Are AGM batteries worth it?

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rbkt65 said:
working at napa, we only let the batteries on the shelf for 6 months. they are date coded on side. no longer. we defect them out if over 6 months old. warranty starts when battery is sold.
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At the O'Reilly store where I was, the manager would just put new date stickers on the batteries whose stickers were out of date. We had some on the shelf over three years old. I tried all I could do to go around him to higher management, but it was a dead end each time. I think that's how they want to do it.
 
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the best are vw and mb agm batteries seen more then a few go 12 years ... its the slow charge and never let them go to low
 
i run odyses AGM batteries in my truck

i need a new battery for the boat, but i can get a class 24 for $120 for a wet one, or $440 for the odyses i like
i got almost 10 years with great neglect out of the previous boat battery (think, letting it sit all winter without a trickle charge)
 
I got this interstate battery from a car I got from an acquaintance. It's been the best battery, vehicle even sits and I start it few times a year. Almost 11 years old now.
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I know a guy with an Interstate battery from Costco that sat for 3 months while waiting for an engine rebuild and the dude maintained 12.55 voltage the whole time.
Here is another thing.....Batteries mounted in the trunk: While it sounds like a good idea to move a heavy battery to the back, doing so costs you in overall weight. The longer cables, other wiring, battery box and such as at least 15-17 lbs to the car. I put my battery in the trunk in 2013 but now it sits back up front.....and it is the lightweight Lithium. This change cut 17 lbs of wiring/accessories and 33 lbs of battery weight. Yeah, a 50 lb weight savings plus the engine spins over faster than ever.

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I'm not crazy about the appearance of the battery but the dude works.
 
i don't know anything aboult them
but lithium are the ones that catch fire ,what kind of charging system do you need
 
Kern Dog said:
I know a guy with an Interstate battery from Costco that sat for 3 months while waiting for an engine rebuild and the dude maintained 12.55 voltage the whole time.
Here is another thing.....Batteries mounted in the trunk: While it sounds like a good idea to move a heavy battery to the back, doing so costs you in overall weight. The longer cables, other wiring, battery box and such as at least 15-17 lbs to the car. I put my battery in the trunk in 2013 but now it sits back up front.....and it is the lightweight Lithium. This change cut 17 lbs of wiring/accessories and 33 lbs of battery weight. Yeah, a 50 lb weight savings plus the engine spins over faster than ever.

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I'm not crazy about the appearance of the battery but the dude works.
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Does your Lithium battery take special maintenance charging like the AGM's? For the reasons you mention, I am considering getting one of those lightweight dudes and skipping the relocation to the trunk.
 
Mopar Action magazine has a few comments on this very brand of battery, I followed their instructions.
The manufacturer states that the battery needs to be charged with their special charging unit but that is because it is better suited to "sense" the voltage the battery has. Traditional charging units cannot read the Lithium battery voltage the same way and may OVERcharge them. Mopar Action (Rick Ehrenberg) made comments where they used a regular charging unit but kept a close eye on it, not relying on any automatic shutoff to prevent overcharging.
That is what I did. I'd ordered the special charging unit at the same time I ordered the battery. The charger was on back order and I was anxious to install the battery. I charged to 13.0 volts and installed it. The lithium charger arrived over a week later. I've driven the car 1500 or more miles since the swap and it is great. I still have not used the lithium charger.
I used an adjustable voltage regulator set to a maximum of 13.8 volts.
 
Vertex_Jeff said:
Does your Lithium battery take special maintenance charging like the AGM's? For the reasons you mention, I am considering getting one of those lightweight dudes and skipping the relocation to the trunk.
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What special maintenance charging does an AGM battery require? I was told by an AGM battery supplier earlier today that you could simply use a battery tender-type maintenance device just like with a wet cell battery. Of course, you could just drive it regularly too (for those of who live in nice climates).
 

