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My battery finally gave up after a few years on the tender. It lasted around 10 years. Now I’m looking for a new one. I’m seeing a lot of batteries with the handle that is attached to both sides of the battery in most FLAPS. Mostly for newer cars. It won’t fit in my battery tie down holder.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a decent battery for a 56 Chevy 3200 235? I have a power steering pump and I’m still running a generator. Don’t know if that is a major issue. Just wondering what brands others are using.

Thank you!
Mark

Most of the one with handles on side the handles come off. Mainly to ease carry and installation. But they come off for installation so the top frames will fit. take it with you to confirm if you want.
Size / shape / CCA is more of what your looking for the CCA and size of what you had seems to work for 10 years so go with it.

Now as to brands. Last 10 year (or more) has been awful for batteries. Most have gone to straight 2 or 3 year warranty. Unless you're buying expensive, quality is all over the map and you often get what you pay for.
And a lot of old school brands have moved. Think Diehard now with Advance auto but only in label only. They bought the brand and not the manufacturing.

I tried moving a few brands but found none of them really lasted in my 3200 or any of my other daily drivers.
So now its Walmart Platinum series. (longest warranty) and there is a Walmart in every town so to speak so getting a replacement if I am on the road is easy vs finding the auto store brand they are not everywhere.

If its non daily driver a good quality tender will make it last more than the brand.

I replaced batteries in two cars last year, both of which were 10 years old. One was a Motorcraft battery, the other was a Duralast battery from Autozone.

I replaced one of them with a Walmart battery and the other with a Duralast.

I keep all of my vehicles on battery tenders at all times. I believe that is the real secret to getting batteries to last 10 years or longer these days.

I've installed quick disconnects on the battery posts that have male and female bullet connectors. Makes it a little easier and quicker when I want to drive the vehicles which is frequently

On Ol Roy I connect the battery tender to the positive lug of the starter and the ground strap. This way I don't have to go under the floorboard to deal with it

Regarding the handle thing. I could cut that off but the side of the battery has a section molded to it that the handle is attached to. I have the original rectangular frame that secures the battery. It won’t fit over that.

I’ll bring my battery frame with me to get one to fit. You’re right. It is kind of a toss up. And you don’t know how long the battery has been sitting on the shelf. A lot to choose from but you never know.

It’s basically a weekend driver, so I don’t need much with a tender attached during the week.
Thanks for the info.

I have a Duralast in my other two cars. They have been pretty good so far.

As to your how long on the shelf. Most makers now put a sticker of month and. Year manufactured. Most I have see is a small circle with like 1/26 or 8/25 etc on it.
Helps stickers keep inventory in right order.

The stock battery in my 2010 GMC lasted 14 years. However, buying a new battery from the dealer will break the bank!

Consider looking at NAPA. They have some that sound okay. I have a Wal-Mart battery I bought around 4 years ago. It was sold as a two year battery. If I remember to remove the caps and fill the cells with water (distilled) it helps. It is still doing okay but starting to show some weakness. I believe I paid $75 plus tax for it.

I’ve had batteries last up to 12 years, replaced the 12 year old one in our 72 Monte Carlo because we were going to drive to Ohio for a VCCA tour, it was a delco that was still working ok just tested a little weak. I’ve never used a battery tender, and usually get 4 to 6 years out of the 6 volt batteries I buy at the farm store. 5 of our 9 vehicles are 6 volt plus the tractor.

Hy guys, back when I worked in the automotive department of a department store, our batteries were shipped to us dry, when a customer wanted a battery we had to fill it with electrolyte, that began its life, it didn't sit on the shelf sulphating for who knows how long. While doing my apprenticeship I learned about Delco's superior plate material, so I always purchased Delco batteries, many years later I purchased a Delco battery to replace an old battery in a daily driver, when I got it installed, it was dead. I called the store and they told me I had to charge it before it would be ready to use, I said "you don't know what you're talking about", I'll be bringing this one back to exchange it. I went to the store with my battery load tester, I have had an account there for twenty five years, so they let me go to the battery storage area, I tested all the Delco batteries they had, none of them were ready to use. I asked the manager why that was and he said there was only one battery company rep that rotated his stock and it wasn't the Delco rep. The moral of the story is, without some kind of sticker or something to let you know when the battery went on the shelf you don't know what you are getting.

I have found Sam's Club to have the lowest battery price. At my store they get $139.99 for most any size. Duracell is the brand.

Those are also sold by Batteries Plus.

The Duracell name is licensed to East Penn Manufacturing which is a boutique manufacturer of many house brand batteries. Duralast, Deka, EverStart (Walmart), Intimidator, NAPA, O'Reilly Superstart, Rayovac, Bass Pro Shop marine batteries, etc. are some of them.


Diehard is now owned by Advance Auto Parts and built by Johnson Controls / Clarios.

How dependable are the 6 volt optimum batteries I am going to need one come spring

Optima gets a lot of talk but I don't think they''re really any better than anybody else's AGM style batteries. I had a 12v Optima battery die last year after only 5 years. Considering the ridiculous price they ask, That's unacceptable.

I have a 6v Everstart conventional battery in Ol' Roy for the last 5 years. So far, so good with no signs of trouble.

Considering the local Pull-A-Part sells batteries for $20 each, I think that's where my next battery will come from.

What about AGM batteries?
A.I. says that they are good for vehicles that are rarely used because they lose very little charge while not in use.

Optima is the famous AGM brand but just about everybody makes them now. As stated above, I had an Optima fail in 5 years of use.

AGM batteries are supposed to last longer and hold a charge longer without use but is it true? If it is, is it worth the higher price?

Keep all your vehicle batteries on tenders.

Can't stand the AGM's. On the fleet I work on, if an AGM is dead, there is no bringing it back. Even new ones.

I typically buy high end duralast from Autozone for my two daily drivers. I’ll rotate the aged battery into a project, and the even older battery from my project with an essentially dead core battery from my shelf.

I keep my projects on a tender.