I'll need a newer battery before the summer hiking season and I want to get a good AGM battery. What is the best brand/model to buy? I don't have a winch but plan to get a basic one later towards end of the year (or next year). I have a portable air compressor for my air needs.
What's the best AGM battery to buy?
- Thread starter psrivats
- Start date
I went with a Napa Legend AGM out of neccessity. My 5 year old lead/acid battery crapped out, and needed one asap. Sorry, this doesnt help much. Optima doesn't seem to get much love these days, so i'd say steer clear from them.
I have been running a SuperStart AGM battery from Oriellys for the last 5 years. Its been in weather down to -10F and up to 100F with a winch wired directly to it. Its done everything I have asked of it. IIRC it was $120. 700 CCA and has side terminals as well as the regular post terminals.
ZEN357
TJ Enthusiast
I have an Optima redtop I bought 6-7 years ago shortly after I bought my Jeep. The only trouble I've had was a few months ago when it sat a few weeks in the cold weather without being driven and wouldn't start. A couple hours on the charger and a short drive and it's been fine since.
Anyone have any experiance with the XS Power brand?
XS Power D3400 XS Series 12V 3,300 Amp AGM High Output Battery
DESCRIPTION
12V BCI Group 34 AGM Battery, Max Amps 3,300A, CA: 1000 Ah: 65, 2500W / 4000W
Weight Lbs. – 49.4
Weight Kgs. – 22.41
Length – 10.24 in
Height – 7.2 in
Width – 6.75 in
MAX Amps – 3300
CA – 1000A
RC – 135min.
Ah – 65
XS Power D3400 XS Series 12V 3,300 Amp AGM High Output Battery
DESCRIPTION
12V BCI Group 34 AGM Battery, Max Amps 3,300A, CA: 1000 Ah: 65, 2500W / 4000W
Weight Lbs. – 49.4
Weight Kgs. – 22.41
Length – 10.24 in
Height – 7.2 in
Width – 6.75 in
MAX Amps – 3300
CA – 1000A
RC – 135min.
Ah – 65
"best" is relative to people's experiences with them, there is yet to be a brand I haven't heard bad things about. That being said Northstar, Odyssey and Optima are the most popular. Whichever has the best warranty is the one I'd choose.
Optima only used to be a good choice, they are no longer the battery they used to be. Optima was purchased by Johnson Controls who moved Optima's entire manufacturing line down to Mexico which is when Optima's quality tanked. I had three Optima batteries in a row fail prematurely in my previous Jeep. Never again will I run an Optima.
XS Power is relatively popular in the car audio world. It's on par with other AGM batteries.
That was what I gathered from reviews and stuff just wondering how it would hold up to the Jeep world?
My last Optima is TOAST...…..
I was hoping it was good so I could put it in my kids TJ. I've had it on the fancy Optima charger for a week and it is dead even when the charger says it is good.
I agree with avoiding Optima.That was what I gathered from reviews and stuff just wondering how it would hold up to the Jeep world?
My last Optima is TOAST...…..
XS power should work alright in the Jeep. I'm not sure too many people subject them to heavy impacts like we do in the Jeeps, but car audio enthusiasts routinely use them in 150 dB + setups which vibrate the heck out of anything strapped to the car.
I use the Northstar, but the XS power should do pretty well as well. Northstar makes a lot of the house brand AGMs, so there are a lot more of them out there than people realize.
Be sure to get a Group 24 instead of a group 34 for the extra capacity. No modifications are required for it to fit
The numbers for the XS Power is what got me looking at them. 3,000+ amps is nice. That added power when winching would be great if they hold the power which by their spec's it should. The NorthStar or Odyssey at 1,500 amps so that is a lot more power.
Yeah, they're designed to be able to provide a lot of power all at once. They're used in SPL competitions where 20,000 watts is pumped into a subwoofer for a fraction of a second.
If you really want to winch with power, look into high output alternators. There are three brands I recommend: Singer, DC Power Inc, and Mechman. I recommend Singer and DC Power over Mechman, but any of them will provide a good alt. They make alternators up to 370 amps for our Jeeps.
A battery under load is only going to provide around 12 volts. An alternator under load provides 14.4 volts unless overloaded. (High output alternators can also be adjusted as high as 18 volts, but this can be unsafe.) So that means that a HO alternator can fully power the winch at a significantly higher voltage, meaning faster loaded line speed, a cooler motor, and higher stall torque.
The HO alts are designed for maximum idle amperage. When the stock alt probably only puts out 40-60 amps at idle, a 270 amp HO alt will do 200+ continuously. And unlike a battery, it doesn't run out of juice until you run out of gas.
I have a 170 amp alternator already as part of my onboard welder. I just know on some of the really long winch hills here in the PNW it is enough to make my volt gauge drop to about 9V and the check gauges lite to come on. And I am also running dual batteries to try and help. If the XS batt's aren't going to offer the power for long then I'll just go with the Odyssey.
In addition, focus on the amp-hours a battery provides as well as the cranking amps. The amp-hours indicate how long a battery will last under loads. A battery designed for faster discharge like the XS may not last as long under load as the Northstar or Oddysey.