Frequently Asked Questions About Our Batteries

What is a Reconditioned battery?

  • A Reconditioned battery is most commonly a battery that was discarded in error. Usually, they are in a highly discharged state, so they get disposed of prematurely. We put these batteries through our reconditioning charging process, then do a full carbon pile load test, a hydrometer chemistry test, and a cranking performance test to determine if they meet or exceed manufacturer specifications.
  • We do not approve anything that does not meet or exceed each one of these tests. All of our Reconditioned batteries are within two years of their original manufacture date, or else they do not get processed.

What are the prices?

  • We offer options from on a budget, to high end, long term solutions. You can expect to pay somewhere around $65 for a reconditioned car battery, to around $129 for a brand new full warranty battery. Each application has different options and costs, just tell us your situation and we can give you the information you need to make the right choice.
  • Tip: Bring in your old battery when possible in exchange, to avoid any extra core charge fees!

What other types of batteries do you have? 

  • We carry new batteries for cars, trucks, equipment, quads, motorcycles, boats, wheelchairs, scooters, UPS/Back ups, emergency lighting, alarm systems and more. Give us a call for your needs, we can get just about anything.

What is the warranty on a Reconditioned battery? 

  • Each Reconditioned battery comes with a free 1 year, no hassle friendly exchange warranty.

What are the new battery warranties?

  • Our new car batteries carry warranties ranging from 2 to 5 years depending on the brand and application. In all cases, we offer free testing and friendly service. 

Can I recycle my battery with you?

Do you offer installation?

  • Yes we offer installation for most cars by appointment only. There are some vehicles that require dealership or full service repair facilities from various computer codes and conditions.

Do you deliver?

  • While we generally don’t offer deliveries at this point, feel free to call ahead to see if that’s an option as we plan to offer hot shot service in the near future.

What is a core charge fee?

  • A core charge fee is like a pop bottle deposit. If you bring your old battery in when you are replacing it, you don’t pay it. If you don’t have your old battery with you there is an additional approximately $15 charge (depending on the battery size) above the price of the battery, that is refunded to you when you do bring the old battery in. This is an industry wide practise, designed to encourage proper recycling and disposal of your old battery. 

What is the difference between CCA and CA?

  • CCA is the measurement to go by. It stands for Cold Cranking Amps. The battery is measured in a colder state (-17.8 degrees Celsius) compared to CA.
  • CA stands for Cranking Amps. The battery is measured at 0 degrees Celsius. 
  • The most appropriate test is the CCA, as the CA rating is more forgiving being at a warmer temperature. 
  • A Marine Cranking Amp rating is similar to the CA rating. 

What is a deep cycle battery? 

  • A deep cycle battery (also commonly known as a marine or RV battery), is a battery that is designed to be repeatedly discharged then recharged. An example would be to run the stereo on a boat all day every day without the boat engine running, then recharge the battery each night. These batteries are generally not meant to start an engine, (although they do make hybrid/combination batteries in some cases), that job goes to a starting battery. Starting batteries have thinner lead plates giving lots of cranking power for a quick moment, but are not meant to be deeply discharged. 

What are AGM and Gel batteries?

  • AGM stands for Absorbed Glass Mat. The electrolyte and the water in the battery are absorbed into a fibreglass material as opposed to sloshing around loose in the battery. This is beneficial for applications like motorcycles, where vibration occurs. It is also critical in an enclosed space as AGM batteries are 100% sealed and cannot release harmful gas as they are being charged. If you are a van dweller for example, and the batteries are inside with you, AGM batteries won’t gas in your living area. These can be mounted on their sides or upside down, they can’t spill. They also do not require to be charged quite as often when in storage.
  • Gel is similar to AGM, in that the liquid in the battery is in a gel state, as opposed to a conventional “flooded” liquid lead-acid battery.

What are Amp Hours and Reserve Minutes?

  • Amp hours (AH) are the unit used to measure how long a battery will last between charges. If it is rated at 100AH, it means it will go 100 hours being drained by something that takes 1 amp of power per hour. The catch is that you are only supposed to use half of the battery’s rating, in general, for the good health and longevity of the battery. So a typical 100 AH regular lead acid battery is only good for 50 hours being drained by that same 1 amp load. An AGM battery of the same rating can be drained down about 75% before charging. For scale, a 100 AH regular lead acid battery being drained 50% will last the average camping folk a couple of days without having to charge it.
  • Reserve minutes are an alternate measuring system, telling you how many minutes a battery will last between charges at a 25 amp draw. The formula to convert reserve minutes (sometimes called reserve capacity) to Amp Hours, is as follows:
  • Reserve Minutes x 60, that result x 25, that result divided by 3600.
  • Example – Reserve Minutes on the battery says 180.
  • 180 x 60 = 10,800
  • 10,800 x 25 = 270,000
  • 270,000/3600 = 75  Amp Hours
  • With watts, amps, and volts to consider and the various shapes and sizes; just give us a call or come down, and we will have a friendly explanation for you to make your best buying choice. 

Can you recover my old discharged batteries?

