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From: AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: car service question
Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2025 10:12:47 -0500
Organization: Yellow Jersey, Ltd.
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On 6/3/2025 9:00 AM, Zen Cycle wrote:
> 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.
> 

+1
I learned that as a teenager the first time I needed a 
battery. Clerk asked for which car. Before I could reply 
'Rambler straight six' my expert pal told him 'Cadillac 
Eldorado'.  Same price and bigger, heavier really is better.

(which makes little difference until it's -25F, and then it 
does.)

-- 
Andrew Muzi
am@yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971