TQVM 6UE5T for the info. Have been a faithful Century for far too long until I've ignored too much of the good stuffs around. I will definately be targeting either the Varta or the Amaron for my new car since it must be worth its weight in gold for many.

no it came with the car. passat cc is a CBU model hence the varta is a germany made

Sorry.... didnt type properly there...... i meant the battery was bought in early 200s and has served me for 4yrs.

A) Actually in real life, it is not only about watching if the electrolyte level dipping low, but also about NOT OVERFILLING. Most, if not all of my previous non-MF batts for the past 22yrs were killed by overfilling. All thanks to overzealous mechs. Since mid-2000s, i hv developed a habit of telling the mech (both boss and the 1 attending to my cars) to keep their hands off my spark plugs, coolant and batteries. These items are religiously checked by me periodically. Every time they touched it, there will be symptoms of weak battery, squashed washer (over torqued) and over diluted coolant.

B) Not neccessary...... I hv only experienced this on yesteryear batts. Have not seen this problem for the past 10-12yrs.

C) Not necessary...... have never done this, maybe only during that pre-CNY detailing job package

D) As per (B)

E) No need think, just buy if can afford....... Had a Ctek XS4003 ( now dead) and now using a Yokohama YB-10P (stopped production). Best investment ever. Don't buy those desulphator. Current logical choice is Bosch C3 (lower ampere) or C7 (higher ampere).

For the p/s part, that is the reason why I bought a charger. With it, you dont have to skimp on security just to save charge. Most user without the charger will not understand the advantage of having 1 until they hook up a charger to the battery. the charging indicators will give a glimpse of the condition of the battery. You will be surprised with the charge level on even a daily (80km) driven car battery.

Spot on bro.

Now thinking about your point on OVERFILLING issue if it's controlled & done properly probably would save out on B), C) & D) I guess.

I saw a YouTube video, the American technician had a real cool tool that's allows one to fill exactly without worrying about overfill or underfill. Too bad this great tool can't be found here, as it takes away lot of the guesswork out in filling up non-MF battery.

Thank you for your insights unto battery chargers. It's a new world for me. Recently made a trip to Ace Hardware MidValley to look for anything that's related to battery maintenance. Got myself a Digital Multimeter with a nice large LCD screen and had a wireman to test out the multimeter back home. The unit is fine but it's not reading the voltage on a new battery. Now have to plan for a next trip to KL again to exchange this for something else.

I hope I don't screwup with a CTEK charger purchase like what I did with the Multimeter purchase. Real headache 🤕 especially for me being new in this field. Now trying to learn up everything about these chargers, it's like groping about in the dark. 😂

For testing the battery, shouldn't I be getting a Battery Load Tester too ? Or with these charger, it's unnecessary to get another Battery Load Tester ?

This post has been edited by Roman Catholic: Jan 12 2019, 02:56 PM

It's ok.

It did seem back then that you've broken the frontiers with battery maintenance and that would be my next goal after I've breached the 6/7 year mark with those battery charger. It was nice.

If you didn't let the cat out of the bag, I would probably end up all my life thinking how in the world 🌎 did you pull that off.

I think Bosch C7 has better value for money compared to Ctek. Reason being C7 has a higher ampere rating; significantly faster at bulk charging stage than lower rated chargers. Don't have to be overly obsessed with brands. Somemore Bosch has presence locally, support should be easier.

I don't think you need to have a load tester, quite an overkill for end-user unless one is very anal or has OCD. After operating the charger and getting to know the charging pattern, you will learn to "predict" the health status of the battery, like a load tester; things like charging time for bulk and absorption stage.

Good luck.

Thank you for your kind advise Speedy3210. Will keep Bosch in view now. Customer Support is very important without it, it's like those new fighter jets that can fly no longer. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

This post has been edited by Roman Catholic: Jan 13 2019, 09:12 PM

Back to topic, I will regularly update the following from time to time that's based on specific criteria just to observe batteries performance. Nevertheless, brands that are not listed, either has not been reviewed or just don't make the cut or is no longer in the market e.g. Yokohama.

Battery Brand (Seal of approval)
1. Varta (5 votes)
2. Century (4 votes)

It's fascinating reading between the lines, it appears that there were Battery Wars going behind the scenes among the battery players. Whatever it is, I trust the battery war will not stop but hope that players in the industry places importance on improvement & quality in their products which will eventually set them apart as a Trusted Brand and not like some fly by night operator out for a quick buck.

