Best Battery?

[1297chevastro]

I'm needing a new battery and they're are a few good ones out there. I live in Alberta Canada and we've bottomed out at -42.5 Celsius -44 F. I would like one with good cold cranking amps and good reliability for this extreme weather.

[Chevymankevin]

Optima red or yellow top batterys are my choice for best. But they come with a hefty price tag...

[Corsemoto]

I don't deal with cold conditions anymore but probably anything decent like Interstate Mega-Tron 78 with at least 800 cca, etc. Pick your poison and somewhere that is easy to get it to and exchange if required. Using a smart charger like the CTEK 3300 may help as well.

[The Drummer]

I have a delco ( i think its an H.D ) thats a couple years old and have had no problems with it , i live in quebec and its cold as well ,minus 30c last week and it still starts very good , if you dont have a block eater get one installed ,i have one and havent used it yet (go figure) , in short any delco batteries i ever had lasted a long time , but whatever you do DO NOT BUY ENERGISER BATTERIES FROM WALL MART , whatever you buy if its starts at minus 42 c its a good one ,man am i glad we haven t seen such cold temp round here in a few winters .

[1297chevastro]

All sound good. I will shop around today.

[ProStreet_LS1]

I have not had good luck with Optima. My red top did not last 3 years.
Unless you have a high output alternator, the yellow top is of no use. They do not advertise it, but the yellow top requires about 13.2-13.4 amps to charge. The average alternator only does about 12.8. So for a daily driver, the yellow top is worthless, wouldnt last 6 months. Not knowing this, I bought a used yellow top off craigslist. I thought cool, a yellow top for $100. Yep, waste of money, I dont have bigger alt., didnt last 3 months. It also cant not be charged with a regular charger.

[Phantom]

12.8 volts is not good enough to charge most car batteries , if an alternator only puts out 12.8 is the bare minimum of charging rate, absolute minimum anything less it will cause damage to the battery internally through the inability to fully charge a battery , causing the battery to be in continual state of lack of full charge , this may go unnoticed to the driver until the battery life is shortened ,, alternator should produce upward of 13.8 volts close to 14 volts in order to fully charge a battery properly . Use of a alternator that produces only 13.volts or less will result in a faster discharge of battery as it has not been fully charged , when any battery repeatedly is discharged to less than 11 volts it will die quickly, especially when a lot of devices like a blower motors, headlights and wipers and horn is used frequently and together

Here is some info on optima batteries :

An OPTIMA battery has the benefit of very low internal resistance, which allows high amperage output as well as efficient charge acceptance. This benefit also allows an OPTIMA battery to run longer than its specified ratings and run to a lower voltage than typical flooded batteries. All of this can lead to confusion when it comes to recharging a deeply discharged OPTIMA. Most basic battery chargers have a built-in function to prevent charging a battery with less than 10.5 volts. If your OPTIMA is discharged below that, the battery charger may not start up.

Most high-quality, modern battery chargers now have built-in features to charge AGM batteries like OPTIMA. Some have specific AGM settings which should be used to charge an OPTIMA. Do not use “gel” or “gel/AGM” settings, as they will not fully charge an OPTIMA and could damage it over time. However, even some AGM compatible chargers will not recharge deeply discharged (less than 10.5 volts) OPTIMA batteries. It may be necessary to follow the instructions provided in section #3.

For regular charging we recommend a maximum of 10 amps, 13.8-15.0V. For float charging, we recommend one amp maximum, 13.2-13.8V.

Under normal (engine starting) conditions, an OPTIMA battery should never experience “at rest” voltages below 10.5 volts. In these applications, most 12 volt chargers (old or newer) or alternators will sufficiently recharge an OPTIMA with at least 10.5 volts. Typically we only see issues with charging when it relates to stand-alone deep cycling applications or severely discharged OPTIMA’s.
http://www.optimabatteries.com/product_support/faqs.php

Using a smart charger like the CTEK 3300 will work fine

more info here
http://www.batteriesareus.com/index.php ... =page&id=2

[grubb]

I'm needing a new battery and they're are a few good ones out there. I live in Alberta Canada and we've bottomed out at -42.5 Celsius -44 F. I would like one with good cold cranking amps and good reliability for this extreme weather.

if you can get the AC Delco they are top of the line for GM Cars

[Lumpy]

if you can get the AC Delco they are top of the line for GM Cars

Could you elaborate, grubb?

Top of the line in what respect?


Lump

[RECox286]

Any battery that works for more than a single start is probably worth the singing of praises... I think ??? (Wally World included !)

Any mouse

[stryq]

Dead thread but I have a yellow top gel and it is over 8 years old in my 97 ASTRO.
I am in Calgary Canada and it have NEVER, EVER let me down