Hey all - thanks so much for all the thoughts. I am going to go with the Costco/Kirkland (who told me the are re-branded Interstate batteries) 875CCA battery.

I had a shut-off switch at one point (one with a ****)...but couldn't find the right hardware to connect it to the battery and then the battery cable to it...I should look into that again.

I will also look into the maintaining deivces you have suggested.

Thanks!

 

What is the price of the Costco 875 cca battery ?

 

$78.99

 

I don't understand why you need to disconnect your battery unless you have something in your car that's draining your battery. The only drain you should have would be your clock or keeping the memory in your radio, which is nothing. A battery will loose charge on it's own, that's why I use a battery tender on all the vehicles I have that aren't used daily. I have 3 tenders that I keep on my cycles and during the winter I swap one with my lawnmower. Nothing worse for a battery that sitting with a low charge or no change at all. That's the major reason for a short battery life.
I take care of 35 delivery trucks and they are started and shut off constantly during the day. We used to use the deep cycle AC Delco batteries and they were great. When they quit making them we went to Interstate and had constant problems with their smaller batteries. We ended up switching to the Optima red top and the problems went away. Interstate does make a good battery (not sure who makes theirs) but the problem we had was the size that fit in the smaller vans couldn't take the constant starting/stopping. They only lasted about 12-18 months and gave out. We do use some of their larger batteries in the trucks they will fit in and have no problems, but those are their large truck batteries (31 series).
When the battery goes out in my 72 I will replace it with a red top and keep it on the tender 24-7 and it will last for years.
I do have to say I put an optima in one of my Harleys a few years back and it only lasted 2 years, I usually get 4-5 out of a Harley battery (which is made by East Penn manuf).

 

I use C Tek charger maintainer, can be connected 24/7 with no problems and can help desulphate a battery if it has been left uncharged or used too long.

 

Yes, a battery will lose charge on it's own but at a much slower rate than when it's connected to a constant, parasitic drain.
A clock and radio memory will drain a battery over time- Factor in cold climate temperatures like here in the Midwest, the rate becomes more accelerated.
If I leave the battery connected in ANY of my cars and don't drive them, the battery will be dead in a month. If I keep them disconnected, they will easily hold a charge for 3 months or more.

I agree a battery tender is the way to go but some of us don't have the option- My cars are stored in a barn that has no electricity and I don't feel like lugging the batteries too and from the barn every few weeks to charge if I can just disconnect the battery and avoid the issue.

 

Agreed. My 1974 is stored 5-6 months each winter in commercial heated storage. The battery is disconnected via the blade-type switch shown. After 6 months there is no problem starting the car. In the summer, when the car is not in use, the battery is always disconnected. Just takes a second to re-connect things.

FWIW, my battery is an Exide, branded for a large chain called Canadian Tire. CCA is 875.