1 agm battery vs 2 x lead acid whats the better buy?

[R1jake]

In my case I think I’m just going to get a Walmart flooded lead acid battery, the largest I can fit. Currently have group 65 hoping I can get a H8 in there. 94 ford e150 van 5.8L. Walmart doesn’t have any of their AGM in stock anyway. Except 1 and it’s a h6. Definitely smaller than mine.

 

[wrcsixeight]

How much height above the top of that group 65 do you have..?

Wally worlds group 29 is basically a group 31. ~13" long 6.5 wide and 9.5 to tops.of terminals. It's a dual.purpose/marine battery. A bit more tolerant of deeper discharges with lower cca and perhaps 5 to 10lbs heavier. Likely still more than enough cCa.

 

[R1jake]

How much height above the top of that group 65 do you have..?

Wally worlds group 29 is basically a group 31. ~13" long 6.5 wide and 9.5 to tops.of terminals. It's a dual.purpose/marine battery. A bit more tolerant of deeper discharges with lower cca and perhaps 5 to 10lbs heavier. Likely still more than enough cCa.

I have plenty of height, is this group 29 a starter/marine battery? I know they have regular marine and starter marine batteries. I’ll check them out.

 

[wing0]

Testing doesn't show AGM that much superior to lead acid. I'd just get Costco battery and call it a day.

 

[Jetronic]

In my opinion AGM is superior due to not leaking. I regularly see flooded batteries with corrosion coming out of the terminals and often has infested the surroundings. Never seen it with AGM batteries. Might not be important to everyone though.

I can't say I notice improved performance or durability with AGM

 

[OilUzer]

op,

i don't trust the expensive batteries and prefer buying 2 over 10 years period than buying an expensive (2x price) one. My regular cheap batteries seem to last good 5+ years but I change them before they die and when they show weakness so they may have more life. My old Tacoma battery (using old die-hard) lasted 9-10 years but I think cars were easier on battery back then i.e. not many fancy gadgets drawing 3-9 amps as soon as you open the door and turn the ignition switch on.

I recently bought EverStart Maxx 124R from Wal-Mart and it was same price (just under $100) as Costco maybe 50 cents more.

I have couple of cars using same 124R battery.
My previous battery (also124R) was from Costco but they had 42 months warranty a few years ago. Costco dropped their 42 months warranty to 36 months but Wal-Mart has a 60 months warranty (3 Yr + 2 Yr prorated). It's exact same battery (CCA, RC, etc.) so I dropped Costco this time just for the warranty reason.

 

[bonjo]

I am not sure if you can even buy large AGM batteries for cars over here.
Their use is mainly in smaller vehicles like bikes.
They can be mounted in any position, the internals are better cushioned from vibration and give better starting current.
In a car, I would not go for AGM purely on the basis of extra cost unless it is an OEM requirement.

I also suspect (from unfortunate experience!) regular flooded batteries are more resilient to being mistreated.