I know there are many posts about which type of battery to use based on your application. This post is not about that. Instead, this post is asking readers to weigh in on the pros and cons of using Costco's warranty process based on the different types of batteries.
My application: a new battery to be mounted on a truck camper where there currently is none. The camper will be used 3-4 times per year for weekends up to a week straight, and can be charged off of the alternator/generator.
In looking at Costco's battery warranties, there is a vast difference between the coverage of a normal automotive battery (really good) vs that of the other types (not so good).
Automotive:
$65+$9core 500ccA, reserve capacity of 85(?)
100%free refund if fails within 3 years
50% within 55 months
Deep cycle marine:
$68+9 550 ccA, reserve cap 140, 700marineca, 85 amp hours
100%12mos
40%@18mos
These warranties beg the question, could I get by with an automotive battery in place of an RV battery? I know a major discharge will trash the battery, but even if it takes 31 months to kill the battery, it'll still be replaced for free, unlike the other types which have no warranty after 30 months. How soon would it trash the battery?
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not comparing apples to apples here, I don't think any of them are from the same size code, but the reasoning still applies. The automotive battery was one of the small ones, and the RV battery was a group 27, I think.
Any thoughts?
2010 F150 4x4 5.4 Super Cab
1994 Scamper 086s pop up truck camper
2006 Yamaha FJR1300
AUTOMOTIVE, 100% free in three years does not mean Costco hands you a new battery. You get full refund at the original price paid including tax. Then you buy a new battery at current price and of course start a new warranty period.
If you burn through these batteries every 18 months I think Costco can very well decline to honor the warranty. Costco keeps excellent records through the membership program.
If you generally camp with hookups the automotive or deep cycle should easily last 5 years if taken care of.
If You can squeeze a pair of the 6 Volt GC Batteries in do so! They will easily last 6 to 8 Years if properly maintained! The warranty is a moot point!
Rob & Jean
98 Dutch Star Diesel Pusher ..92 Tracker 4X2
And, So does everybody else, merchant especially included.
So If everybody set out to buy a battery that they wanted to kill within a warranty period for a free battery, where does that leave the seller and consumer.
Adversaries who try to give each other 5 finger prostate exams at every opportunity. They'd have the batteries made to the cheapest price point and have the lawyers and bean counters come up with methods to legally deny warranty Miles of small print. The buyer would intentionally abuse the battery in the false knowledge they will get a new one for next to nothing. Then complain if they were caught, and brag if they got away with sticking it to "The Man".
Maybe we are already at and well past that stage. Who here hasn't continuously undercharged a wally world marine battery to a premature death in the knowledge they have a warranty?
Didn't they stop warrantying marine/"deep cycle" batteries for a while in certain areas, and now shortened them everywhere?
Buy the product designed for the task and don't exasperate the problem of poor quality batteries designed to last the warranty period and a day and no more.
This "Beating the system" mentality leads to no good, long or short term, but is certainly prevalent enough that it is all too easy to write off, since everybody's doing it and act almost like it is the right thing to do.
I've been guilty of it, and a victim of it, and now when I want to buy something quality, guess what, they now make it in India or China and rely on their formerly good name and formerly good product to sell a now substandard product built by wage slaves in the third world, all so the CEO's trophy wives and mistresses can wear more diamonds and pretend they are indeed a true Cinderella.
Buy a battery that meets your needs. Add a modest solar charging system and warranty will not be a consideration except in the event that the battery is DOA.
Maximize the number of amp-hours of capacity without overloading the weight capacity for the battery storage area.
I'd not pick a "starter" battery for deep cycle use.
Reduce energy consumption by going to led technology (purchase on ebay).
1. A discharge on an automotive battery does NOT have to be major or slow to destroy it. Automotive batteries are designed for quick discharge for a few seconds to start the vehicle and then recharged by the engine alternator.
2. WHAT you are doing (want to do) is DISHONEST. You are knowingly installing a product when you KNOW it is not designed for it and then say, "what the hell" Costco can afford it when it fails.
3. As another poster stated, saving a few bucks will seem foolish when the battery gives up the ghost when you need it on a trip.
4. Walmart/Sams USED to have a 24 month FULL replacement on deep cycle batteries until a few years ago because people were using them for 20 months and then just bring them back for new ones even tho the old ones were not defective. Sams/Walmart caught onto that pretty quick and modified the warranty program. Doug
That is interesting about Costco and battery replacement. Since Costco is 100 miles away and Walmart is 20 miles away I buy my batteries at Walmart. My swather takes 2 12V batteries. When my batteries were about 3 years old I took them in and Walmart tested them both. Neither would hold a charge. They gave me 2 brand new batteries of same quality. They were automotive batteries and Walmart knew I was using them on farm equipment not in a vehicle. Gave me a release so I could take the new batteries through the register and out the door with no charge.
smkettner wrote: AUTOMOTIVE, 100% free in three years does not mean Costco hands you a new battery. You get full refund at the original price paid including tax. Then you buy a new battery at current price and of course start a new warranty period.
If you burn through these batteries every 18 months I think Costco can very well decline to honor the warranty. Costco keeps excellent records through the membership program.
If you generally camp with hookups the automotive or deep cycle should easily last 5 years if taken care of.
You might be interested to know that there is the distinct possibility that Costco keeps track of everything you purchase and return since you became a member.
I recently asked someone at the customer service desk and I was told that as far as he knew, everything that was purchased/returned since 1997, the year he started working at Costco, was still in the computer.
Quite scary to see how Costco is becoming a big brother. The info must be priceless...
Using a starting battery for camping would be like hitching a 150 lb mule pack onto a thoroughbred. One animal is meant for speed, the other for endurance.
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