My Focus 1.6 petrol needs a new battery.

I would normally pop out to my local parts shop cash in hand and come back with one ready to pop in.

As I currently have too much time on my hands, I thought of checking my favourite internet market place and sure enough there was no shortage of batteries of the right size and spec. at a decent price.

They all say that they will deliver to my address and there is my concern.

If a battery is turned upside down or on it's side on it's journey through the delivery process, surely the acid will leak out.

Has anyone had experience of home delivery of car a battery?

What precautions do the suppliers take?

Did your battery survive the journey?

Did any acid leak?

Your advice and experience would be appreciated before I order one up.

I do have a pair of PVC acid resistant gloves but I would prefer to leave them unused.

ScaniaPBman.

I've had them delivered from different companies and they are always extremely well packaged and secure ,with lots of warnings on outside about contents and to keep upright etc . Also any vent holes are normally plugged.

Most modern batteries are either fully sealed or use acid gel and are leakproof.

Many sealed batteries still have  a very small vent in the case that has a one way valve. 

I had one delivered and it was fine. I can’t really remember how it was packaged. I had a motorbike battery delivered. It had no acid in, there was a bottle of acid with it for filling it. Years ago when I bought motorbike batteries in a spares shop they were Always empty on the shelf and they would put acid in when you bought it

I remember those. They were already charged so when the acid was put in they were ready for immediate use. I think they might have been called "dry charged".

As with any new battery it was always a good idea to give them a top-up charge before installation.

I can recommend https://www.tayna.co.uk/ we use them regularly at work and get quick delivery at reasonable prices. Never had a problem with damage during delivery.

1 hour ago, pcaouolte said:

I can recommend https://www.tayna.co.uk/ we use them regularly at work and get quick delivery at reasonable prices. Never had a problem with damage during delivery.

I too have had a battery from Tayna in the past and it was safely delivered to Northern Ireland! No problems getting one delivered, and with the additional time on your  hands, you can give you battery compartment a darn good cleaning too, often neglected in an 'emergency' swap out!

I probably wouldn't bother fitting a new battery yet if yours still works enough to get to the shops etc.  The next few weeks/months are going to be hard on batteries so I'd rather ruin the old one than decrease the life of the new one myself.  Obviously on the flip side, you really don't want a breakdown at the moment, and don't really want to risk the car not starting if you had an emergency and had to get to hospital once all the ambulances are taken up by C19 patients.  

As others have said though, batteries don't generally leak nowadays.  If it arrives damaged you should get a refund or replacement anyway.  They can be broken by high drops in the sorting office for example.

Thanks everyone for the benefit of your experience.

You have given me confidence in having one for home delivery.

I will place my order and, as Tom has advised, will not be in a rush to get it. I have another two weeks minimum before the car is needed.

Watch this space for how I got on.

Thanks again.

ScaniaPBman.

 

Do you share the same hairdresser as Spock m8? 😂

Well, I bought my new battery here

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Varta-D21-075-Silver-Dynamic-Car-Battery-D21-12V-61Ah-600Ah-Next-Day-Delivery/392637322312?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

It came via UPS in a lashup cardboard box.

I took a few photos. The packaging seemed barely adequate for protection but it arrived undamaged with no hint of leaks.

Note the yellow plug on each side to block the vent holes.

It's fitted and working fine.

ScaniaPBman