Author Topic: Battery Recommendation  (Read 969 times)

Offline clovis73k10

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Battery Recommendation
« on: October 26, 2021, 02:12:00 AM »
My 73 K10 that I'm restoring will (at the very least) have as add ons:  HEI distributor....Vintage Air's air conditioning...electric fan replacing mechanical fan...a modern sound system complete with amp .... and   truck's new electrical system bumper to bumper....so, my question is the stock battery is surely not going to be able to handle all this...what size battery should I use??  The electrical/battery system was originally side terminal and I would like to keep it that way; thought I'd add that in.   :)

PS  The alternator will be the one that comes with Vintage Air's front end upgrade (gonna look so cool) so I'm sure it will be high enough Amped to run this little show.  :)

Offline Shifty

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Re: Battery Recommendation
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2021, 09:37:45 AM »
Your battery doesn't really have much to do with the new accessories, more of an alternator that will handle the load, which it sounds like V/A has done.  The electric fan will add a load as well, make sure to relay it to get the amps manageable. 

Get a Deka/East Penn, one of the very few American-made batteries still out there.  If you want a decent cranker, a group 78 (BCI number), like a 678mf, which has 690cca, 850ca, and a 110 reserve.

87 V20 Standard Cab Longbed (current)

87 R30 3+3 Longbed (days of yore)

98 C2500 ext cab longbed

Offline LILT77

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Re: Battery Recommendation
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2021, 03:34:40 PM »
As Shifty has said, with all the accessories it becomes a focus on the alternator and not so much the battery. Looks like you already have that sorted though.

I have Optimas in a few of my rigs with no problems, but I know people who have had a hit or miss experience with them...and they're a little on the pricier side. I personally haven't had any trouble and they provide some good CCA's. 
77 C10/Big 10 Cheyenne "Old Blue"
81 C2500 Sierra Grande "Gramps"

Offline Shifty

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Re: Battery Recommendation
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2021, 09:36:00 AM »
I run an Optima in my Corvette, mostly because it only gets driven a little, and is on life-support with a C-Tek maintainer, I don't have any problems with them either, other than the price. 
87 V20 Standard Cab Longbed (current)

87 R30 3+3 Longbed (days of yore)

98 C2500 ext cab longbed