Imagine getting the chance to ask Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch any question you want. Lucky for us here at BlogBattery, we get that opportunity. Only problem, we are cracking under the pressure. (OK, not really. Do we seem like the type of people who struggle to find the words?) But we do want to hear from our faithful BlogBattery, Facebook and Twitter fans. Tweet your questions with hashtag #KyleQ, leave them in the comments section on this BlogBattery post or ask it on our Facebook page. Not only will we take our most creative, retweeted and liked questions straight to Kyle this weekend, but we’ll give autographed prizes to the Facebooker and, um, tweeter whose questions are the most liked and retweeted. You have until Sunday night to submit your questions. Now, go!

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Every once in a while, newscasters are tempted to cover their sports coat with a lab coat and attempt to identify the best battery. Often times, these scientific experiments involve running different brands of batteries in toys that light up and make noise.

We have all seen these segments. First, the newscaster talks about saving money or asks the confounding question: which battery lasts longest? Then we see a close-up of the toy, preferably a clapping monkey or dog that flips. Next, statistics such as which battery types were used, how long they ran and how much they cost flash on the screen. Finally, the segment ends with the newscaster or a cameo from a scientist from a local university identifying the best battery for your buck.

Want an example? Watch the video below. We’ll wait.

And here is a study courtesy of CBS News.

Not to be outdone, Lifehacker posts this study by Wired magazine.

If these studies really were accurate, shouldn’t one battery always win?

In defense of the news stations, batteries are complicated. There are so many marketing terms and differentiations that choosing a battery often leaves even the savviest Blog Battery readers with their heads spinning.

(Check out a recent post in which we outlined the best tips to keep your devices running longer.)

A primate percussionist isn't the best judge of battery power.

However, seeing which battery can keep a clapping monkey toy running longer is not a scientific study on which to trust. Calculating which battery is best and assuming it applies to every device is unrealistic. Some batteries work better in high drain situations, others in low drain. Some are alkaline, others lithium or nickel-cadmium (NiCad).

So, what questions should you ask in these “scientific studies?”

First, which chemistries are being tested? Lithium-ion batteries often last longer than alkalines because they are built to last longer.  Assuming a test used only alkaline batteries, the battery’s capacity is still not determined by how long it can make a dog toy flip.

Next, are they high-drain specific or better for low drains? What about the toy? Does it need a lot of power, like a camera flash, or does it only use a little power at a more consistent rate, like a clock? All these questions and more determine which battery will work best in that particular device.

Technically speaking, batteries’ capacities are determined by the total number of hours a battery can provide 25 milli-amps continuously at 80 degrees before the voltage reaches 0.8 volts per cell. Then multiply the total hours by 25.

What? That confused you? Yeah, me too – I guess that is why news teams use clapping monkeys. Simply speaking, don’t trust so-called scientific studies. Instead, identify what works best for your device. Use the recommendations outlined by the product manufacturer, and if all else fails, ask the experts by posting a comment below.

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Some basic battery maintenance can keep you battery from freezing and failing this winter. Gale Kimbrough, Interstate Batteries technical services manager, has several tips in the video above. Feel like reading? Here are 10 steps every driver should have on the winter battery checklist:

1. Have the vehicle battery tested at every oil change.
2. Always choose the appropriate battery for your vehicle, paying specific attention to batteries recommended for harsh winter regions.
3. Consider replacing the battery if it is approaching 3 to 5 years old; this is the average life of a battery depending on climate.
4. Use a battery charger to maintain charge levels and keep the battery in good condition. A fully charged battery will not freeze until -76° F; however, a fully discharged battery could start to freeze at 32° F.
5. Secure all connections on the battery and check for signs of corrosion. If possible, have the connections checked by a professional.
6. Inspect the battery case for signs of extreme bulging, cracking or leaking. If signs are present, it’s time to replace it.
7. Avoid damage to the battery by keeping connections tight with a snug-fitting battery in the battery tray.
8. If the battery is not a sealed model, check the fluid levels using distilled water to fill any cells that appear low.
9. Always wear protective eyewear, remove all jewelry and wear long sleeves to protect the skin.
10. Whenever possible, keep the vehicle in a garage overnight, especially in areas with extremely harsh winter conditions.

The Interstate Batteries ED-18® Battery Analyzer tells your battery's state of health within seconds.

