AGM battery upgrade

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abuck99 said:
Are you running fridge or other high demand 12v equipment? If its just starting and you want the reliability of AGM- there are lower cost options that will get the job done.
Click to expand...
4Down the road a fridge is likely but for now just a light bar, daily driver some accessories. What would you recommend other than the X2 27F?
 
cmw said:
I have been looking at a battery upgrade and it seems hard to beat a group 49:
100 Ah
1105 cranking amps / 900 CCA
185 min reserve capacity
$139
Click to expand...

yup hard to beat and plug and play, got mine at sams club Duracell group 49 agm existing clamps and base fit ok.

View media item 83118
 
NolaNomad said:
4Down the road a fridge is likely but for now just a light bar, daily driver some accessories. What would you recommend other than the X2 27F?
Click to expand...
These are not in the same Ah category as the X2/Northstar but they are reliable budget friendly AGM options if that is a consideration.

Champion H6,or H8 (70Ah) (H6 similar size as 27F H8 is longer) at Pepboys: $199-25% = $149
Autocraft AGM H6,7 or 8 (70Ah) at Advance Auto $199 - 15%= $169 ( you can unlock a 25% discount by entering your email.
Duralast Platinum @ Advance Auto H6,7 or 8 are all $199 -15%= $169

I believe all these autoparts store private label AGM options are made by the same supplier: Johnson Controls- (but I could be mistaken)

With any AGM- you'll want to float charge your battery occasionally as the cruisers charging system won't fully charge it (unless your doing a lot of daily highway driving).
 
I have had good results with the AGM H7 starting battery and H5 house battery from Advance Auto. I chose the H7 battery instead of the H8 because it is not quite as long and gave me a little more room for winch and dual battery cables. The H series batteries are shorter than the stock Group 24/27F and I needed a spacer to raise it up to utilize the factory battery tie down. I used a generic group 34 plastic spacer.
 
Keep in mind, the Group 31M is designated as a Marine battery and the Group 49 is generally an Automotive battery. Internally, they might be the same internally but the difference is often in the warranty.... Marine batteries generally have a much shorter warranty period.

Here's an interesting newcomer... Antigravity group 49 LifePO4 with built-in remote jump starting...

 
James Bentley said:
sorry, should have noted the biggest thing I notice is during cranking (no hesitation like the 27 I had in it) and although Reserve Capacity states 150...it seems like more. I do keep a Noco GB40 as a Jump Pack...just in case (only running one battery). @geanes may have some feedback for his experience(s).
Click to expand...
NolaNomad said:
Hey I ordered a GB40 as well, will it charge a AGM battery properly?
Click to expand...
I bought two of the topvision based on PF's testing over the GB40
 
abuck99 said:
These are not in the same Ah category as the X2/Northstar but they are reliable budget friendly AGM options if that is a consideration.

Champion H6,or H8 (70Ah) (H6 similar size as 27F H8 is longer) at Pepboys: $199-25% = $149
Autocraft AGM H6,7 or 8 (70Ah) at Advance Auto $199 - 15%= $169 ( you can unlock a 25% discount by entering your email.
Duralast Platinum @ Advance Auto H6,7 or 8 are all $199 -15%= $169

I believe all these autoparts store private label AGM options are made by the same supplier: Johnson Controls- (but I could be mistaken)

With any AGM- you'll want to float charge your battery occasionally as the cruisers charging system won't fully charge it (unless your doing a lot of daily highway driving).
Click to expand...

I was going to mention this earlier, but decided not to. Now it seems more relevant, so here we go.

I like the "normal" size starting battery with a separate house battery. On my 99 I've had the group 31 basically since I bought hte truck. It's awesome and it's saved my butt a few times when my alternators (yes, multiple) died during roadtrips a long ways from home. However, it's the only battery, I was always afraid of running it out and stranding myself.

Fast forward to now with my 06 and I have a normal starting battery paired with a wimpy little 36AH AGM connected via solar and a DC-DC charger. I much prefer the 06 setup with the smaller separate batteries. You can run that house battery 100% dead without a worry because your starter is safe and isolated. I'd go with a normal battery now and make the huge upgrade to a dual setup with a proper charger down the road.
 
