battery i bought needs replaced 5 months later?

almillar

Yes, im obviously giving it a drive at night when i finnish work, but it wont be til sunday until i can go for a proper drive.

Then every time you start it, sucking lots of energy out of the battery, then stop it before the alternator has had a chance to recharge it, you're making the battery weaker. It might not last until the weekend. Short runs kill batteries, or at the very least, discharge them. Your busy lifestyle will come to a sudden halt when your car refuses to start again. Take the time to run the engine constantly (driving or not) for at least 15 mins.

salubrious

As has been stated.

The RAC man shouldn't be checking for battery condition on a battery he's just boost started (the cowboy)

It'll more than likely be fine with a charge, if it isn't already.

bigjl

almillar wrote: »

Then every time you start it, sucking lots of energy out of the battery, then stop it before the alternator has had a chance to recharge it, you're making the battery weaker. It might not last until the weekend. Short runs kill batteries, or at the very least, discharge them. Your busy lifestyle will come to a sudden halt when your car refuses to start again. Take the time to run the engine constantly (driving or not) for at least 15 mins.

A fully discharged battery will never be fully charged just by going on a long run.

It needs to be properly charged off the car.

An alternator is not designed to fully charge a car battery.

Ganga

bigjl wrote: »

A fully discharged battery will never be fully charged just by going on a long run.

It needs to be properly charged off the car.

An alternator is not designed to fully charge a car battery.

This is very true that i found out about when i came back to work one year from summer holidays,the transit van that i used had been parked up in the depot with the alarm activated,none of my workmates had used their heads and fired it up for 15/30 mins to keep it fully charged.
I managed to jump start it as it was completly flat,drove about 40 miles and stopped it at home,still flat.Charged it overnight with a trickle charger borrowed from my son,re-fitted it to the van and used the van with same battery till the company sold it at 13 years old! Ford Southampton knew how to make vans.!

almillar

A fully discharged battery

It wasn't going to be fully discharged - only enough that the car won't start.

Rover_Driver

bigjl wrote: »

An alternator is not designed to fully charge a car battery.

That is exactly what an alternator is designed to do, but it can depend on the state of the battery.