This is just a quick note for those who may be able to make use of it. If you're playing with solar like I am, you quickly realize that your batteries are the weak spot in any arrangement. Buying new ones is ok, but the core charge can get bad after a few, when you discover that you are basically buying a quarter-battery you never see for every battery you actually get. If you have some decent old car batteries you're usually ok for deep cycles but sometimes you just don't have any and have to improvise.

Here's the trick. I have found that some auto parts stores require old batteries to be in a certain condition to trade in, BUT...Wal-Mart does not! I have successfully, just this week, traded in an old battery that was totally dry, corroded, and on its side, that I found sticking out of the ground in the woods. Once I got the dirt off it, they took it without issues. I have no idea how old that thing was. I know filling it didn't give me a single volt. They were ok with that.

As such, if you are like me and have occasional access to REALLY decrepit old batteries, (drive along the roadside often enough and you'll find one), you can use Wal-Mart to change them out for new deep-cycles and save a bit of money doing it. They put up no argument, a big change from the auto places who have tighter standards The auto store said they'd let me turn in the junk for recycling, but will not let me evade the core charge with it. I usually don't think 'low standards' is a good thing, but in this one case I think it might be a boon.

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"Headshots...headshots...Do you know how to do anything else?!"

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How much did Wally World take off the price of a new battery? Did it have to be the same type?
I usually just replace my batteries when they are about 3 years old and just add them to my solar/radio rig. IIRC last time Sears wanted to charge me a tax or fee to "dispose" of the old battery.

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No reason they should care what condition the battery is in. The trade in money they give you is for the lead in the battery. They will be sending it to a recycler.

Some of the auto places want usable batteries that they run through a process to make the battery usable again. Personally I would not buy one of these batteries I do not feel that they are reliable.

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Ward
Proud moar zombie since May 2009

No reson they should care what condition the battery is in. The trade in money they give you is for the lead in the battery. They will be sending it to a recycler.

Some of the auto places want useable batteries that they run through a process to make the battery useable again. Personaly I would not buy one of these battiers I do not feel that they are reliable.

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Ward
Proud moar zombie since May 2009

Sorry I'm late!

Nacho: Nine bucks, which is good for my area. Dunno how it compares to others, I've heard it varies. It didn't have to be the same sort, either. The old car battery I turned in was used to skip the core charge on a giant deep-cycle, not remotely the same size, much less type, but they took it anyway. And yeah, I've heard of Sears doing that, but most auto places will do it for free. The local ones just wouldn't let me use the old battery to get money off. I certainly wouldn't pay someone else to get money for what I gave them.

Como141: Yeah, I certainly wouldn't want a 'replenished' battery, as there's not much you can really do aside from pulse-charge it and even then, you've only alleviated the leading on the plates somewhat, not solved it. I didn't know the reason behind the refusal, they would have taken it to recycle but I wanted a new battery and I was looking to cheap out a bit.

_________________
"Headshots...headshots...Do you know how to do anything else?!"

"Hey, you'd be surprised how many things that works on!"
* * *
“Yes, that IS a thousand rounds in my pocket, AND I’m happy to see you!”: The advantage of the .22lr

At my Wal-Mart the core charge is also $9. This is on top of any posted price of the batteries. I have seen some people take back batteries that are literally falling apart for the core charge. Also, it doesn't matter if the "core" battery is for motorcycles, cars, trucks, lawn mowers, or even CAT dozers! To them, a lead-acid battery is a lead-acid battery. AND, some stores will let you return the core, for $9 - without buying a battery! I heard some stores won't, sometimes because in the past they have had crooks stealing batteries out of cars in the parking lots for the core charge

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