Truck Batteries Flying Off the Shelves in Western ND | Video

Evan Kruegel | 2/1/2013

Tana Ryan`s day got off to a rough start yesterday when she tried to start her car. "I tried to start it, all I heard was click, click, click, and then nothing. It wouldn`t start."

After jumping it a few times, the car still wouldn`t start on its own, so she took it in to the shop.

"I went in, got a new battery, and had a family friend replace it. After that it worked fine."

Others put the ordeal off until today. Battery sales at Home of Economy were extremely high on Wednesday and Thursday, but the carry-over continued into this morning.

"They`ve been through the roof, sales have just gone up I can`t keep them on our shelves," said assistant auto parts supervisor Michael Reeves.

Down the block at Hedahl`s auto parts, a similar battery rush has taken place.

"We`ve been extremely busy, thank goodness for the cold," said owner Kevin Falcon.

Both stores have seen a much bigger demand for truck batteries instead of cars.

"Far more trucks," said Reeves.

"Truck batteries. It`s usually because of the vibration, so if they drain them down too low they`ll freeze and then they`re shot,” said Falcon.

If your car or truck battery does completely drain, you can usually use a battery charger to replenish it, but after a certain point, a charger simply won`t fix the problem.

"The batteries have a certain level of battery acid in them and after a while it uses up all the electrolytes in it and there`s nothing you can charge them with. So you have to go get the battery replaced”, said Reeves.

Both stores say battery rushes occur every time it gets this cold.

"It`s just kind of part of life out here."

And the businesses certainly aren`t complaining.

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