Best battery

[ultrarunner]

I miss the days when everyone was offering lifetime warranties.

I’ve collected on batteries, mufflers, brake shoes and pads, fuel and water pumps.

Hard to find a lifetime anything warranty these days… maybe people living too long?

Battery warranties also shorter.

Last week I bought a new battery at the wholesale house and since it’s mom’s car I asked for 84 month warranty and was told they have not had those for years…

 

[John_Mc]

AGM's are more vibration and shock resistant to a point but a well built flooded cell jar made correctly is as well and a flooded cell 'maintenance free jar also catches the airborne (gassed off) electrolyte and returns it to the individual cells but some still escapes.

Far as Optima's are concerned the rate of idle discharge (no load, battery not in circuit is the same as a conventional flooded cell battery and that is negligible. I cannot justify the additional cost of them, especially when Johnson Controls move most of their production of them to Mexico from Waterville, Ohio to cut production costs but increased the retail cost.

Far as I'm concerned, Optima AGM's are over priced and I'll never own one. If I want an advanced design battery, I'll buy (and have bought) a Hawker Odyssey sealed battery instead. Your Optima is incapable of operating upside down, the Hawker can be mounted in any position and it's 100% sealed too.

Not sure why I would care if my Optima can be operated upside down or not. I have no application where that is a concern. I have nothing against Odyssey batteries. Optima is what was available in the size I needed when I was shopping. Odyssey was not (They have since become more available in my area.) I would consider either brand when shopping.

Some flooded lead acid batteries are more vibration resistant than others. Both Odyssey and Optima are more vibration resistant than any of the commonly available flooded lead acid batteries used in cars and compact tractors.

If you use equipment regularly, the rate of idle discharge may seem negligible. For flooded lead acid, it's typically a few months of storage before it starts to become an issue. For a good AGM such as Odyssey or Optima it's typically a year or two. However, the concern is not just whether it starts the engine or not (though that is a big one), it's also that sulfation occurs more readily in a fully or partially discharged battery than in a fully charged one. The deeper it is discharged and left to sit in that condition, the more readily sulfation occurs. I use a battery minder with a desulfation circuit, which helps reverse this, but it's better to never let it occur in the first place. A battery with a lower internal rate of discharge will experience sulfation at a lower rate while in storage.

BTW: I grew up about 25 miles from Waterville, OH, went to high school about 8 miles from there. I've followed their progress over the years. Optima reportedly did experience some quality problems after the move, but those appear to have been resolved. Their plant in Monterrey, Mexico is state-of-the-art.

Am I happy that they moved from near my old home town? Of course not. Am I bummed that the price shot up (from $160 when I bought mine 6.5 years ago to $280 now)? Sure. That doesn't change the fact that they are good batteries. Well worth the price for me. My tractor is more reliable, I don't have to replace the battery as often, I don't have the corrosion problems I had with flooded lead acid (connection constantly corroding, had replaced battery cable end once, then the whole battery cable since it was too short to just cut off and replace the end the next time. Replaced fittings going to the oil cooler right behind the battery, and eventually had to replace that cooler - fortunately the main radiator was still usable.) For me, clearly worth it even at the higher price. When it's time to replace, I'm definitely goign with another AGM. Whether that is Optima or Odyssey depends on price, availability, and reputation at the time I'm shopping.

 

[Vigo327]

To me the AGM would be an upgrade for several reasons John_Mc mentioned. For a tractor or other equipment i would say the main benefit is slower self-discharge, which as John said is mostly about not letting the battery degrade while in 'storage'. The 'aging' effect of vibration is hard to assess but AGMs should suffer less of it, and as said it's a bigger deal on a tractor than in a car for a variety of reasons having to do with their relative levels of isolation from the sources of vibration and just how big those sources are. Suffice to say if WE get uncomfortable on the tractor the battery probably is too, but as long as it lasts a reasonable amount of time we just don't notice or care.

But for example if you look at the typical lifespan of batteries mounted under the hood of cars/trucks vs batteries mounted in the interiors, the ones mounted inside typically last 50-100% longer. It's not uncommon to find 7-9 year old batteries in cars where the battery lives 'inside' but rare to find one older than 5yrs under a hood. Inside generally means MUCH less heat cycling, all body motions are greatly reduced by being between the axles instead of on top of one, and since they are typically sitting pretty much 'on' the body instead of cantilevered out over free air on a plastic tray, any vibrations they do experience are not amplified by the way they are mounted.

So based on that stark difference in lifespan between those two locations these things DO matter.. but as long as the battery lasts long enough they don't matter to ME/us.

 

[rScotty]

I find that corrosion on battery cables and cable-to-battery connectors cause as many problems as the batteries themselves. Maybe more.

I've gone away from the flooded cell batteries because the outgassing promotes corrosion. The sealed AGMs do not - or at least not so much outgassing. There is still some; all batteries are must be vented a little. I think we all realize that.

Cable connectors to the battery posts have been a problem for me. For awhile I tried nice-looking brass and cad-plated battery cable connectors from Amazon. They looked professional and the price was reasonable. But my experience now is that they corrode rapidly.

I've also noticed that the red and green chemically impregnated felt washers may reduce corrosion, but they are not necessary if the cable connectors are lead.

So what works best at our place in cars and compacts are simply sealed (AGM) batteries in size group 24, lead battery cable connectors, and cables made of pure copper stranded wire with thick rubbery insulation.

Boats, trucks, and heavy equipment get the same thing but in group 31 size batteries.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

AGM batteries also have a very low self discharge rate when compared to lead acid batteries.
Having to place the lead acid batteries on a charger during cold weather to get equipment to start or jumper cables to start got old.
With AGM's I haven't had to charge or jump start equipment for years in winter weather.

 

[rScotty]

AGM batteries also have a very low self discharge rate when compared to lead acid batteries.
Having to place the lead acid batteries on a charger during cold weather to get equipment to start or jumper cables to start got old.
With AGM's I haven't had to charge or jump start equipment for years in winter weather.

I also agree with Vigo327 that the saturated matt construction should reduce the vibration on the plates.

And consider that the recycled lead for car batteries is not completely pure. So every time a battery is charged, there are some impurities that come to the surface of each lead plate. In a wet cell battery these conductive impurities form salts and fall to the bottom of the fluid. Eventually they build up enough to short out the plates....end of battery.

Back when rebuilding wet cell batteries was a common maintenance chore done at most service stations this was well known. Which is why cleaning out that buildup under the plates was a part of every battery rebuild.
The matt construction of AGMS should help hold those metal salts in suspension against the matts - which would makes the AGM batteries last longer.

Of course in today's manufacturing world suspending the impurities also means the AGM battery maker can use cheaper less refined recycled lead in his plates...thereby saving cost and improving profits - but ending up with an AGM battery not much better than a flooded cell type.

Bottom line is that the purity of the recycled lead is a large part of what makes or breaks a battery.
rScotty