I need a good replacement battery

[edavi394]

looking for a good sealed maintenance free battery. thanks

[Larrym]

sealed battery?

edavi394,

When my maintenance free battery failed last month I took a look at the one available from Sears.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...06000P?prdNo=1

I wasn't happy with that price so I went with an "alternate" battery from another parts provider. View the video to see where I and others followed in the footsteps of members who were in the same situation...



Note: The battery wasn't listed on the "alternate" provider's website. I had to call the individual store(s) in my area to confirm if they had the battery (Part Number...) on their shelf...

[Douglas Money]

I got mine at the local part store. They had it in stock. Price was $78. If I waited it would be $10 cheaper. I couldn't wait.

[cywelchjr]

I got mine from walmart for like $47 like 6 months ago and so far it's still working like new. For the price it works just fine. It's one of their stock batteries too. If you don't mind dropping 2.5 bills though, that battery t99ford uses looks like a nice unit, lighter and smaller and more cranking power and life. I'm seriously considering it for my next battery. They even have a listing for our bikes, they are rather pricey though.

[CatatonicBug]

From what I understand, the maint-free ones don't last any longer than the standard lead-acid ones. Why pay more? You can get the standard ones at WalMart.

[cywelchjr]

Sorry, yeah, mine is not maint free, but most feedback has been that maint free don't last as long, cost more, and don't work any better . So I ask you, what's the cost benefit? I see no reason to move to something that doesn't work better, doesn't last as long, and costs more, at least the Shorai batteries last longer, have more cranking power and have less weight than the normal batteries. Take a look at this listing for the batteries for our bikes. Yes they cost more, but the benefits are actually there unlike the glass mat ones that actually don't last as long.

[Elevener]

"at least the Shorai batteries last longer" How would you know? They havent even been around long and continued to sell a battery they knew had problems.

I use a deka etx 18l agm ( also sold as Big Crank) . I have a Bikemaster gel in another bike. No acid means no leak or maintenance. I sometimes wonder what personal experience people have when recommending or condemning products.

[cywelchjr]

"at least the Shorai batteries last longer" How would you know? They havent even been around long and continued to sell a battery they knew had problems.

I use a deka etx 18l agm ( also sold as Big Crank) . I have a Bikemaster gel in another bike. No acid means no leak or maintenance. I sometimes wonder what personal experience people have when recommending or condemning products.

I have a LOT of riding friends who have run both maint free and standard batteries and almost without exception they get 2 to 3 times as much life out of the standard batteries as the maint free ones. This also matches with the feedback I got from the local battery store when checking on them, who recommended staying away from them, as he has a high return rate on them under warranty. As he said "it doesn't cost me anything, I get reimbursed, but your sitting on the side of the road with a bike that won't start", he said goldwing owners had the most trouble from what he had seen, although most of those I know ride hardleys, maybe they shake them to death. I know there have got to be some good ones out there, but the feedback I've gotten, is that most of them are junk, and that most people buy the junk, cause unless you know where to buy, that's usually all that you can get locally.

Now I'll jinx myself, while I've had acid spills in cars, and maint free batteries work great there, I've never had an acid spill in a bike, so far. But you are right, you gotta pay attention to them and keep them filled. But you gotta admit, they are cheap.

[crazy steve]

looking for a good sealed maintenance free battery. thanks

I'm with Cy on this one; there ain't no such thing as a 'good' sealed battery; they seem to last 2-3 years and that's it. The 'cheap' non-sealed will last that long easily if activated properly and maintained, most I've had have gone 6 years +....

[Larrym]

Response times of "Live" versus "Search"...

edavi394

You did get your "answer from their knowledge on what they used and where they got it " and in the first response to your post. That "Sears sealed maintenance free battery" was the one which I was replacing after 4 years. The time between your question and the answer was a little over 2 hours.

