes you think it's been boiling over? It just looks dirty to me."
I said "There are trails running down all four sides."
She said "Go grab one off the shelf."

It would be nice to know who makes the Everstart batteries that they're selling up in Jersey, because these clearly are not those.

 

They definitely are not. What is your voltage under normal driving? And what alternator, Chris?

 

In 85 degree ambient temps its typically in the 13.6-13.9 range. I have the Bosch 140amp alt with overdrive pulley.

The almost two year old Everstart Max in my wife's Tundra looks almost as bad. Can't wait for these things to die so I can replace with AGMs. I am done with conventional batteries.

 

Jack is right (isn't he always?)... his Walmart Everstart Maxx batteries were made by East Penn Manufacturing.

Yours, with the exposed removeable vent caps, appears to have been made by Clarios, which can be confirmed if you still have that battery in your possession.



I have previously felt your pain, seeing that battery tray all corroded up. Corroded battery trays were the bane of my automotive maintenance experience in the '70's, '80's, and 90's. Shortly after the turn of the century, I turned over a new leaf, and switched to AGM batteries. No more corroded battery trays.


Walmart sells AGM batteries in the Group 65 size, which are called Everstart PLATINUM batteries. If you are done with conventional flooded lead acid batteries, then avoid the Everstart MAXX batteries, and select the PLATINUM's instead. The Walmart house brand lower price formula, offering what is likely the same battery sold under other brand names at a higher price, still applies to the Everstart Platinum AGM batteries, which I have found under several other brand names.

But it is actually a bit more complex than just that.

Just like the Everstart MAXX branded flooded lead acid batteries were manufactured by different suppliers, using different batter construction methods, with different results (comparing your experience with Jack's experience), the Everstart Platinum AGM Group 65 batteries are also made by different battery manufacturers.

Moreover, there is no discernable, nor predictable rhyme or reason for which battery manufacturer's products are offered by Walmart in which region or coast of the United States, because FTE members (in the 2017-2022 Super Duty sub-forum) have found different versions of the same battery made by different manufacturers and sold in the same store, sitting on the same shelf, side by side.

So far, I have discovered three different manufacturers of the Walmart Everstart Platinum AGM Group 65 (apologies for the repetition in craving for clarity).

1. Clarios-Varta (750 CCA)
2. East Penn Manufacturing (750 CCA)
3. Hankook-AtlasBX (775 CCA)

All three of these AGM batteries are offered with a 4 year warranty. And if ordering online for store pickup, ship to store, or home delivery, one does not get to choose, or even know, which of the three differently manufactured versions of this battery that one will receive.

If one has a preference for a particular battery manufacturer, then the thing to do is visit different Walmart stores to see what is actually in their battery cage.

More information about the differences between these particular batteries can be found by searching my recent post history over the last 10 months.

 

The wife would likely disagree with the opening sentence....

 

I still have two in my possession, unfortunately. What am I looking for to confirm?


If the Clarios-Varta's are all they stock around here, I'll be looking elsewhere when the time comes for my AGM upgrade. Batteries Plus comes to mind.

Thank you for your insightful post.....as always.

 

Please clean off the tops of the batteries still in your possession that you would like to confirm, and post a clear, clean, focused photo of the full top of said battery(ies).

Tag me when you have done such, and we will confirm the origin of your batteries together, which will help all of our fellow battery hunters.




I'm glad you mentioned Batteries Plus, because they have recently introduced an AGM Group 65 battery licensed and labeled under the "Duracell" brand name that is the exact same 775 CCA AGM battery manufactured in South Korea by Hankook-AtlasBX that Walmart sells, only Batteries Plus charges $100 more for the same battery, with the same 4 year warranty.

Obviously, Walmart is the better deal, not just in upfront costs, but in opportunity costs to actually exercise the warranty when and where needed.

1. There are more Walmarts in any given region than there are Batteries Plus stores.

2. Many Batteries Plus stores are franchises, laden with quirks imposed by the franchisee, whereas Walmarts are all corporate owned.

3. For the franchisee to obtain warranty reimbursement for any battery you bring in, that battery has to be tested with equipment from Batteries Plus, such as the Midtronics DSS-7000.

3A. Does any given employee at any given Walmart care that much about determining the precise condition of a battery brought in that the customer claims is not satisfactory? (This is a genuine question, as I have never returned a battery at Walmart for warranty.)

Thanks for your kind words.

I must admit, that my position on "best" batteries for our purposes continues to evolve over the years, due to the many and ongoing changes in the automotive battery industry, from mergers / acquisitions / dissolvement of businesses, to the introduction and advancement of technology, to the geo-political disruptions of the supply chain spun about by pandemics and tariffs, to the 3 card molly brand label shell game that obfuscates the actual manufacturer of batteries.

One thing is certain... we know how critical good batteries are to running electronically controlled engines, not just turning the starter.

 

[size=16px]3A. Does any given employee at any given Walmart care that much about determining the precise condition of a battery brought in that the customer claims is not satisfactory? (This is a genuine question, as I have never returned a battery at Walmart for warranty.)[/size]

My local wall mart used to be easy to return an obviously bad battery. They used a good load tester type setup to verify. Now they use a gadget that determines condition electronically. A healthy voltage that has a low reserve will pass it. If I can convince them to use their older load tester type it will fail.

 

Is that a Walmart with an automotive service department?

 

Yes it is

 

Over the decades, I’ve warrantied two Walmart batteries. My Walmart does not have an auto service center, so I have to go to the service/returns desk. They have never checked them, taking my word it is bad.

This was with our Lincoln LS, which eats every brand of battery I’ve tried.