StuartO Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 There is a "nearly new" Exide G80 leisure battery on EBay and I was wondering how you could know exactly how old it was. Does anyone know if there is a date of manufacture mark on Exide batteries? If so, how do you decode it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 As far as i'm aware the answer is yes. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 All 'new' batteries I have ever bought have been month and year stamped on one of the terminal tops. It helps twofold. One you know when you bought it and two if there is a warranty claim the supplier can tell when it was sold so there's no argument over in or out of warranty.....so in answer to your question....yes there may/might/should be month/year stamped into one of the terminal posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I would still keep the receipt. ;-) Dave Roger, are you sure of that. I thought the date was strapped on top of the battery casing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 They always used to, but they don't appear to anymore, don't think my new Gel's had and dates on them & the Banners that I replaced certainly didn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 StuartO - 2016-01-21 5:40 PMThere is a "nearly new" Exide G80 leisure battery on EBay and I was wondering how you could know exactly how old it was. Does anyone know if there is a date of manufacture mark on Exide batteries? If so, how do you decode it?I've always assumed that there is a date of manufacture somewhere!Knowing the date of manufacture is one thing; knowing how the battery has been treated since installation is another; I'd be wary, just as I would with used tyres.regardsalan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 StuartO - 2016-01-21 5:40 PM There is a "nearly new" Exide G80 leisure battery on EBay... If you are interested then I would Question why he has changed it? The date code appears to be the letters hot stamped into the top of the case, visible in one of the photos on the eBay listing, but unfortunately I can't find out how to decode them. The local battery specialist I buy from stamps the date he retails the battery in one of the lugs as Month/Year for his own peace of mind and has a very high turnover of batteries so guarantees never to have 'old stock'. I think I would rather pay the full price for a brand new battery with a warranty. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 Thanks for the replies. I'm due to replace my pair of G80 batteries, so this cheap one, said to have been removed from a new MH and in my local area, might do the job, if I can satisfy myself that it is of genuinely recent manufacture. Therein still lies the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 hi Stuart, I would just ask the seller what if any marks are on the battery. good liuck derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 A couple of months ago there was a for sale on eBay a couple of Sonneschine Gel's, said he had brought them for his Hymer which he had sold. He couldn't find a date on them so I asked for a copy of the invoice, never heard from him again. If it's the one for £90 (item 141873970213) you are looking at, to me the add reads fairly genuine, ask him what van he bought & why is he changing the Gel, the answer should give you a clue if it's genuine. Also looks like he is in your part of the country, why not visit & if he has a brand new van on the drive could be a bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 lennyhb - 2016-01-22 10:03 AMA couple of months ago there was a for sale on eBay a couple of Sonneschine Gel's, said he had brought them for his Hymer which he had sold. He couldn't find a date on them so I asked for a copy of the invoice, never heard from him again.If it's the one for £90 (item 141873970213) you are looking at, to me the add reads fairly genuine, ask him what van he bought & why is he changing the Gel, the answer should give you a clue if it's genuine. Also looks like he is in your part of the country, why not visit & if he has a brand new van on the drive could be a bargain. Correct - and my thoughts too. But my MH has a pair of G80s and I don't want to risk pairing a brand new one with this EBay battery which is probably several months old, even if relatively little used. My existing G80s have lasted over 10 years (indeed they are still doing a reasonable job) and a pair of new ones will cost £320 max, so for the relatively small saving of £60 or so, it isn't really worth taking any risk of mismatch between the pair. Having a pair of G80s was an extra when I bought the MH and since I've had solar panels I've thought that with my relatively light usage, I probably don't need two G80s anyway. In that case this EBay battery would probably be perfectly OK. Decisions, decisions....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Attached is a clip from Exide info, shelf life of a Gel is 24 month, so if not been left too long it should be fine, if it was me I would go to £75 max. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 The code on top of battery looks like CI. Is this 2013 Sept.? If so then older than you think. Does not matter how old it really is though you are buying an unknown whatever the seller believes. He posts on M'Facts regularly by the way. How much would you pay for a tin of soup where you did not know the sell by date. Recommended price £1.80. Tin looks new but date is not known. I might pay 50p and take a chance...and that makes your battery worth £50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Personally speaking not worth the chance of saving a few quid to have no warranty at all. In the old days batteries were stored dry and as such would never start to deteriorate until the seller filled them with electrolyte and first charged them in which case it would be the date filled in relation to the date sold that would be important. These days I guess Elfan would not allow such practises so I assume batteries now leave the factories pre filled and pre charged in which case the date manufactured would be critcal and it makes one wonder what they are trying to hide by not being open and above board with dating? I do seem to recall reading that new unsold batteries should be recharged by the retailer after so many weeks, but I can't imagine many of them would do that voluntarily? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Derek Uzzell posted this link on 2nd August 2014. Dave http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/2814/how-do-i-know-when-a-car-battery-was-produced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 There are numbers on the label of the EBay battery whuch I suspect might reveal the date of manufacture, if you knew the decode system. The barcode number may be a serial number but the shorter one above it, in this case EX7MF301. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKen1 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Google is you friend try this download here, not tried it as I have to much on my laptop already . https://docs.askiven.com/exide-battery-date-code.html Brian K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 The fill date code is stamped on top of the battery - go look at the Ebay pics again. It is either CI or CL for the 1st two letters. EX7MF301 is the Part number for a ES 900 900Wh Battery front label. EX7MR105 is the part number for the ES900 top label. and 981AB102 is the part number for the label on the back of the battery but is probably actually a booklet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 enhanced the ebay pic and zoomed in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Brambles - 2016-01-22 5:35 PM enhanced the ebay pic and zoomed in... So November 2013 as they don't (normally) use the letter i in date codes. It's older than you think and if it where me I would walk away and buy new with a warranty. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 I just made an offer of £75 (before reading the above posts) and it was declined, so that's it for me. The guy does seem genuine and he replied to an enquiry tell me he took delivery of his new Carthago in December, drove home and removed the battery straight away to replace it with two Vartas, which he already had. I believe him. That doesn't mean the battery wasn't made some while before December of course but given the volume of Carthago production I doubt they would be holding a battery in stock for long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 To complete the story, the seller had second thoughts and accepted my offer, so I'm collecting the battery tomorrow - only 25 miles away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Nice one! Pints all round and I will put them on Stuart0's tab. edit, but not you Stuart0 as you are driving in the morning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 I waited in the pub all evening for you Brambles but you never turned up! Collected the battery this morning, obviously a straight bloke, battery as described. He had bought a pair of his preferred Vartas at trade price, so at least he got the price of one of them back. I'll take my pair of old G80s out and install this new one instead. Anyone want a pair of still-going-after-ten-years G80s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Out of curiosity I emailed Exide and inquired about the “CLXW” code shown in the photo attached to Brambles’s posting of 22 January 2016 5:35 PM. I asked: "Is this 4-letter-group some sort of date-code, please? If so, what date does the 4-letter group indicate and how does the group translate into a date? If not, what is the purpose of the 4-letter group, what does it mean in this battery’s case, and is there any other way of confirming the battery’s date of manufacture?” This is the relevant part of Exide’s reply: "Thank you for your enquiry, unfortunately the code on the casing is not a date code, it’s just a casting code to identify the plant...." No advice was given about how the age of the battery could otherwise be ascertained. (I’ve also emailed Banner about the stamped-in markings on my Rapido’s “Energy Bull” battery and whether the battery’s age can be established from them. I’ve yet to receive a reply.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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