In just 30 seconds, Interstate All Battery Centers and Firestone can provide you with a free printout analysis of the your battery’s condition. Many of our independent dealers can do this, too. To find more information and an All Battery Center or Interstate Batteries dealer, visit interstatebatteries.com or interstatebatteries.mobi.

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As seen on KXJB in Fargo-Grand Forks, N.D.: As Old Man Winter begins to grip the nation, motorists are encouraged to protect and care for that part of the vehicle a driver depends on most each day….

Via www.valleynewslive.com

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Lifehacker tells us how often you should charge your gadget's battery.

We stumbled upon this article from Lifehacker the other day and thought it was too good not to share: How Often Should I Charge My Gadget’s Battery to Prolong Its Lifespan?

We recommend you read the article, as it takes much of its information from Battery University, a great resource for battery-related information. (Note: Battery University is maintained by Cadex, which supplies battery analyzers and chargers to many of our Distributors and Interstate All Battery Centers.)

We recommend you pay attention to two points in particular:

1. Don’t overcharge your battery. Take your device off the charger when it’s full.
2. Don’t leave your battery discharged. The battery will essentially kill itself if you leave it sitting discharged and unused for a long time.

Read the article and let us know what you think in the comments below. Do you have any battery questions you need answered? Ask us, and we’ll answer in a future post.

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Stock up on batteries, flashlights and more at Interstate All Battery Center.

Preparedness Isn’t Just for Scouts

You can expect one thing in life: At some point, you’ll have to deal with the unexpected. (You can probably expect other things, too, like lists of things you can expect.) From thunderstorms to natural disasters and from fires to floods, it pays to be prepared.

Seasonal Storms

Rough weather often knocks out power for hours or even days. Don’t be caught in the dark, fumbling around for a flashlight. Instead, put a lights-out kit in an easy-to-find location like your hall closet. Make sure it contains a battery-operated weather radio, flashlights and batteries, bottled water and nonperishable food. And don’t forget the can opener: Nothing frustrates a hungry person more than a can with no opener.

Natural Disasters and Fires

Sometimes disasters such as earthquakes or hurricanes force you to evacuate your home. Be ready with a kit you can easily take with you. It should include your lights-out kit, blankets and pillows, toys and games (to keep the boredom at bay) and anything else you cannot function without.

Food and Water

How much food and water do you need? Experts recommend you keep at least one gallon of water per person per day, and your kit should have enough water and food for three to seven days. Stick with nonperishable packaged or canned food and snacks. If you haven’t updated your stash since the Y2K scare, now would be a good time.

Often Overlooked

When putting your supplies together, don’t forget your family members with special needs. Infants and the
elderly may need special foods and toiletries. And if you have pets, keep them in mind, too. Pack a plastic
bag of food for your four-legged friend.

Document Storage

After any disaster, you’ll have to deal with insurance companies, banks and others. Make things easier by
keeping your important documents safe, dry and easily accessible. Keep them in a waterproof container and take
them with you should you need to evacuate your home.

No matter the situation, always know where you keep your keys, cellphone, wallet and medicine so you can find them quickly. In emergencies, seconds count.

Your Ready List

Think you’re ready for anything? Make sure you have the following essentials in your home emergency kit:

• Bottled water
• Nonperishable food
• Manual can opener
• Cooking tools and fuel
• Paper plates and plastic utensils
• Toiletries and hygiene items
• First-aid kit and prescribed medicine
• Blankets and pillows
• Battery-operated weather radio
• Flashlights
• Backup batteries
• Tools
• Pet care items, including food, water, medicine, collars and leashes
• Important documents in a safe, secure location
• Tarps, plastic sheeting and bags
• Camera or camcorder

Want more emergency preparedness ideas or help assembling your own lights-out kit? Visit your local Interstate All Battery Center® today.

This post is modified ever-so-slightly from an Interstate All Battery Center emergency preparedness brochure. See it here:

Power Your Home Emergency Plan

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Mark Martin will drive the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry in the March 10 Nationwide Series race in Las Vegas.

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (January 6, 2012) – Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Mark Martin will drive the Interstate Batteries® Toyota Camry in the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Las Vegas in March.

