My opinion is,I totally disagree with jdemaris opinion of the spiral cell AGM battery in a engine starting application,which is what this thread is about. An AGM battery that has been boiled to death in a poorly or non regulated solar system is not the fault of the battery,so I can understand the refusal of warrenty. In a starting application with a properly regulated charging system,they will about last for the life of the machine. My own experience with the Optima spiral AGM battery in a pickup that has seen 15 years of farm use with not only the thousands of normal starts in temps from 100 above to 40 below,but being used to boost start very large diesel engines that pull excessive amps from the battery. Add to that the fact that it has seen an accessory left on and totally discharged the battery a half dozen times or more through the years with nothing more than a jump start and let the alternator hammer a 60 amp charge back into the poor dead thing. Inspite of this kind of abuse,the battery shows no loss of starting capacity and never a corroded cable or battery box. Both the Optima ans the Exide Orbital are a sealed battery so they produce no corrosive fumes or lose any water unless you overcharge them. If your getting them hot enough to open the burp valves,you have a serious overcharge problem,either in the machines charging system or some dummy who puts a 60 amp fast charger on the poor thing and walks away for two hours. Of the dozen or so spiral cell AGM batteries I have,not one has failed. You will also find that because of the materials and design of the spiral cell battery,it will out cold crank a flooded cell battery of several hundred CCA higher spec. Yes,they cost twice as much as a cheap flooded cell battery,but they will outlast it 4-10 times and will not corrode the cables and battery box of your fully restored collector car/pickup/tractor. They also have a very slow self discharge rate ,and will be ready to start the machine after many months of non use,plus the faster recovery rate compared to a flooded cell battery. They are the install it and forget it battery everyone dreams about.
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