Regarding "saving an hour of searching the forums" by NOT using the search function I would have to disagree based upon my own experience. When my battery "died" last month I didn't post a "Where can I get this part?" in the forum here. I used the search function. The thread containing the information I needed was on the very first page that the search function displayed. I found the supplier and part number for the battery I wanted within 10 minutes. 10 minutes later I had confirmed by telephone that the "supplier" had the battery I wanted. Less than an hour later I had the battery in my hands. Demonstrably the "search function" method provided what I needed and in a timelier manner than the method you chose.

It took a little over 3 minutes to make that video. I can't say at to whether that "tutorial" is the first or only one addressing the use of the site's search function but I'm more than happy to contribute to the site here in a meaningful way when I can.. That function of the site here was important enough to be mentioned in TC's "Welcome New Members:Please Read This FIRST before Posting!" sticky.

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18450


I chose to use your "quest" for a sealed maintenance free battery as a vehicle for encouraging not just you, but everyone to utilize a service that I used and will continue to use because of its effectiveness. The video was just a "visual" method to show how fast and effective it REALLY is as opposed to the way some others think/say it does. That's how I had the time to make the video: by making efficient use of the time/resources I have.

I'd encourage you to again make use of the search function before you pose a "question".

I'd also urge to to read (or Re-read if needed...) TC's sticky and pay particular attention to the section entitled: Forum Rules. In that section you will find guidelines for what NOT to post along with a description of the "Moderator" rights to edit or delete posts when appropriate.

It's just my opinion but I'd feel it appropriate to ask the moderators here to delete everything in your second post past the word "thx".

Then my response would have been:

"No. No....Thank You. Glad to be of help."

[cywelchjr]

I'm not going to quote all that, but I have to say I agree in large part with Larry. Not completely, as I've often had trouble finding what I was looking for searching, BUT, if doing so it's generally good to say that you have searched and couldn't find what you were looking for, then at least everyone knows you tried first.

Then again, you say that the search results were just a bunch of opinions, where guess what, that's still all you have. No statistics, no numbers, no hard facts, just opinions based on experience we have had or been exposed to with others with different batteries types and such. So I'm not seeing that you have really gained anything really, other than getting yet another round of opinions that are a bit fresher, with information on batteries that may not have been available back in the past.

[cywelchjr]

"at least the Shorai batteries last longer" How would you know? They havent even been around long and continued to sell a battery they knew had problems.

I use a deka etx 18l agm ( also sold as Big Crank) . I have a Bikemaster gel in another bike. No acid means no leak or maintenance. I sometimes wonder what personal experience people have when recommending or condemning products.

In addition to their literature, I'm basing it on my experience with similar technologies. Battery technologies are moving forward all the time, and getting better all the time. From what I can see, and from my reading, this type of battery is the future of vehicle batteries, unless they come out with something even more efficient. We are getting closer and closer my friends to what I like to call the batacitor. This is a device with the best of a capacitor and a battery. Hold a charge almost forever, charge as fast as the conductors can handle, and discharge as fast, as many times as you wish, voltage stable from full charge to almost 0 charge. When we achieve this we will have true electrical storage that works, and electric vehicles would IMHO be practical since you could charge one in like 10 minutes. We're a long way from there so far at least it appears we are, but who knows when a breakthrough will happen.

[Elevener]

Yeah but in 12 replys Im the only one who ANSWERED his question.

"looking for a good sealed maintenance free battery. thanks "

And just because one complains I dont see why mods delete. A mod answered here before deleting and presumedly read the thread before he answered.

And everybody has given their opinion. not real life experience.

[motoman]

And everybody has given their opinion. not real life experience./////real life experience: Venturer 1100 going on 6.5yrs. with an Interstate wet-cell. Only been "killed" and re-charged once. Honda ST going on 7yrs. with an Exide wet-cell. Only been killed and re-charged once. Both still in the bikes and recently load tested, exceeded amp load and time and still held 11V. BTW, don't own a batt.tender, and the above statements show why.......any questions?

[fredintoon]

In Saskatoon a bike battery has to sit unused for 5 months each winter.
My 12 point battery storage plan has been whittled down to
Step 1) Remove the battery in the fall
Step 2) Toss it
Step 3) Buy a new one in the spring