Date:         Thu, 15 Jul 1999 17:51:09 -0700
Reply-To:     Mark Drillock <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mark Drillock <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Re: batteries on sale
Comments: To: Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Great tip Bill, but are you suggesting that we take the word of some
sales clerk in any matter of importance? This is not the way to go,
since the product may have just arrived at the store after sitting in a
warehouse for a long time. Almost everything electrical has a date code
somewhere on it that you can use to determine how long since it was
produced. Car batteries usually have a small label with a letter
followed by a number. An example would be "F9". The letter is the month
and the number is the year, namely June 1999. Check the battery over
carefully and you will find something similar. Sometimes the date code
is something like 2398. This means the 23rd week of 1998. 15498 would be
the 154th day of 1998. As I said, almost everything has a date code on
it somewhere. This is necessary to be able to do recalls or defect
advisories.

Mark Drillock

Davidson wrote:
>
> One thing to remember when you find batteries on sale...
> Ask how long they've been on the shelf!
> Batteries discharge slowly on the shelf.
> If they're on the shelf a long time it is possible for them to be deeply
> discharged.
> This can reduce the life of the battery.
> Bill
> 90 Westy Syncro