Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 15:17:46 -0400
Reply-To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: Buying New Battery Today: Advice?
In-Reply-To: <002201c0c9bb$a2794de0$24558bcd@n0e4e8>
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At 01:02 PM 4/20/2001, PSavage wrote:
>*Do all type 41 batteries *fit* in the seatback compartment?
They should -- Group 41 is the industry designation for that set of
dimensions, with a shielded positive terminal to take the excitement out of
having a battery under your seat springs as the bugs did.
>*Is there anything critical I should know to supervise re the
>installation of the battery?
Nothing special to the Vanagon except that the strap handle on some
batteries may be a very close fit. If your installer knows how to turn the
seat around (this is a Westy, right?) so that he or she can get the old
battery out then you're probably in better-than-average hands.
>*Warranties & cost aside, are all commonly available type 41
>batteries more or less created equal?
You have little selection in Group 41 because it is only used for VWs --
the most effective thing you can do is find the most recently manufactured
battery in the place, and make sure that's the one they put
in.
http://www.interstatebatteries.com/www_2001/content/products/date_codes.asp
will teach you about the date codes in use.
When looking at warranties, the important part is the length of time that
they'll simply swap for a new one (36 months would be amazingly good). The
pro-rated part of the warranty is of little use because they pro-rate
against list price.
Consumer Reports never tests Group 41 batteries because of the limited
audience, but among the batteries they do test there is wide variation
within brands as to how close batteries come to their specification. Model
X and Model Y from the same company may be the best and worst batteries in
the test. Interstate incidentally claim on their website to have the
highest percentage of batteries meeting spec...
AGM (absorbed-glass-mat) batteries like Optima/Interstate and the new Exide
will give superior performance at a high initial price. These particular
brands use a cylindrical construction that results in the battery case
looking like a six-pack of sodas. One of our list members helped design
the Exide and he says that it's rated extremely conservatively. However
these are not drop-in replacements for Group 41, they need careful
consideration of dimensions, terminal placement, clamping method etc.
david
David Beierl - Providence, RI
http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"
