Battery replace/upgrade

Most batteries have a shelf life of 3 years at its storage charge.

 

Ok, that's you. Some people don't drive that far or that often so it takes more out of their battery. That was my point.

 

I don't know what others drive, I only know that the AGM in my rig is two years old, and still reads as new and fully charged, without voltage mods.

And yes, I do own a load tester.

 

I think the charge stuff is overblown too,, had an Odyssey AGM in my car for almost 12 years, the only time it ever went on a battery charger was the 2 times I deeply discharged it while replacing a door glass.

 

25 month old 2020 Tacoma w/70k miles experienced a battery death on Black Friday. Purchased the larger battery tray at the dealer and installed a Duralast 27F Platinum. Good to go.

 

That /\ is from 2013

 

What I did was post a picture showing an AGM battery manufacturer's label. And on that label are the manufacturer's requirements for properly charging their AGM battery. That manufacturer's label is in stark contrast to your belief that you do not need higher voltage than a Taco normally produces to charge an AGM battery. For some strange reason, you appear to be in denial on what is listed on that AGM battery manufacturer's label for us to see. Well, for most of us to see anyway. Some other types of vehicles do charge at a higher voltage than Toyotas, up to 14.7V from what I have read. I own 2 Tacos and have worked on others. None of them charge at more than approx. 14.0V revved which is well short of the "14.4-14.8V MAXIMUM" requirement stated on the Northstar X2 Power AGM battery label. I mistakenly thought that bringing my charging voltage up to 14.4-14.5V would be optimum for use with a Northstar AGM battery. But Northstar has communicated to the OP of the thread I linked that they view 14.6-14.7V as the optimum charging voltage. This high charging voltage is exactly what you need for quick battery recovery time when using high draw electrical accessories such as a winch. And both my Tacos 4x4s have large, battery killing Warn and Smittybilt winches on the front. I off-road for 150+ days a year in my Tacos. Northstar's AGM battery label disproves your belief that the normal charging voltage on a Taco is sufficient for their AGM battery. Yet you are still trying to ride your "dead horse" belief even after concrete data has been published in the thread I linked. Jeez! Best of luck with that.

 

I stayed with the stock size but upgraded to an X2Power (Northstar) AGM battery when my stock battery failed over 4 years ago. I do put in on a battery tender every few weeks to top it off, but definitely a long lasting battery

 

Unless you have additional requirements, there really is no upgrading to your battery. It starts your truck. That is it's job. An AGM isn't going to start your truck any faster or better than the standard battery that is in your truck from the factory.

 

That 24F Northstar is a powerhouse for a 24F size battery. It weighs in at 57lbs which is 13 lbs heavier than the 44 lb EverStart Platinum 24F AGM. That is a significant difference in weight. Some very experienced off-road guys believe that the heavier a battery is, the better chance it will give good service starting their 4x4 & powering the winch. I am inclined to agree with them. And using a battery tender is a great way to help an AGM battery work better/longer. At present, I have several AGMs. The yellow top deep cycle AGMs get topped off regularly. One yellow top is 5 years old and the other is 8 years old. Without a battery tender, I seriously doubt they would have lasted this long. The newest AGM battery I have, an EverStart Platinum 24F AGM battery from Wally World, had only 12.27 volts in the battery off the shelf. It took almost a full day on the AGM charger to bring it up to its fully charged level. So be advised that if you buy a battery from Wally World, there is a very real possibility that it may need quite a bit of charging even before it is installed. Mine did.

 

Yes, it is a powerhouse battery for sure. No complaints. And for those reading, it's not like the AGM needs constant charging or anything. Just an intermittent top-off every now and then to extend the life. Your alternator will charge the AGM just fine with plenty of starting power whether you use a tender or not, but it'll likely have a much longer life if you do. Some have also used tunes such as OVtune to up the charging voltage to fully charge the AGMs. I'm just using the Battery Tender

 

What’s most of you using for battery tenders ?

 

Just take a pic of it & make a ‘Receipts’ photo album in your phone camera roll or download the Genius Scan app, which will allow you to convert the photo to a .pdf

 

Just put a Diehard Platinum in my truck. $199.99

 

I use a NOCO Genius 1 which was on sale for only $20 delivered just days ago. It has an AGM mode and can even help restore lost performance due to sulphation, etc. NOCO - 1-Amp Smart Battery Charger - GENIUS1

 

I got the Genius 2 and have been using it for over a year ago at this point thanks to covid and, well, it works as advertised. So if heat and load make it last 3 years, having it garaged most of the week and plugged in should make mine last at least 6

 

It's on for majority of the week. I'd plug it in if you know you won't be running out most of the week. I know this is probably not necessary since I do drive it at least a few times/week but this definitely won't hurt. If anything, maybe it'll help in the long run by desulfating.

 

Just coming out of the woods after 3 weeks off-roading every day. Genius 1 is hooked up now. It will not over-charge the battery so will stay on the battery until I go hunting again in a few days. And as stated above, NOCO chargers will desulfate older batteries. The Genius 1 brought back an 8-year-old Optima yellow top that was apparently badly sulphated.

 

This is the way.

 

Depends. Altering the charging voltage will void the extended warranty I opted for b/c of all the electronics installed in my 2020 TRD. So I will just carry a spare yellow top AGM battery for the more serious off-road adventures.