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talltex wrote: ...I carry a spare battery to fit my truck and one to fit my wife's Jeep in my tool box at all times.

Interesting. How long does a battery last on the shelf...or in the tool box... when it is not being used?

talltex wrote:Last year, we drove my wife's 11 month old Grand Cherokee 30 miles to eat supper in Waco and when we came out and I turned the key I heard and felt a loud bang...saw smoke coming out from under the hood, opened it and the positive cable on the battery was melted onto the terminal and the top of the battery case had been blown apart so the seam along one side was separated from the base.

Been there done that. Randolph AFB in 2000-something, drove across base, parked, went inside for 15 min, came back out, turned the key, and BANG. Smoke. Had my fire extinguisher handy when I opened the hood, but happily the only problem was a destroyed battery and some of the padding/insulation on the inside of the hood was missing. I was always pretty safety-conscious when jumpstarting others, wearing glasses and if possible making the last connection on something besides the battery, but that event reinforced the procedure.

Cedar Park Dad wrote:

Charles L. Cotton wrote:In my wife's car I replace the battery at 2 years. They just don't last long in the Texas heat and I don't want her stranded. I'll replace her next one with the battery I use in my cars - Optima Red Top.

I used to do that with my car, until I started using Optima Red Top batteries. I just bought a new one to replace an 8 year old Red Top. They seem to last much longer than any other battery I've used over the years. I have a good friend who works for Aggreko and he said they use nothing but Optima Red Top batteries in all of their equipment.

Chas.

As I've had to replace two dead batteries in the last two weeks this is of keen interest to me.
Where do you find these at? I've a boy going back to Aggieville end of summer and its probably a good time to drop in a new battery for his car.

Amazon.com carries them (seems there are few things Amazon doesn't carry). Prices seem to run about $140-$180, altho there is one that goes for $240. Pretty pricey, but if you can get 8 years out of one, that's a good value.

Hmmmmm..