Im sure OP is totally conflicted now 🤪
 
suprarx7nut said:
I was going to mention this earlier, but decided not to. Now it seems more relevant, so here we go.

I like the "normal" size starting battery with a separate house battery. On my 99 I've had the group 31 basically since I bought hte truck. It's awesome and it's saved my butt a few times when my alternators (yes, multiple) died during roadtrips a long ways from home. However, it's the only battery, I was always afraid of running it out and stranding myself.

Fast forward to now with my 06 and I have a normal starting battery paired with a wimpy little 36AH AGM connected via solar and a DC-DC charger. I much prefer the 06 setup with the smaller separate batteries. You can run that house battery 100% dead without a worry because your starter is safe and isolated. I'd go with a normal battery now and make the huge upgrade to a dual setup with a proper charger down the road.
Click to expand...
Totally valid and a great idea. I'm leaving for Colorado in a week so I'm looking for a minimalist solution.
Thinking the Duracell platinum ultra AGM Group 49) Is the winner.
 
Last edited:
hoser said:
Keep in mind, the Group 31M is designated as a Marine battery and the Group 49 is generally an Automotive battery. Internally, they might be the same internally but the difference is often in the warranty.... Marine batteries generally have a much shorter warranty period.

Here's an interesting newcomer... Antigravity group 49 LifePO4 with built-in remote jump starting...

Click to expand...

Hey that's cool, self jumping! But at $1K, I'm going to chill out on that one, sick idea tho.
 
suprarx7nut said:
For me the RC rating is all that matters. Group 31 is way out in front, as I recall. The Slee tray is top notch, if you need any extra convincing to consider it.

I'd get the battery you want and upgrade the tray if needed. A good battery of any variety isn't cheap, but it's a great investment. Do it once, do it right, ya know?

I'd you go agm, have an agm charger on your shopping list and/or do the alt sending diode mod to make sure that beast actually gets the charge it needs.

Fwiw, my group 31 agm die hard platinum is on year... 8 (I think) and still going strong. It's been a hell of a battery.
Click to expand...
My search-fu is weak today. Would you possibly please point towards a thread on the diode upgrade? I know I've seen it, but I can't seem to find it now.
 
You can try to do the ALT-S 7.5A diode upgrade yourself; I read up on it somewhere here on mud but it looks fiddly and not a clean as the ready made option. I ordered +.5v MK3 resettable diode-fuse directly from HBKElectric in Australia. At that time with the exchange being so good in favor of the US$ it worked out to be like $85 shipped for two. Mind you that was 2 months ago still waiting..... but it has just landed in the US- (covid has delayed international post from AU something awful).

7.5A MK3 Mini Blade (Electronic fuse version) | HKB Electronics

The Alternator Voltage Booster was the first of its type on the market and is the only unit available that was has been purpose built for alternator voltage boosting.
www.hkbelect.com
 
abuck99 said:
These are not in the same Ah category as the X2/Northstar but they are reliable budget friendly AGM options if that is a consideration.

Champion H6,or H8 (70Ah) (H6 similar size as 27F H8 is longer) at Pepboys: $199-25% = $149
Autocraft AGM H6,7 or 8 (70Ah) at Advance Auto $199 - 15%= $169 ( you can unlock a 25% discount by entering your email.
Duralast Platinum @ Advance Auto H6,7 or 8 are all $199 -15%= $169

I believe all these autoparts store private label AGM options are made by the same supplier: Johnson Controls- (but I could be mistaken)

With any AGM- you'll want to float charge your battery occasionally as the cruisers charging system won't fully charge it (unless your doing a lot of daily highway driving).
Click to expand...


Pepboys is also offering additional $40 Pepboys rebate for AGM, and $20 rebate for regular battery. The link is here:


The prices will come down to around 110 for AGM and 85 for regular.
 
Keep it Simple - H-7 AGM fits great, and has more than adequate starting /reserve power

$199 at Advance Auto ( and can usually find 25% off online) 3 year full replacement, locations just about everywhere...

IMG_1462.JPG


I've had this one in for a couple years, no issues, no special charger or alternator changes.... Also run two of them in my diesel, starts great winter and summer.
 
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