This post has been edited by Roman Catholic: Jan 13 2019, 05:00 PM

Just change my cx5(non start stop) with a varta sliver efb . I really feel the difference engine start up much quicker and the battery recovers fast. Because if you let go of the brakes when the car is starting , the car just stops starting... and when you start again with the stock battery the car sounds like its struggling but with my new varta a big wow la really got different. Going to change my h city battery soon to varta

Currently having a century in my city about 1.6 years, i will charge all my car battery at least once a week with bosch c7 . Did this to my stock cx5 battery i think the brand is call delco? Lasted about 2.6 years

This post has been edited by hockwei123456: Jan 13 2019, 05:22 PM

Yes you are correct indeed Varta is truly an established brand after some digging. The name Varta literally means "Made in Germany 🇩🇪 " in the German language. Now I just have to figure out how to get them out from Germany, once I received final confirmation from a Switzerlander on Varta. I cannot miss this up! 🤣

This post has been edited by Roman Catholic: Jan 13 2019, 08:55 PM

Since this is a discussion on battery longevity, I think you can channel you energy to another aspect of battery, instead of brands. The aspect I wish to highlight is the battery plate material/composition. Try reading the link below.

http://www.necon.co.za/batttech.php?w=1368&h=912#openModal

Back to your battery choice. I would advice that you measure your car alternator's voltage when it is HOT, say after 30mins of driving. Easier to do this by having those plug-in voltmeter at the lighter port. Match the output voltage with the type of battery that has closest required charging voltage.

The problem with battery market nowadays is companies market their products according to price point, not suitability. Calsium batts are really good at CCA, hence the experience shared by many in here. Silver batts too. But the question is, is your car's charging system built to support that kind of batteries? Again this will explain a lot of the experience shared by users here; short battery life, due to the charging system can't charge other, unexpected type of batteries that the car manufacturer didn't expect its users to use.

For this sole reason, I continued to use non-MF battery in my cars. As I have measured and monitored alternators output of my cars, and they tend to stay at lead-antimony level when fully warmed up.

Hope this info helps in your search for longlife battery.

I just visited a shop in Segambut KL where they sell all arranges of batteries etc.

They informed me that Varta can also be made in Korea in particularly the blue series. Silver series are made in Europe.

No one seems to talk about Amaron? I have been using it in my other car and I just changed to Amaron in daily driver. So far so good with Amaron.

That's because Amaron, I understand just burst into the picture and now that it's being tested by many, in time to come the reviews will come to.

I am monitoring an Amaron too and it's been like 9 months only. So like you've said, "So far so good with Amaron." I hope Amaron lives up to its tagline.

This post has been edited by Roman Catholic: Jan 14 2019, 04:15 PM

My Amaron is 15 months already...so far so good.

Just always can see some water overflow out surrounding the top sticker. How about yours?

Korean brand Rocket .. almost 3 years then kena curi. that day only i realize some proton and perodua model can pop up bonnet via the access to the cable around tyre ..

Thank you for that insightful information Speedy3210. Although I don't understand much of what written but sleeping over it was the best. Was thinking about it all night even in my dreams.

You've hit the nail on the head with marketing from the price viewpoint and not suitability. This wasn't an issue earlier on until the influx of substandard batteries from unknown parts of the world.

I will always wonder if the Marathoner was created in response to that influx. I've never used the Marathoner before but obviously the damage been done.

With the current market perception that batteries don't last more than 1 year or batteries lives to just after its warranty you period, I've thought I've found the Battery's Holy Grail with 4 years lifespan, little did I know you guys are already light years ahead of me !

The light at the end of the tunnel just got a lot dimmer for me but the quest for extending battery lifespan must continue. Mankind must always be creative in pushing things to the extreme limits in search of more sustainable solutions in this world of limited resources.

As inept as I maybe but I find myself looking forward to your post more & more. 😂

This post has been edited by Roman Catholic: Jan 14 2019, 04:41 PM

Not yet, that Amaron unit has not pancut just yet.

I don't think the sign of overflowing water is a good thing, as that disrupts the chemical composition inside overtime rendering that unit being unstable. If it's overflowing of milk & honey 🍯 yes but since it's water 💦 pouring out of the Amaron, caveat emptor, I think.

If I was in your shoe, I will find ways to push back in all that water 💦 that's flowing out OR it's going to the Medic in no time.

This post has been edited by Roman Catholic: Jan 14 2019, 05:00 PM

My amaron just over warranty. Now started to show weak.

That's really not good. By the way, how long was the warranty, therain01 ?