Bosch, Yuasa or Varta? Battery time again!!

[mole42]

It's time to replace the battery again, five and a half years since the last one which was Varta. I came to turn the car around in the garage this morning to fit the hardtop (my usual task the weekend after Michaelmas) but the battery is dead.

Now, the choice seems to be Bosch, Yuasa or Varta but which should I choose?

Richard

[Lingen]

Richard.
If your present Varta has lasted 5 years I would go for the same again.
Have you tried charging it??
Mike.

[flying farmer]

I have a Yuasa on one of mine, but since it has been fitted for less than a year I can't really comment on its longevity.

Neil

[mole42]

Richard.
If your present Varta has lasted 5 years I would go for the same again.
Have you tried charging it??
Mike.

Yes, Mike, I've been having to charge it several times - it was working quite well until the effects of lockdown when I didn't use the car quite so much!

Richard

[wilf]

Whichever one is cheapest for the right spec - very little difference between them otherwise.

I suspect that yours could benefit from a battery conditioner if you have a power supply near? Ctek come recommended.

[Niss]

I have just fitted a Yuasa YXB5069 with a 5 year warranty, the Lucas LP069 MB it replaced having lasted 8 years.

[marshman]

All pretty much of a muchness in my opinion. Not much experience of Yuasa - only one I have is 3 months old - currently in my Land Rover. Bosch, I have an 11 year old Bosch S4 kicking around. It still starts a car but has little reserve capacity. I have a Varta Blue in my Passat - coming up to 5 years old (previous Varta (OEM) lasted 10 years), also have a really old Varta (at least 20 years old in a diesel tractor which still starts it.) My sons VW Golf Diesel still has the original Varta battery - and that is a 56 plate car. So my gut says go for a decent Varta, seem to be consistently good quality over the last 25 years experience I have with them. I am a little surprised yours has only lasted 5 years as you use your car regularly. My Stag has Ducillier battery which is coming up to 10 years old and is regularly neglected but always seems to come back to life after a good long charge - and yes it will still start the car after being left for 4 weeks without charging!

Roger

[andrewc]

I went for an Enduroline 072 from Tayna. Have found them good before and a bit higher capacity than most.

[trunt]

Surely the battery technology is more important than the brand?

SLI, EFB and AGM are 3 types, I went for AGM as it seems to have the best specifications.

terry

[wilf]

Don't they need a different charging regime from the standard flooded cell type?

[trunt]

Don't they need a different charging regime from the standard flooded cell type?

No expert but in a modern car with computer controlled charging, yes the computer needs to know what is installed to fine tune how it’s charged, In an old car it’s not fine tuned.. I believe that even modern chargers have different settings.

Of course searching the internet will give you no end of opinion for and against but in the end it’s a battery. Some companies are even supplying period correct appearance AGM batteries for classics.

This article I felt was reasonably balanced and explains the differences. It’s from a well known US classic car magazine.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hemmings.com/stories/2020/05/19/what-type-of-battery-should-i-choose-how-do-lead-acid-gel-agm-and-other-batteries-compare/amp

Terry

[MandM]

Varta for me, good price from Tanya, good quality what's not to like?

[Jeff]

AGM battery is for new design stop start engines and very expensive. £250 for my Range Rover.

I recently had to replace my 3 year and one day old battery (3 year guarantee) even though it had been on a C Tek battery conditioner from new. Went for Yuasa as they have had glowing reports plus 5 year guarantee (I think) from Tanya batteries.

[Tim Ward]

AGM battery is for new design stop start engines and very expensive. £250 for my Range Rover.

I recently had to replace my 3 year and one day old battery (3 year guarantee) even though it had been on a C Tek battery conditioner from new. Went for Yuasa as they have had glowing reports plus 5 year guarantee (I think) from Tanya batteries.

Sure I did the same thinking about it

[RNF]

You can always install a battery disconnect switch and extend the life of whatever battery you choose. It hasn't affected the accuracy of my clock; it's still correct twice a day.