“We’ve always hoped to have the opportunity for Mark to drive for us and to have him behind the wheel of our Interstate Batteries Toyota for the Nationwide race in Vegas is exciting,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He is a great example to all drivers of the dedication it takes to be successful and certainly we’re honored to have him part of our efforts in 2012.”

While Martin is only currently scheduled to race in Las Vegasfor JGR, the team is still working on opportunities for the veteran driver to secure additional races.

Martin currently has 49 career victories in 235 Nationwide Series starts. Martin has amassed 111 top-five and 151 top-ten finishes, while leading 8,093 laps. His most recent victory came just last season when he piloted the No. 32 car to victory lane in Las Vegas. He had four total starts in 2011, with the one victory and three top-ten finishes.

Denny Hamlin drove the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry in Las Vegas last year. © 2011 Autostock

Martin was the Nationwide series’ all-time wins leader until he was passed by JGR driver Kyle Busch in July 2011.

“This is exciting,” said Martin. “No organization has been better in the Nationwide Series over the past three or four seasons and to have the chance to get behind the wheel of a Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide car will be a thrill. Maybe I can pick up a few more races and try to catch Kyle to get my record back again”

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Rich Salvaggio has used the same Interstate Workaholic® battery in his Bobcat tractor since 2000. (Courtesy photo)

Rich Salvaggio calls his tractor’s battery a zombie: Despite his best efforts, he just can’t kill it.

“I bought my Bobcat tractor used in the early part of 2000, and at that time, it had a brand-new Interstate® battery in it,” Salvaggio said. “Now, nearly a dozen years later, that same battery is still going strong. I can’t hardly believe it.”

Salvaggio, an antique tractor enthusiast from Kalamazoo, Mich., said he thought a recent cold snap would finally end the battery’s run, but it’s still working.

“Twenty degrees out here in Michigan today, and after 10 seconds of glow plugs (used to raise the temperature for a diesel engine to fire), that battery wound the engine to life as if it was summertime,” he said.

Before he replaced his tractor’s alternator, Rich Salvaggio ran the machine off the battery alone. (Courtesy photo)

Salvaggio said he’s put the battery through the ringer over the years. When he bought the tractor, the alternator didn’t work, so the electrical system ran off the battery alone. Whenever the battery would run out, he’d take the battery out and recharge it for a few hours.

Once he replaced the alternator, he said the battery gave him no trouble at all.

“That poor battery sure has had a hard life,” Salvaggio said. The tractor “sits out in the yard most of the time and runs maybe once a month for a few minutes during the summer. After all that abuse, I am truly amazed at how long it’s lasted.

“I’ve been talking about this stupid battery for years, wondering when it will finally die. It’s like a zombie. Guess which brand of battery I bought for my other tractors?”

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First in an occasional series on rechargeable batteries.

Matching the Right Chemistry to Your Needs

The Interstate Batteries High-Capacity NiMH Rechargeable AAs

Going green was an easy decision, but picking the right rechargeable battery for the household? It’s a tough call sometimes, especially when faced with so many rechargeable battery options. You know your AAA from your AA, but do you know the difference between nickel-metal hydride (NiMh) or nickel cadmium (NiCd)?

Depending on the device, you’ll either get great performance or want to go back to alkaline. Your digital camera doesn’t draw the same amount of power as the clock you’ve got hanging in the hallway.

For those gadgets with high-power needs – like wireless game controllers, digital cameras and music players – go for NiMh. Think “Need Instant Monstrous Horsepower.” This chemistry’s got it all: little memory effect, more power storage space and more times it can go through the recharge-discharge cycle. It’s also a little cheaper than the top-of-the-line chemistry, lithium-ion.

On the other hand, NiCd (pronounced “ni-cad” by those in the know) was revolutionary – for the 1900s. The toxic element cadmium keeps this rechargeable battery at the bottom of the eco-friendly shopping list, and memory effect shortens a NiCd battery’s life without occasional full discharges. NiCd can discharge more quickly, dumping all of its power into a device – such as a power tool, an emergency alarm or a one-use smoke machine generator (ninjas only.)

That atomic weight screams ‘recycle me.’

Be warned, though. These chemistries don’t store power for long. Pop a couple of NiMh or NiCd batteries in a game controller and then get too busy to play for a few weeks? Don’t be surprised if you find your batteries as dead as those zombies you’re trying to destroy. Preserve the life of your batteries by loading them up with juice, using the appropriate battery charger, before storing them in the closet (not the fridge, people) and recharge them when you take them out of storage.

