Longest battery life you ever got?

I bought a new Kubota tractor back in 2002. It still sports the original battery after 11 years. Im in NW Pa were we see alot of different weather conditions. Im not sure of the brand but just surprised how good its holding up. It may set weeks at a time between starts and no trouble with it. (knock on wood) Hope this doesnt jinkz it..haha
 
Has to be the battery in my camper.
10 1/2 years
I bought the camper spring of 02 and put a new deep cycle battery in it then.
Camper/battery sits unused every winter from the middle of November till the end of April.
This year during deer season I noticed there wasn't much life left in the battery so I pulled it out on the last day and will replace it this spring. Didn't want to ruin the expensive inverter/charger in the camper from it trying to charge a bad battery.
 
Still on the 13 year old original equipment battery in my 2000 F-150 that I bought new in Jan of 2000. She sits a lot, weeks at a time, and has started every time so far!
Probably just jinks it now though...LOL!
 
Got 9 full years from a Ford battery in a 1972 F100 that I bought new and drove daily for 23 years. In that time, outside of batteries oil filters tires plugs and points spent less that $1000 on actual repairs. Would really like to find another new one that good. Not sure that exists anymore.
 
My Kubota M6800 was mfg in July of 2001. I took delivery on 2 Oct, 2001. The original battery is still in the tractor and performing as well as a new one. Never had a bit of trouble with it. I do employ a battery disconnect and when starting in very cold weather I boost it. It'll be 12 years old this year.
 
My orginal batteries in the 1978 IH 1086 lasted 14 years. These batteries had the IH logo on them but I"m sure they were made by someone else. I asked the dealer for them same batteries to replace them. I was told they no longer made that battery and if they did they would be high priced. I said it would be worth it if they last 14 years.

Replacments only lasted about 6 years or so.

Dads orginal batteries in his 1979 986 lasted 15 years as well. Same batteries as mine.

Gary
 
We've had sub 60 hp kubotas at work, five of them between Dad and me. Never changed a battery. Current one is 8 yrs old and around 2000 hours. Whoever makes them does a great job.
 
I've got an Intestate on my Moline puller that is almost 12 now. Last summer I was at a pull and it wouldn't start. Thought it must be the battery, because I knew it was old. Got to checking, and it was the ground cable, so the battery keeps on.
 
Never got much life out of a tractor battery, but I bought a new dodge 1500 in april of 2001, the battery was a delco, it died two weeks ago.
 
I rebuilt the pony in my 730 D SE in 2002. The battery came from one of the national chains. I converted it to 12 volt.
That battery still starts the pony after almost 13 years.
By the way, it has one of those "bad" generators, not an alternator. LOL
 
The battery in my Super 55 came out of a car I bought for scrap in 2000. Have no idea of its actual age. I just removed the original battery from a customers' 99 Ranger 2 months ago, that is my oldest replacement at my shop.
 
Batteries in general have gotten better. I have been selling KUBOTAs since 1979. The japan made batteries are heavier and seem to last pretty good. Have had folks make it over 15 years. Have had folks that would go with a domestic battery on replacement because of cost only to go back to the original in a few years. Batteries are a lot like other things , lot depends on use and how one takes care of them. I have a 80 hp M series here on the farm that cam here in 1999 and it still has the original battery. Probably about had it because we do now have to charge it ever now and then.
 
My longest have been around 8. Things that help longevitey are keep them in a relatively good charged state i.e. avoid long set times low ESPECIALLY in freezing temps, keep electrolyte above plates, avoid often very low discharges.

John T
 
I bought my Mother a new Geo Prizm (Toyota Corolla) in 1990. The OEM Delco battery was still going in 2002 when my Mother left the dome light on for over a week. I decided to replace the battery rather than try to recharge it.

I've gotten nearly 10 years from (automotive) Sears DieHard batteries in Kubota CUTs.

Dean
 
On the lawn mower I got 12 years and still going on the original battery from when the machine was new. 300 some hours getting weak but hoping for another season. Never charged it in the winter either. Its whatever brand simplicity used 12 years ago.
 
Bingo.

I have somewhere around 12 pieces of equipment with starting batteries in the barn, most of which are rarely if ever used in the off season.

I relegiously charge all batteries every 4 - 6 weeks when out of service. My experience has taught me that the batteries will last approximately twice as long if this is done than if the batteries are allowed to discharge in the off season.

Of course, if one does not have an automatic maintainer, it is important to avoid over charging.

Dean
 
Gees, I've never gotten more than 5 years out of a battery. I've used Die Hard, Interstate, Duralast, Super Start, Exide and Neverstart batteries and I live in a warm part of the country. I can't imagine getting 10-12 years out of a battery.
 
1991 ford escort,original factory battery after 14 years wouldnt start it in cold weather.Used it for 2 more years in a tractor during the summer till it gave up the ghost. Bill
 
I bought a tractor with a 6 volt battery in 2002 and the guy told me it would need replaced. It has started the tractor every year since until last spring. I have no idea how old the battery was when I bought the tractor. I never had a 6 volt tractor battery last more than three years until that one.
 
13 years out of a Fleet Farm battery; it was still putting out it's rated cranking amps when I sold the truck. It jump started many vehicles over the years. I kept the terminals clean & water level up.
When buying a new battery; I always take it home & charge it first and then install in the vehicle. Learned that "trick" from a battery manufacturer.
 
