LiFePO4, AGM, lithium ion?

sounds like just you

 

Huh?

 

Wally World Everstart 24F AGM and an off grid engineering battery strap. Noco Genius to keep it topped off. Plenty of juice for an aftermarket stereo system, lights and several other accessories. 710CCA, 4 year free replacement warranty and only about $170. You won't find another AGM at that price.

 

So, for those using chargers to tend their AGM batteries; do you hook it up every time you park it? Or, do you just hook it up periodically, like once a week/month/etc. Or, anytime it's going to sit for a few days?

I'm curious if I can get by with just hooking mine up at the end of the weekend. I usually only drive it Friday - Sunday and it mostly sits the rest of the week.

 

google "agm battery problems"

 

About once a month if I remember.

 

I think the consensus is once a month overnight.

Ideally anytime it sits closer to 12.0v, heck 12.2v

I've installed many

$50 Noco Genius2 , 2A Smart Car Battery Charger, 6V and 12V Automotive Charger, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, Float Charger and Desulfator for Motorcycle, ATV, Lithium and Deep Cycle Batteries

Noco Genius2's. One is on a friends car that is plugged in nearly 6 days a week haha.

 

Nah, I don't think I will.

Maybe read a few more posts before replying to a comment from the first page.

 

Excellent! Thank you!

This is what I was hoping for. Mine was at 12.1 this morning. So, I was probably on my way to proving myself wrong based on my comments last night. I probably should have been asking questions instead of arguing.

Anywho, I'll be picking up a charger ASAP and try to take better care of it.

 

Even though I was wrong on the AGM battery/stock charging system debate, I maintain my position regarding pineapple on pizza.

 

With your driving schedule that would be perfect. The maintainer would have the whole work week to do its thing for you. I have a couple of the NOCO Genius 1 units, they are almost always connected to something year round, they have worked without issue for me.

 

12.1 is really low for a fully charged battery. It might be worth putting the battery on a charger that has a recondition mode.

This is a really high quality charger that many shops use... Sometimes with some big tool names covering up the Clore label

$103 Clore Automotive PL2320 20-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V and 12V Battery Charger, Battery Maintainer, and Stable Power Supply with Temperature Compensation

Amazon.com: Clore Automotive PL2320 20-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V and 12V Battery Charger, Battery Maintainer, and Stable Power Supply with Temperature Compensation : Automotive

You could also use a carbon pile to check the health of the battery. Checking the battery is a good practice anyways every fall to make sure the battery is good going into the winter.

$101 Clore Automotive Solar 1874 500 Amp Carbon Pile Battery Load Tester, Black

Amazon.com: Clore Automotive Solar 1874 500 Amp Carbon Pile Battery Load Tester : Everything Else

 

Also, whichever charger you get make sure it has temperature compensation. The charge voltage varies with temperature, so it's important that the charger adjusts the termination voltage when the temperature drops. The Solar (Clore is Solar's parent company) maintainers I linked to earlier have temp compensation. I don't know if the NOCO do.

 

Noco Genius 10 here. Super fast recharge. I prefer it over my old Ctek.

 

I appreciate all of the advice!

I'm wondering if It was low due to a few short trips this weekend and the cold weather (negative temps Friday all day). I drove it about 1.5 hours twice today, so I'm thinking I'll check it again tomorrow morning to see if it's any better.

Either way, I'll be getting a charger. I'm driving it 1400 miles later this week, so I need to make sure everything is in good shape.

 

Anytime. It's what we are all here for... Well that and the Friday dumpster fires

Short trips and cold weather certainly can cause low voltage. Resting voltage is a pretty crappy way to test lead acid battery health though.

The best way to test a starting battery's health is to get an adjustable carbon pile like I linked above. Let battery rest for an hour after charging, then load to 50% of it's CCA for 15 seconds and read the voltage under load. Then compare the load voltage to the chart on the tester to determine the health of the battery.

 

Last winter, the folks at the auto parts store hooked up a tester that read the voltage while I started it, which seemed better than just reading the voltage at rest.

It looks like the charger you linked wouldn't get here in time, so I might just have it delivered to the place I'm heading to.

I'm glad I ran across this thread!

 

Checking voltage sag when starting is a good quick and dirty check for a bad battery. It won't have the accuracy of a carbon pile, and only works if you have a fast meter, but will usually tell you if it's good enough to trust to start the vehicle!

Napa used to sell that Clore charger. I don't know if they still do though. Edit. Looks like that still have it. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/SORPL2320