Agm battaries

[Anon665]

Hello everyone

I see everyone talking about AGM battaries, what the brief story or the idea behind them (In regards of F-150s)?

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[Snakebitten]

AGM batteries have been around a long time and many many different vehicles. In fact, it'd be a little odd to see modern vehicles without an AGM under the hood, I would think.

My 17 year old Porsche came equipped with one.

 

[Viper]

Advanced Glass Mat (AGM) also charges differently than Lead Acid, used in military cars and trucks.

 

[Gros Ventre]

They were originally intended for Aircraft, hence their strength and light weight. They provide lower resistance to current flow and greater burst power than flooded cell batteries. However, with all of that, they have thinner plates and are less resistant to overcharging. and such. So they have to be charged with a specific AGM type battery charger... And you'll find Ford has programmed their charging system to maintain 80% or around 12.6VDC.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

AGM is just the "next step up" from old lead-acid batteries. They have less gassing/acid leakage, last longer, and resist cold temps better. They're not lighter. For example, consider the following three battery types, all size H7/Group 94R (Which is what the 2023 F-150 uses):

AGM: Optima Yellow-Top (60.5lbs), Odyssey (54.8lbs), Champion (54lbs)
Lead: Duralast Gold (42.9lbs), Champion (43lbs)
Lithium: PowerTex (16.5lbs), Antigravity (15.6lbs)

AGM's old tech these days. It's been around for decades at this point, and is well proven. You do need a different charger if you use AGM batteries. Aside from that, they pretty much just work.

Personally, if I were looking for a battery upgrade, I'd go with Lithium. That's what's in those "jump packs" you see people use, laptops, cell phones, etc. It's ultra-lightweight, doesn't lose charge over time, and many of the automotive applications have nifty built-in features such as "push a button when your battery is dead and start your car anyway". They're sure pricey though!

 

[RickBullotta]

Main benefits are that they are maintenance free, support deeper discharge (therefore more usable capacity), and work better in extreme temperatures.

 

[TarnishedCopper]

AGM stands for Absorbed Glass Mat. it is different than the lead plate lead acid batteries in chemistry and construction. Both types have their own place in useage.

 

[Eighthtry]

I would make sure your home and auto insurance are up to date. Pay attention to your personal property coverage. Make sure everyone knows how to get out of the house and where to meet in case of fire.

Now buy that lithium battery and park it outside.

 

[dafish]

IRL I've found AGM to be more buzzword that indicator of value. Or this: A cheap/poor AGM is a still a cheap poor battery. A great non-AGM is still a great battery. Jokes aside, I've been putting LION conversion batteries in my toys and I'm not going back to any lead acid, AGM or not. Is one available for an F-150? Dunno, but I would if it was.

 

[Gros Ventre]

AGM stands for Absorbed Glass Mat. it is different than the lead plate lead acid batteries in chemistry and construction. Both types have their own place in useage.

The chemistry is identical with flooded cell batteries. Specifically Pb-PbO2-sulfuric acid. They are designed to be lighter weight as the original design was for aircraft batteries... of course when you put one together for automotive use you can then make it heavier...

 

[DcnPat]

I would make sure your home and auto insurance are up to date. Pay attention to your personal property coverage. Make sure everyone knows how to get out of the house and where to meet in case of fire.

Now buy that lithium battery and park it outside.

Depends on the lithium chemistry. LiFePO4 is pretty much as safe as batteries get and in most cases are suitable as "drop in" replacements for lead-acid (if they have a built in BMS). The 4 cell version has a resting 100% charge voltage of 13.6V.

Lithium polymer or other Lithium-ion chemistries are the ones that like to burst into flames if you look at them cross-eyed. They also have higher terminal voltages so are less suitable to replace traditional 12v lead acid batteries.

 

[Polo08816]

AGM is just the "next step up" from old lead-acid batteries. They have less gassing/acid leakage, last longer, and resist cold temps better. They're not lighter. For example, consider the following three battery types, all size H7/Group 94R (Which is what the 2023 F-150 uses):

AGM: Optima Yellow-Top (60.5lbs), Odyssey (54.8lbs), Champion (54lbs)
Lead: Duralast Gold (42.9lbs), Champion (43lbs)
Lithium: PowerTex (16.5lbs), Antigravity (15.6lbs)

AGM's old tech these days. It's been around for decades at this point, and is well proven. You do need a different charger if you use AGM batteries. Aside from that, they pretty much just work.

Personally, if I were looking for a battery upgrade, I'd go with Lithium. That's what's in those "jump packs" you see people use, laptops, cell phones, etc. It's ultra-lightweight, doesn't lose charge over time, and many of the automotive applications have nifty built-in features such as "push a button when your battery is dead and start your car anyway". They're sure pricey though!

Are they interchangeable? I know they were not in the BMW F chassis (standard cars vs. M cars).

 

[Kanuck]

All I know is that mine sat for about 5 days without being used and is now on the charger. It started out at 26% charge when I first connected the charger. Looks like I may have to get a agm compatible maintainer and plug my truck in all the time. I am not impressed about having to do that. OEM battery in a 2.5 year old truck with 37,770 Kms.

 

[Snakebitten]

No doubt these computer module laden F150's act like a laptop that you just closed the lid on, rather than shut them down.
You go a few days without using it, open and the lid and ?

 

[Kanuck]

Only took about a hour to charge at 10 amps charge level. Oh Darn.... Have to drive it more... Such a downer....NOT...LOL

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