aandncaravan Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Eurobat, previously known as Manbat, have agreed with most of the companies that manufacture batteries for them to start putting a clear battery manufacture date on all their batteries. 22/06/2018 EUROBAT, that used to be called Manbat, announce that their suppliers have agreed to the battery manufacture date change we requested some months ago. First big result!! Well ok, it is not a big change, but change it is. Eurobat MD rang me on the 22/6/2018 to say they will be printing a CLEAR manufacture date on all their batteries so consumers can see exactly when the battery was manufactured. Even a 30p bag of sweets has a manufacture or best before date, why have we had to wait so long for the same protection against some unscrupulous retailer trying to sell a battery that is already past it? It will take a while for the new date change to filter through as so many different manufacturers are involved, but hopefully by early next year all their batteries in shops will have the new date label. In the meantime they are going to help us create a battery date 'decode' web page, where you will be able to look up how to decode existing manufacture dates on your Yuasa, Varta, Exide, etc. All of the batteries date decode info in one place. The plan is that the web page will go live soon, look out for it on our website. Well done Eurobat who have promised to use their marketing might to improve our lot. Eurobat have also just committed (literally at 14:00 Saturday 23/06/2018) to reviewing the way battery testing is carried out, and were already actively retesting three batteries. They have also offered to supply and submit any batteries for retesting, at any Independent test house of our choosing, should we suspect there to be an issue. Second result!! Eurobat really are dedicated to being the best and helping us consumers. It has taken a LOT of effort to get here, to be talking to MD's of Battery manufacturers and wholesalers shows it has been worth it. Sorry to all of you bored by this, but it doesn't stop here. Lots more still to do. The new Yuasa Leisure battery labelling is a major step forward, but I think we can go further to create a European standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Why battery manufacturers don't have to date stamp them i've no idea. I recently had to replace the burner in my Cascade heater unit and was surprised to see even that was date stamped which told me it was the original fitted when the van was new. Sure enough when the replacement burner arrived, that was also date stamped with month and year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 aandncaravan - 2018-06-23 3:05 PM I think we can go further to create a European standard. We can if we are still in the EU. Obviously can't rely on the English Government for consumer protection. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 John52 - 2018-06-23 3:32 PM aandncaravan - 2018-06-23 3:05 PM I think we can go further to create a European standard. We can if we are still in the EU. Obviously can't rely on the English Government for consumer protection. :-( John, You might be surprised at the level of interest from Trading Standards in all this. I have a deputation coming up from London to North Wales to see us. Very interested in the 'aims' of the Verified battery scheme and the implications of those not being accurate. Watch this space. As for Euopean Standards, the new Yuasa branding goes a long way to making it easy to read and help the consumer identify if it's what they require. See photo below of a Yuasa L36-EFB. For the first time ever we have a manufacturer printing the batteries cyclic ability on the battery label. Maybe with the use of Traffic Light colour we can also create 'Price Bands', Power bands, etc The Trading standards have wanted labelling like this for a while as it is hard to prosecute a battery seller for selling a Starter style battery as a Leisure battery if it doesn't say on the battery what type of battery it is. Vague labelling helps a rogue seller evade prosecution and helps to confuse the consumer. It isn't just about legislation parse, the product needs to protect itself. Trading standards didn't actually know what labelling they wanted, Yuasa have given them a vision they can now drive forward. That is a Europe wide issue, not just the UK If good labelling drives sales, it will drive change. To some extent it is in our own hands. If we support those manufacturers helping us they will help us even more. That the Yuasa L36-EFB is currently one of the best Motorhome Leisure batteries (a perfect Motorhome Starter battery as well) is something some might want to put on their shopping list. Think positive and think big, you never know what you might achieve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 aandncaravan - 2018-06-23 4:23 PM John, You might be surprised at the level of interest from Trading Standards in all this. Wasn't so much that I was thinking of. Britain is a small market so manufacturers can avoid it. Wheras the EU has real clout. Like they fined truck makers billions when they tried to rig the EU market like they do in Rip-Off Britain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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