die hard agm battery

tab · Post by **tab** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 5:09 pm

Has anyone tried the die hard agm battery? its time for a replacement.
Tom

Don · Post by **Don** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 5:18 pm

Hopefully they perform better than their namesakes - I used half a dozen 'Die Hards' back in the '70's . . . . never got more than 18 months out of any of them - Even replacing them under their pro-rated warranty, they were no bargain

I've had pretty good luck with WestCo (and the other various brands made by Johnson Controls) AGMS

Don

TerryL · Post by **TerryL** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 6:17 pm

Haven't. I'm trying a Scorpion YTX24HL-BS 12 Volt AGM Maintenance Free 21AH with 350 CCAs in the 82 as the 6 yr old Westco in it went to my 79, now in its 7th yr of service! It was only $77 on sale at BatteryStuff.com. I only replaced the Westco because I tour on the 82 more than the 79 and wanted the assurance of a new battery for long rides. But, apparently as long as I maintain them with a Deltran Battery Tender Jr. they seem to run and run and run...

steve murdoch icoa #5322 · Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:40 pm

I have had great performance from this battery.
http://www.batterymart.com/p-Big-Crank- ... ttery.html

Don · Post by **Don** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 11:34 pm

Pretty sure the 'Big Crank' is one of those made by Johnson Controls and at $73 it is probably a bargain - BTW . . . . a quick search shows that they also make the Die Hards too, so go with whichever one is cheaper . . . . likely not a dime's worth of difference in the internal construction of either

Don

NobleHops · Post by **NobleHops** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 8:55 am

Don wrote:Pretty sure the 'Big Crank' is one of those made by Johnson Controls and at $73 it is probably a bargain - BTW . . . . a quick search shows that they also make the Die Hards too, so go with whichever one is cheaper . . . . likely not a dime's worth of difference in the internal construction of either

Don

OK, prowling at Sears' site, this appears to be their top-of-the-line AGM equivalent:

DieHard Gold PowerSport Battery 18L-BS

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... eviewsWrap

They want $94 for it in lovely tax-free NH (where I am headed today), with exchange, which saves me finding a way to recycle the old one. The Big Crank at the Battery Mart site nets out to $85 with ground shipping for me, so I'll likely go with this DieHard and hope that Sears' warranty adds some value if needed.

N.

alimey4u2 · Post by **alimey4u2** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:51 pm

Watch out for Sears warranty, read the small print... They refused to replace my deep cycle trolling motor battery because of the fine print...

Doesn't apply to deep cycle batteries the man said...

tab · Post by **tab** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 5:35 pm

Thanks for the info, I think I will give the die hard a try. I will report back
if it does not perform well. Tom

TerryL · Post by **TerryL** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 8:34 pm

You realize the Big Crank has much fewer CCAs right, 270 compared to the Scorpion's 350?

NobleHops · Post by **NobleHops** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:47 pm

TerryL wrote:You realize the Die Hard has much fewer CCAs right?

I did not, but looking at both pages, how could you tell? I see the Big Crank rated at 270 CCA, but I can't find any specification on the DieHard...

Thanks Terry,

N.

TerryL · Post by **TerryL** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 11:41 pm

Sorry I typed the wrong battery name, now corrected. The Die Hard doesn't even list their claimed CCAs. Wonder why? Might as well not list their under-achieving 9 month warranty too.

alimey4u2 · Post by **alimey4u2** » Mon Mar 08, 2010 4:09 am

I think you will find the warranty only to be valid for "automotive" batteries. As I said before, check the fine print & don't listen to the salesman...

tab · Post by **tab** » Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:23 pm

I will check further before buying!
Tom

Don · Post by **Don** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:29 pm

TerryL wrote:You realize the Big Crank has much fewer CCAs right, 270 compared to the Scorpion's 350?

When comparing cranking amps, you need to pay particular attention to how they are rated/computed . . . . the adgvertising can LIE

A true 250 cold CCA's (calculated as the amps the battery can sustain for 30 seconds at zero degrees) could be rated by another manufacturer as 350 CCA's . . . . and if it was done at 40 degrees (which is common) instead of zero, both batteries would actually be the same - 350 at 40 is the same thing as 250 at zero

It's almost as misleading as trying to figure which stereo has the most watts

Don