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From: Zen Cycle <funkmaster@hotmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: car service question
Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2025 10:00:46 -0400
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On 6/2/2025 8:11 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Mon, 2 Jun 2025 13:22:45 -0500, Mark J cleary
> <mcleary08@comcast.net> wrote:
> 
>> Ok it is not a bike but this is a good group. My 2019 Ford Escape needs
>> new battery it is the original. No trouble but going to replace due to
>> age voltage on meter says 12.4 a but under but ok.
>>
>> I also need an oil change. I generally use the quick lube place down the
>> street but one stop seems to be the easiest.
>>
>> I made an appointment at the Walmart I go to for groceries. I am a bit
>> dubious of Walmart for auto stuff but frankly they could be just as good
>> was anything else. There batteries are way cheaper than AutoZOne and
>> Orielly.
>>
>> So did I make as mistake should I have gone to a regular car service
>> center. My Escape runs fine only 30K miles on it.
> 
> It's probably to late but this might be useful for others shopping for
> car batteries.  With lead-acid car and UPS batteries, what you're
> paying for is the lead and lead oxide.  The more lead in a given size
> battery, the longer it will last.  Therefore, the idea is to buy the
> heaviest (actually the most dense) battery possible.  Since lead
> (11.34 g/cm^3) is about 6 times as dense as sulfuric acid (1.83
> g/cm^3) any attempt to replace lead with electrolyte is going to be
> obvious in the math.  Also, if you look at distributor (and possibly
> warehouse) pricing, you'll find that the more expensive batteries
> weigh more.
> 
> However, you can't trust the battery weights from eBay, Amazon, and
> various big box stores.  They all lie about the weight of their
> batteries.  Bring your own electronic or spring scale, straps, and a
> stiff bar or pipe to suspend the scale.  If you don't want suspend the
> battery, find an electronic platform scale and weigh the battery on
> the ground.
> <https://www.google.com/search?q=platform%20scale&udm=2>
> 
> There seem to be a variety of battery types available.  Rather than
> list all the possible, I'll leave that exercise to the reader.  Also,
> since the weight varies somewhat between Lead-Acid, LiIon and AGM
> batteries, I can't provide an estimated battery weight.
> 
> Kelly Blue Book comments on your car and battery:
> <https://www.kbb.com/ford/escape/2019/battery-replacement/>
> 
> When you measured the battery voltage, was the engine running and the
> battery charging?  If so, turn off the engine, let the battery cool
> down, and then measure the voltage at the battery terminals with the
> engine *NOT* running and the headlights, A/C, dashboard, etc turned
> *OFF*.
> <https://www.google.com/search?q=battery%20voltage%20with%20engine%20off>
> "A good car battery should read 12.4-12.9 volts when the car is off.
> Anything lower doesn't necessarily mean the battery is bad. Your car's
> electrical system may have drained it, or there may be an issue with
> your alternator".
> 

I've always put the largest battery that would fit in the space 
provided. In my Element I took measurements of the space and replaced it 
with the largest one I could find - don't remember the size offhand, but 
I do know it's substantially larger than the stock battery with nearly 
double the CCA. The challenge was making sure the post configuration 
would allow the cables to reach.

-- 
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