  • Yes, we do offer recondition charging for customer’s batteries for a fee of between $10 to $25 per battery (depending on size and application). However, your battery must meet the following conditions to be considered a good candidate for  recovery:
  • A. Pass a visual condition test (no cracks, leaks or bulging)
  • B. Be 3 years of age or newer. (We don’t have the charger space to try to save every battery unfortunately.)
  • Don’t worry, if you don’t know the age of your battery, we can tell you by checking the stamp or engraving located on your battery. 

Do you sell chargers and/or maintainers?

  • Yes, we carry all kinds of chargers for all kinds of batteries. Just give us a call, or come down to find the best option for you.

Do you sell solar kits? 

  • Yes, if you are looking for a kit to mount to your roof or a portable folding set up, we have complete kits of varying wattages ready to go.

What does the green eye on the battery mean?

  • Many maintenance free batteries have an indicator on them in the shape of an eye, designed to tell you the approximate condition of the battery. Generally speaking, if the eye is green it is likely good; white means not charged, and black means dead. These newer technologies in batteries are steadily replacing the older style batteries; where you take the caps off and add water periodically.

Do you buy old/scrap batteries? 

  • Yes, we pay cash for any lead-acid scrap batteries. The price is always changing, as the value of the old batteries is in the lead which is a fluctuating commodity much like gold, silver etc.
  • We also offer free recycling (household amounts) of alkaline and rechargeable batteries such as laptop or cell phone.  

Why are some RV and Deep Cycle batteries 6 volts instead of 12 volts?

  • 6 volt batteries (also called Golf Cart batteries), are very strong and in order to get that kind of Amp Hours in a 12 volt battery, it would make it essentially too heavy to pick up.
  • So by simply running one cable from one 6 volt battery to the other, (they come in pairs) it becomes one big 12 volt battery and is much easier to move around. They hook up exactly the same as your 12 volt did after the one cable is installed from the positive terminal on one 6 volt, to the negative terminal on the other 6 volt. This is called wiring them in series. The cable is cheap, easy to install and we have these ready for you whenever needed.
  • 6 volt batteries also have taller cases that let the heat dissipate easier, and are more robust in general. This gives them a longer lifespan than a comparably rated 12 volt battery.

What does a Cycle mean on a Deep Cycle battery? 

  • When a battery is drained then recharged, that counts as one cycle. Deep cycle batteries are generally rated for how many cycles they’re capable of for their total lifespan. It is claimed to be in the range of 500 cycles, depending on the brand. It also factors in wether you have a high amp draw or a low amp draw being pulled out of the battery. 
  • How far down you drain them each cycle is also important. Typically, for a conventional lead-acid battery, it is only recommended to bring your batteries 50% drained down. Most brands are a little forgiving of this, some are better than others. The idea is if you can, hit the 50% mark each time. If you can’t, it’s not the end of the world, it just means less cycles in the battery’s lifespan. Conversely, if you drain it too low, it is possible it will never work again. Yes, even a brand new battery, even after only one discharge. Please, maintain your batteries properly!!

How do I connect my RV batteries together?

Batteries in series and parallel diagram

How can I tell if it’s my battery or alternator or starter? 

  • It can be any or all of the 3.
  • A. If your lights are bright but when you turn the key it just clicks, it indicates starter or cable connection problems.
  • B. If the alternator is working and you put a voltmeter or multimeter on the battery terminals when the vehicle is running, it should read around 14 volts +.
  • C. When the vehicle is not running, the battery should read around 12.9 volts.
  • D. If your car computer is doing goofy things like the fob only partially works, or the alarm is disabled, it indicates battery. Same thing with that “whir, whir, ugh” no start, no cranking power sound we all know.
  • At times it can be difficult to diagnose electrical issues without a complete test of the system by a licensed, full service mechanic. What we offer is free on the spot battery testing to rule out any chance of it being a battery issue. If your battery passes all tests, we will always do our best to point you in the right direction of your vehicle’s starting issue.    

What does it mean to “Maintain” my battery? 

  • More batteries die every day from being undercharged than any other cause. A battery that is just sitting there, not hooked up, will discharge a certain small percentage by itself every single day. They have to be charged on a regular basis, whether they are hooked up to a vehicle or not. The health of the battery will suffer and ultimately fail if they are ignored and not charged for too long. We recommend monthly charging for a stored battery, along with using smart chargers/ maintainers that you can plug in and connect to the battery and it will maintain the battery for you.
  • It is also critical that the charger be the right amperage for the battery. Essentially, a small battery needs a small charger, and a big battery needs a big charger. A lot of us were told it is best to trickle charge a battery at a low amperage. This is not always true. Give us a call or come down and tell us what your situation is, and we can guide you to the best charger for your needs. 
  • Also, even though it is called a 12 volt battery, it is actually very very discharged at 12.0 volts. When it is fully charged, it will read 12.9 volts. Each decimal point is worth approximately 10% of the power gone. So a reading of 12.4 volts means the battery is about 1/2 drained.

What about Covid19?

  • We have installed plexiglass partitions, implemented one customer in our showroom at a time, and we sanitize everything after each touch. We also offer curb-side pick up, or simply stay in your car and give us a call. We will be happy to take payment by phone and place the battery safely in the trunk of your car for you. We’re doing our best to keep our locations a safe place for our employees and for our wonderful customers.