I just ordered a nice Exide NorthStar AGM battery for my truck. I'm on my 3rd or 4th battery because of my radio equipment, and I'm done buying cheap Walmart batteries and having cells go bad.

Does anyone have any experience with Glass Mat batteries?

I just shelled out a ton of money on it... but it sure beats replacing my truck's battery every year.

 

sounds like you need a bigger heavy duty alternator

 

Quite a few from the ZG-1000 group use them ( heated gear and aux lamps with an under sized alternator on the bike ) with good results.

Just watch that your charger is able to be used on a AGM.

My BatteryMINDer 12248 charger has separate selections for AGM, Flooded or Gel battery types.

 

I've got a Microprocessor controlled Schumacher 100 amp, with the Standard, AGM, and Gel types.

I love my charger... it has so many safetys on it and has never once burnt up a battery.

 

Got my new battery! Wow, what a difference! It holds a perfect charge and even under load, it keeps my voltages pretty linear. Much better and I highly recommend this battery.

 

Where did you order it from ?

I finally need to replace the factory battery in my truck, It is going to start acting hinky here soon.
- Piece of crap... One would think it would last longer than 6 years / 70K miles..

Are there different grp 65 options ( similar to Motorcraft ) or is it a single part number that you ordered ?

 

Yer lucky.....6 years is pretty good....in my 2006 f150 it lasted 2 years 10 months.....in the 2010 sport trac 3 years 1 month...

 

Its a Group 65 battery. I ordered mine locally from a family owned battery shop. It came drop shipped from Exide. My battery is only about 1 week old according to the date stamp, which you cannot get no fresher than that. Lol

It is crafted with more precision and it looks rugged. But for the price... I sure hope so.

 

Good luck with the Excide.. They're the ones that bought GNB (makers of one of the best batteries ever made) and promptly flushed the quality and started producing CR*P, in the same plant. GNB made Motorcraft batteries for as long as I can remember, hence the reason they held up so well. Ford departed that relationship and went to Johnson Controls, so they may have ended up slightly better than Excide, maybe not. JC makes the largest share of borderline junk batteries now. Somtime in '03 was the end of a truly top quality battery. RIP GNB, but shame on you for abandoning us.
My year old Costco battery (875 CCA) is already sliding down the JC slippery slope and the OEM JC made battery in my wife's '11 camry is already headed in that direction. I load test my batteries every 2-3 months, that's how I know.
We used Excide for a while when I worked in a large Gov. trans. agency but dumped them because of too many problems with them.