I also learned something interesting for folks who were unaware (interesting to me at least). East Penn Manufacturing manufactures batteries right here in the good ol' US of A. Their AGM line is supposedly better than the Optimas manufactured in Mexico. They're sold as the brand 'Deka', but are also the house brand batteries at O'reilly 'Super Start' and many others.
 
The annoying thing about the AGMs is that to charge them, you have to either have a dedicated AGM charging unit or do as I did...Connect the AGM to a regular battery through jumper cables, then charge the regular battery.
 
diymirage said:
i run odyses AGM batteries in my truck

i need a new battery for the boat, but i can get a class 24 for $120 for a wet one, or $440 for the odyses i like
i got almost 10 years with great neglect out of the previous boat battery (think, letting it sit all winter without a trickle charge)
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If you get HALF as much life out of the wet battery, compared to the odyssey, you're way ahead!
 
mopowers said:
What special maintenance charging does an AGM battery require? I was told by an AGM battery supplier earlier today that you could simply use a battery tender-type maintenance device just like with a wet cell battery. Of course, you could just drive it regularly too (for those of who live in nice climates).
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I was told that my Optima Red Top should be placed on a maintenance charger when the car sits for a week or two. I live in the midwest, so there is at least a month or two where the car is dormant. If I remember to hook it up to a maintenance charger, I do notice a difference in starting the car when compared to leaving it not on the charger for a couple weeks. It will start the car regardless, but I am more concerned with lifespan. My cars with traditional lead acids dont seem to care.
 
33IMP said:
If you get HALF as much life out of the wet battery, compared to the odyssey, you're way ahead!
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That was my calculation too, so i spend $140 on a Wet one with almost 200 more CCA, then I had and figured if I got almost 10 years out of this one too, I'll be a happy camper
 
Agm batteries like a steady charge and don't like to run low
If you can keep them in the sweet spot they last forever
They also can stay charged longer under light draws from computers the main reason most car manufacturers use them
 
One of the two last show's I was at a ford enthusiast pulled in next to me and his lead acid battery was puking acid all over the engine bay of his well kempt Mustang!
Destroying all his polished bits, Paint and more. A Very Good Reason not to use a lead acid Battery IMO! He was pretty upset!!

That was the day I wrecked after the second show. My AGM Survived with no issues. It is plugged in with a Wall Wart charger compatible with AGM batteries for trickle charging while the
fish is under repair! I also have a Shumacher charger that is AGM compatible, as well a NOCO Genius G7200 I won on a raffle ticket at a show years ago. The first two were purchased at Wall Mart
very cheaply! I have heard that if you let an AGM drain to a volt or lower that some chargers, even those for AGM will not pick up voltage and start the charge cycle. I have thought I experienced
this but tried every theory to get any of my chargers to start charging to no avail! Even added a small amount of acid to each cell! 10.5 years and the First one was Toast Period! Chalked it up to the best
Battery I have had and purchased the same one to replace it!

Long post. Sorry! Buy an AGM and a Resonably priced AGM charger, that You may already have! No mods to your charging if using 70 up style electronic system! JMHO!

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abodyjoe said:
they went to **** when johnson controls biught them out..
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I work for JCI, different Division. The Batteries in my 2015 Ram 3500 6.7 Cummins HO were made by JCI and had to replace them in 2020! They sold the battery division off in
2016/2017 if I remember correctly! Not sure who owns it now!
 
nutz said:
Agm batteries like a steady charge and don't like to run low
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you know i always see that posted whenever these batteries come up.. i had a pre JCI Optima last like 10 or so years.. i beat the hell out of that thing.. killed it, charged it with a 20 year old craftsman charger. did that many times over the years and it still lasted a decade.
 
AGM advantage is the acid is somewhat captive and so won't spill in an accident. IIRC also in theory can be placed in the trunk without a vent (Check that - dont take my word for that)

Disadvantage is the captive fluid can't disapate heat as well as a traditional wet cell. So will not tolerate extended high charging rates as well. Not that is good for any battery, but I think they get hot faster and any liquid loss can't be replaced.
 
Most are vented ....but don't think for the same reason
 
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