You don’t need to retake seventh grade chemistry to keep your commitment to go green. Just ask your All Battery experts for a little advice.

Go to our Dealer Locator to find an Interstate All Battery Center near you.

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Interstate Batteries Chairman Norm Miller, left, with Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Copyright 2011 Autostock)

“He called down to Dallas and my assistant answered. I was down the hall doing something and she came and got me and said, ‘There’s a guy on the phone named Joe Gibbs and he wants to talk to you.’ And I said, ‘Oh that’s just some goofy friend screwing around.’”

-         Norm Miller, chairman of Interstate Batteries describing the first phone conversation with Joe Gibbs in 1991.

Image via Wikipedia

“I kid everyone today but, when we went down there, I almost felt kind of embarrassed. We met with them and we didn’t have a driver, we didn’t have a manufacturer, we didn’t have a building – we didn’t have anything. Basically, all we had was a dream.”

-          Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in describing his first meeting with Interstate Batteries in 1991.

“I remember I was downstairs in my house (on the phone with Norm). And Norm goes, ‘I’ve got to tell you the truth. We talked it over and we’re thinking about doing this.’ I thought, ‘Holy Mackerel,’ and I think I almost fainted.”

-          Gibbs describing his reaction when Miller informed him Interstate was interested in sponsoring JGR.

Jimmy Makar, Senior VP of Racing Operations for Joe Gibbs Racing. (Copyright 2011 Autostock)

“The first order of business was to go over to Hendrick (Motorsports) and find out what Joe bought because he literally had no idea what he bought.”

-          Jimmy Makar, the first employee of JGR, describing his first task upon being hired.

“It was a football coach and, at the time, Dale (Jarrett), who hadn’t won a race, yet. It was an unproven driver with a football coach owner starting from scratch. People weren’t anxious to jump on board to go do something like that.”

-          Makar about the challenge of getting people to come to work for JGR.

“We didn’t know what to do. What was really funny was, afterward, we all got separated, and myself, Pat, J.D. and Coy ended up with the trophy at a Steak ’n Shake down the road. A bunch of fans were there and we were out in the parking lot taking pictures with the trophy. And I think a few of the fans had a little bit to drink.”

-          Gibbs describing the post-race “celebration” following Dale Jarrett’s 1993 Daytona 500 win.

“We pretty much outgrew our second shop the day we moved into it.”

-          Todd Meredith, vice president of operations, about what led to the move to the third and current JGR shop.

Former Interstate Batteries driver Bobby Labonte

“He (Ken Schrader) broke a motor with about 40 laps left and I remember thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I going to do?’”

-          Bobby Labonte describing the emotions when he took the lead in the 1995 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Labonte held onto the point to score his first career Sprint Cup Series victory.

Kyle Busch returned Interstate Batteries to Victory Lane, Daytona 2008

“I remember watching Bobby Labonte drive the Interstate Batteries car as a kid growing up. He and Dale Jarrett made that car famous, so to return it to victory lane at a place like Daytona was special to me.”

-          Kyle Busch after winning at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in July 2008 and giving Interstate its first victory since 2003.

“I remember being on the radio talking to the guys while I was going down the back straightaway going into turn three and saying, ‘I don’t know if I can get him or not, he’s pretty good – oh wait, hold on one second.’ I remember actually saying, ‘Hold on one second.’”

-          Labonte describing the radio communication just before he passed Rusty Wallace for the lead in the 2000 Brickyard 400 with 14 laps remaining. Labonte ended up winning the race.

“I tell everybody that we ran better in 1999 than we did in 2000, but we just had the consistency in 2000 more so than we did in 1999.”

-          Labonte about his championship year in 2000 after winning five races in 1999.

Norm Miller, Chairman of Interstate Batteries (Copyright 2010 Autostock)

“I’ll say this about Norm: Norm has guts. If Norm believes in something, Norm’s going for it. Over the last 20 years, I’ve seen him over and over again in ministry and in different efforts we’ve put together in ministry. I’ve seen him just step out and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this.’ Norm’s one of those guys who has guts and, if he believes in something, he’s going to go after it.”

-          Gibbs about Miller. 

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