Choosing Value over Price, Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) Batteries

One of my favorite quotes of all time is "Price is what you pay, value is what you get." - Warren Buffet.  While this quote can be applied to many things, let's look at how it directly applies to your battery purchase and what your thought process should be going in to that purchase.

In our last article, Comparing Apples to Apples, Cold Cranking Amps, Marine Cranking Amps and Reserve Capacity you learned that while batteries can look identical they can have very different performance ratings.  Some things you should ask yourself when deciding if AGM is right for you are:

1. How long am I keeping this car, boat, etc?
2. Does the application I am putting the battery in sit unused for extended periods of time?
3. Is my battery in a location that makes maintenance impossible?
4. Do I have accessories that put a higher than normal load on my battery?

If you are planning on keeping your vehicle, boat, RV, etc. for longer than two years you should be considering an AGM battery.  The AGM battery is more vibration resistant, requires zero maintenance, increased CCA, increased reserve capacity, longer warranty period and has a significantly increased life expectancy over its wet cell cousin.

Flooded Wet Cell Battery

AGM Battery

If you are looking for the best value, I would encourage you to take a look at AGM batteries that would fit your application.  AGM simply stands for "Absorbed Glass Mat" meaning that instead of having free flowing electrolyte as you would find in a normal wet cell (flooded) battery, the AGM battery uses a fiberglass mat separator that absorbs the electrolyte which in turn means more electrolyte can be added to the same physical size battery.  All of this value does come at a price that is roughly two to three times that of the standard flooded battery.  There are different types of AGM batteries depending on your application and budget.  Treasure Coast Battery & Alternator can walk you through the different options and help you decide which battery would give you the best value.  When it comes to batteries no quote could ever be more accurate, "Price is what you pay, value is what you get."

David Jouppi - Manager
Treasure Coast Battery & Alternator