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Hot Rod Batteries

14K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  kc8oye 
#1 ·
Does anyone have experience with these new Hot Rod "crystal cell" batteries? They sound like a great alternative that is easier to mount.
Thanks!! Paul Cunningham
 
#11 ·
Ok I can understand what you're getting at now....but the hot rod isn't eating the battery, it's the lack of use. If the car is left outside then pull the battery and hook it up to a "Battery Tender".
Any battery...even Aunt Martha's Buick will die if you don't keep the juices flowing. "Battery Sulfation" is a prime example of non use and will shorten its life by a bunch.
 
#12 ·
yeah when I was driving my 72 monte carlo pretty much every day, or at least a few times a week.. never had issues with the battery.. I parked it to do body work,but left the battery in it because i needed to move it around.. the battery went kaput within a couple of months. wouldn't charge, and wouldn't hold a charge. *sigh*
 
#14 · (Edited)
Might be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but their advertising makes me suspicious for several reasons.

On their site they state "We rate our batteries by horsepower and not AMPS." Makes me think that either they are targeting ignorant consumers, or maybe if they rated them in amps CA, CCA, or Ah, as is the industry standard, they wouldn't compare to standard automotive batteries. Similar to how hybrid cars aren't rated in city and highway MPG like regular cars, because then people would realize that a Focus or a Cobalt get better mileage in some cases than a Prius.

A youtube search for "Crystal Cell Battery" would seem to indicate that this technology is a popular among the free energy, perpetual motion crowd. This reinforces the notion for me that their advertising is geared towards ignorant consumers, sort of like Slick-50, 100 MPG carburetors, miracle paint scratch removers, or the aforementioned Ronco products.

Go ahead an buy one and let us know how it works out for you. The technology may be legit, but if it was I would think that one of the big battery manufacturers would snatch it up.

Also they do not have their business address on their website which is another red flag for me.

Good Luck.... :thumbup:
 
#15 ·
personally, lead acid is about as good as it gets. there cheap, and they last providing you don't let them freeze or go dead/ sulfate from charging too many times.. as far as them being in passanger compartments, I see where gel-cell is better, but VW put batteries underneath the rear seat of the original/classic Beetles for all the years of there production ( 1939-1979 or 2002 if you count brazillian and mexi Beetles ), and they were all lead acid from the factory... I understand the need for tiny batteries in some applications, and/ or optima's if there in the passanger compartnment. but if it can be vented to the outside, just use a lead acid in whatever size will fit.. a 525 CCA battery will be more than sufficent for most any hotrod
 
#19 ·
Ok, these "Hot Rod" batteries are interesting but as Matt eluded to...if they don't give the specs then I'll pass. I just called "Hot Rod" batts and spoke to one of their "techs", the biggest one weighs 20 lbs. and is rated for 500+ hp. I asked him what the specs were as in CCA, reserve capacity etc. He said they only go by hp rating of your engine (???). I told the man that didn't answer my question and I wanted to know all the specs before I paid them ** $265 ** + shipping. He said all he has is the hp rating of what each battery can do.

Well that's all I needed to hear and since it was long distance I hung up. If the mfg. isn't willing to tell you the specs like its some big secret or they just don't want to divulge how little capacity their product really has then I would look elsewhere. For $135 shipped my little Odyssey works just fine, it weighs 26 lbs which means it has more plates and has a 10 year life span. buyer beware, do lots of research before you buy.
 
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