Is the AGM battery worth the extra cost?

[Sawyer Rob]

I bought a battery from Walmart, it never performed well, FINALLY I got fed up with it and took it back. They tested it and tested it, while I waited and waited, then told me, lucky for me I came in when I did, as the replacement warr. expired in three days! lol

Anyway, they gave me a new batt., and although it was much better than the first one, it didn't last as long as other brands I had bought, even though it did make it out of the warr..

I think batteries are "the luck of the draw", some are good, some are bad and some are very good, even in the same size/brand!

To this day, the BEST batteries I've owned by far, say Interstate on them! I've had quite a few of them, and all of them have been good to excellent. I'm getting ready to buy a group 31 battery this spring for a diesel truck and I'm buying another Interstate!

For me, Interstate batteries have EASILY lasted longer than all the other brands I've owned.

SR

 

[Ford850]

Store brands, which most batteries seem to have these days, can use different manufacturers depending on the geographic region too. A Napa, AutoZone, TSC, or Walmart battery might be made by different manufactures depending on what part of the country you're in. That makes comparisons based on brand that much more difficult to trust.

 

[rScotty]

I need to replace the battery in my dump trailer, it let me down the other day with the box only half way up, and I had to ask my customer for a boost to finish the job. Not good, so it's time.

I recently bought an AGM battery for my truck and I'm wondering if I should get one for the trailer. Deep cycle, of course.

Regular battery with a 12 month warranty is $135. AGM battery with a 24 month warranty is $250.

Opinions? Is the extra cost worth it?

Shucks Dougeye, that one is easy to answer. Yes, unless you are strapped for cash then AGMs are worth the extra. I wish everything else mechanical or electrical was so simple.
good luck,
rScotty

 

[Oaktree]

I use exide paste (NCP-2) on battery terminals. Never have any corrosion...ever

Vaseline seems to work well too. I suppose anything that keeps air off the terminals will help. Never tried the little felt pads.

 

[LouNY]

Any grease will help prevent the corrosion where ever you use it.
The AGM doesn't off gas corrosive fumes so the battery boxes , hold downs and cables, and with the newer vehicles the fuses mounted on the multiple ended expensive battery cables don't corrode either.

 

[Industrial Toys]

The battery bus is a racket. It IS the luck of the draw. Names mean little except for marketing. Different batteries with the same name on them could come from different sources, so one battery could be GREAT, the next, not so much.

To me, weight is something I always look at now when comparing batteries. You really know what you aren't getting when you pick up some lawn and garden batteries.

Surprised to see a show on recyling batteries. I always figired they would break hem open and try and seperate the plastic from the lead. The totally shred the whole things and sort the mess out later.

 

[DK35vince]

If they last twice as long and cost twice as much, the maintenance free and leak proof design is worth it to me.

If
My original wet cell tractor battery lasted 11 years, our car battery 9 years, my last pickup truck battery 13 years, battery in my 2013 zero turn still original.
These batteries never had any maintenance or a battery tender on them.
If an AGM could last twice as long as I'm getting now with my wet cells I would consider one.

 

[goeduck]

I'd buy a basic Interstate or Johnson Controls battery with the most capacity that would fit in that spot.

Johnson Controls sells its power business to Brookfield in $13 billion deal | Reuters

 

[fried1765]

Johnson Controls sells its power business to Brookfield in $13 billion deal | Reuters

Whatever the name of the company is now, I suspect they still make the same batteries.

 

[Grumpycat]

Store brands, which most batteries seem to have these days, can use different manufacturers depending on the geographic region too. A Napa, AutoZone, TSC, or Walmart battery might be made by different manufactures depending on what part of the country you're in. That makes comparisons based on brand that much more difficult to trust.

The other issue is the store's buyers tell suppliers, "we will pay $60 for 10,000 batteries/month. Give us what you have." So the big battery manufacturers have tiers to build any size battery you want for any price you are willing to pay. Building deliberately inferior batteries depending on what the wholesale buyer will pay.