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Post by Tanner Blackart on Dec 5, 2018 8:43:19 GMT -6
So while I have yet to pull the back seat, when I do, I'm considering on changing to an AGM battery vs reg acid. Any reason why I shouldnt?
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Post by quixote on Dec 5, 2018 12:28:07 GMT -6
I got an AGM, it worked fine until I parked for winter, didn't take the time to unhook the battery soon enough, & a slow battery drain seems to have killed the battery.
I only know of two possible negatives against an AGM:
1. The recommended sizes I have seen were all a bit low on Amperage. (The one I bought is/was.) If you search through the site for the discussions and recommendations, I think they most are.
2. If you are going to trickle-charge, you need to get charger with an AGM setting, because an ordinary charger or quick charger will overheat the battery, shortening it's life. (I suspect this includes jump-starting.) I have not seen anything on how much ordinary charging affects life.
Having had my battery looking dead, I have been thinking about getting a group 65 AGM. They are top-post, but shorter, so I'd have to change the cable connectors. The amperage is just about dead-on.
I have not tried to re-install my old AGM. My charger shows it not going to full charge, but it might still have some use in it.
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Post by Tanner Blackart on Dec 5, 2018 18:59:37 GMT -6
I got an AGM, it worked fine until I parked for winter, didn't take the time to unhook the battery soon enough, & a slow battery drain seems to have killed the battery. I only know of two possible negatives against an AGM: 1. The recommended sizes I have seen were all a bit low on Amperage. (The one I bought is/was.) If you search through the site for the discussions and recommendations, I think they most are. 2. If you are going to trickle-charge, you need to get charger with an AGM setting, because an ordinary charger or quick charger will overheat the battery, shortening it's life. (I suspect this includes jump-starting.) I have not seen anything on how much ordinary charging affects life. Having had my battery looking dead, I have been thinking about getting a group 65 AGM. They are top-post, but shorter, so I'd have to change the cable connectors. The amperage is just about dead-on. I have not tried to re-install my old AGM. My charger shows it not going to full charge, but it might still have some use in it. That is a seriously helpful post! I live in SC so I am not looking at parking for the winter. Changing the posts are easy but ultimately, I'd rather not have good ol battery acid leaking back there. Thanks for the tip on the 65 group! |
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Dec 7, 2018 0:51:08 GMT -6
The OEM group 78 (flooded/wet cell) battery is vented through tubes to the outside. AGM batteries are sealed. I wouldn't worry about leaking either way.
I'm using an Optima now, but frankly don't notice any difference.
Your choice.
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Post by quixote on Dec 7, 2018 13:09:58 GMT -6
That is a seriously helpful post! I live in SC so I am not looking at parking for the winter. Changing the posts are easy but ultimately, I'd rather not have good ol battery acid leaking back there. Thanks for the tip on the 65 group! You are welcome. That's what We are all here for. I'm atypical here: I'm a Ford guy, & the Aurora was an unusual purchase for me. (Fords competitors for the Aurora are/were two-door battleships, or an over-priced & under-powered Thunderbird.) The group 65 batteries are used in a very high percentage of newer Fords, so I had one to compare with the original group 78 and the AGM group 34/78 I bought. ...As to Tigger's comment about venting: he's correct. I bought my car, found that the vent tubing had cracked. I could have replaced it, but I didn't much care for the idea of acid fumes inside the car, even venting through a tube. AGM's will still vent in extreme heat, to prevent them exploding ---under the seat, this should require something like a car fire, however. I have also seen people claim that AGMs will cause less corrosion around the battery cable terminal connectors, too. I have not had an AGM battery long enough to confirm that, however. All my cars are 15+ years old. My truck is only 7 years, but it was my first AGM, after problems with it's flooded battery. (F150 has a recharge circuit that prevents the alternator from recharging the battery on short trips.) It also has ridiculously large battery cable terminal connectors --the positive connector is something like $14 on eBay. |
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Post by AuroraGirlFromMars on Dec 10, 2018 8:08:16 GMT -6
My AGM has vent tubes like the flooded one. I had a forum on this if you can find it from a few months back. Its a side/top post battery. Since my car died i put it in my 1998 Buick Park Avenue. Great battery.
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Post by quixote on Dec 15, 2018 20:53:32 GMT -6
I have an update --for what I am sure is a very small number of interested people:
I finally got around to hooking up my group 65 in the Aurora. It's wider at it's base [er... foot?], than the standard 78 or the 34/78. So, it would need some kind of use of a spacer, because it sits crookedly on top of the bolt-down point for the battery hold down block... and it would need an alternate way to anchor the battery, in place. Otherwise, the sizing seemed just fine. The negative cable end terminal on mine also has a bolt that is only half-threaded & crimped into the connector. So, I had to replace the cable to use my adapter.
The positive cable is a whole lot heavier, longer, and has several wires coming off of it, so I you'd have to put something under it, to support it's weight and keep vibration from damaging the cable or connection in some way.
I can't argue with Tigger or anyone else who is willing or prefers to just use a smaller battery. I wanted to try this. I can't help thinking that with as many "standardized sizes" as there are and the large space under our seat, there should be something that fits without much work and has voltage/amps close to the original. I suppse if you really wanted to be creative, you could crunch the numbers and possibly two batteries connected in series would work just as well.
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Post by Tanner Blackart on Dec 16, 2018 7:26:37 GMT -6
I have an update --for what I am sure is a very small number of interested people: I finally got around to hooking up my group 65 in the Aurora. It's wider at it's base [er... foot?], than the standard 78 or the 34/78. So, it would need some kind of use of a spacer, because it sits crookedly on top of the bolt-down point for the battery hold down block... and it would need an alternate way to anchor the battery, in place. Otherwise, the sizing seemed just fine. The negative cable end terminal on mine also has a bolt that is only half-threaded & crimped into the connector. So, I had to replace the cable to use my adapter. The positive cable is a whole lot heavier, longer, and has several wires coming off of it, so I you'd have to put something under it, to support it's weight and keep vibration from damaging the cable or connection in some way. I can't argue with Tigger or anyone else who is willing or prefers to just use a smaller battery. I wanted to try this. I can't help thinking that with as many "standardized sizes" as there are and the large space under our seat, there should be something that fits without much work and has voltage/amps close to the original. I suppse if you really wanted to be creative, you could crunch the numbers and possibly two batteries connected in series would work just as well. Thx for the update. I am going to crunch numbers and figure out what I can put in. I will update as soon as I get to that point. |
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Dec 17, 2018 15:07:45 GMT -6
...you could crunch the numbers and possibly two batteries connected in series would work just as well. I hope you mean two 6V batteries, haha! |
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Post by AuroraGirlFromMars on Dec 17, 2018 16:00:58 GMT -6
34/78 worked perfect in my Aurora. My 7 year old battery lost its capacity(still had the cranking amps, tho). It was the biggest, best rated I could find.
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