Back in the early "70s (and I mean early like 1971), My dad bought a Deere 140 garden tractor. The battery in that one lasted into the next century - over 30 years! Now, this was not the typical garden tractor battery - was like a automotive/tractor battery, as big as some of the ones found in smaller cars today. Had conventional top post terminals. John Deere brand, of course. Now we beat up on that battery something fierce, pounding around the farm. Even used it regularly as the booster battery whenever something else needed a booster start. Wish I could get another... Have used conventional batteries since, get just a few years out of them.
 
I have had battery's last 8-9 years. My kubota battery's don't seem to go much past six years. I'm on my third new kubota loader tractor since 1992. I use the tractor daily year round. I didn't think there battery's were any better than the walmart battery's I replace them with. My new 3000 that I brought new last fall barely cranked over the other morning at 5 below. Although I don't mess around with them, the first failure I have I replace the battery. I check the fluid in them periodically and they keep a good charge being used everyday.
 
On the other hand, just had to replace out the battery on son's Chevy Blazer - less than 13 months, and it was down to less than half the CCS's it was rated for. Couldn't crank the car, and supply enough to run the electronics to get her started in the cold snap we just had... Was replaced under warranty.
 
I just changed two batteries out of my 7210 John Deere tractor last Fall. It was new in 2001. What are the odds of two batteries both staying good for 11 years? I'm still using one of the batteries on electric fence. On the other hand, I had to change the battery on my 7220 Deere at 5 years.
 
I changed out the batteries in my topkick last winter. They were in it when I got it 8 years prior. I also got all the service history with the truck..It appeared that they were about 11 years old.

Hope I dont jinx myself, but my '04 cummins is still running the originals.
 
I've never gotten more than about 8 years out of a battery. After talking to some guys that get 13-18 years service out of their batteries I found there are a few tricks.
As Wayne said, fully charge a battery before installing it.
Maintain the electrolyte at proper levels.
Keep the terminals clean.
If the vehicle sits long without being used it should have a maintainer.
Some guys swear by an additive that's supposed to extend battery life. They say the trick is to use it when the battery is new.
 
longest i have ever got in anything is the batteries in my dodge diesel, there now 6 years old, but im plugging the truck in at night when its going to be cold, there getting iffy if i dont, and its been a cold nite,almost didnt get it fired up a couple of times this year. the rest of this equipment, 2 to 3 years is max, im thinking cheap batteries, as half of my stuff doesnt even have a radio much less any electronics in it
 
1991 ford escort,original factory battery after 14 years wouldnt start it in cold weather.Used it for 2 more years in a tractor during the summer till it gave up the ghost. Bill
 
I have a 93 Dodge W-350 dually ext. cab,4wd Cummins pickup,bought new.Original battery lasted 5 years.Replaced with a 1000amp Interstate.Has been in there ever since.I have never had a battery come close to this,going on 15 years.Ever winter I expect it to crap out,but has been starting the truck everday,even in this current cold snap.I'm not complaining,but I don't understand it!
 
My friend had the factory battery in his '98 Dodge pickup until about 2 years ago.

I put an Interstate in our '79 Mercedes back in 2001 and it lasted until 2011. That car sat for months at a time and the battery was often completely dead, but always took a charge.

Those are the two longest lasting I know of.

Josh
 
I got 7 years out of a battery in one of my tractors. My longest was a semi tractor that I replaced the batteries in. They were still working ok as long as the truck was driven regularly, but if it sat over a month it would need a quick jump. Those batteries were 9 yrs old.
 
I have a 2002 Saturn Vue. I just had to replace the original battery just Friday night. That made it eleven years old. We bought the Vue new in the fall of 2001. Wife was driving it home and it died on the road. I went and picked her up. The battery had a dead short in it. It was a Delco. I replaced it with another Delco of the same size and type. So we will see if it lasts as well as the first one.
 
Best battery life for me has been an Optima red top starting battery. It ran 16 years in my old GMC 1 ton.

I have those spiral cell AGM batteries in a lot of my equippment (Optima and Exide Orbital) they are very long lived and being sealed, no corrosion.

Sadly, the price is getting crazy. The optima red top increased from $150 to $185 in 1 year :(
 
Longest so far is a cheapy Wal-mart battery that is on it's 10th year. Paid 30 bucks for it new back then. It was the smallest "real" battery they had at the time. It's been on mowers and tractors and cars and trucks. Has been run down, bounced around, fallen off of tractor. It's getting weak but will still fire off a low demand application. In the mean time I've gone through serveral new batteries in various highway vehicles that died early but were treated better than this one.
 
I use to work for a company Johnson Controls , they make 70% of all batterys in the world. You will not find there name on any battery but if you look close on your die hard, John Deere , delco, everstart , fomoco, you may see JCI ( just to name a few)
 
I had gell batteries (6 group 30) in my boat for 12 years . When I changed them out to AGM batteries a guy took them and installed them in his boat and as far as I know they lasted at least 4 more years till I left the area. I really like AGM's. No maintenance and not voltage specific when charging
 
Bought a 79 Chevy truck a few years back that had a 16 year old battery in it. Still had the same battery when I sold the truck a year later, never even had to charge the thing.
 
I just replaced the factory original battery in my 2002 Ford F-250. That didn't fix the problem. %^&$ clutch interlock switch!
 
Bought my Kubota in the spring of 2001. Still has the original battery and easily starts on 20 degree days after sitting for weeks. When it dies, I will go back to the dealer and get another one.
 

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