AGM battery upgrade changes

[jhnmdahl]

John Weiss asked:
I have a 2001Cobalt 360 and want to replace the batteries with AGM's, do I need to replace the battery charger or adjust the setting's to avoid overcharging to prevent the loss of Hydrogen and Oxygen which can limit the batteries life cycle? Is charging equalization something that also needs considered? Thank you

[jhnmdahl]

John, you'll likely want to change to a "smart" charger for the AGM batter (or batteries) - something like https://www.westmarine.com/buy/balmar-- ... ecordNum=2

And don't forget to keep it topped up when it's parked.

[Big Block Power]

John are you changing names just to raise your post count

[distinguishedmotors]

your '01 likely came with a analog battery charger, may want to look into the owners manual and see if it has a dipswitch on the back of the charger to change the battery chemistry from lead acid to AGM. my 06 343 came with a charger like that. may also wanna consider a new digital charger too, temperature compensation is a very good thing to have.

remember that you need a minimum of 10% of the total amp hour capacity of all banks. So if you have two 200 a/hr batteries, you need a minimum of 4 amp charger. but AGM charge acceptance rates are FAR higher than lead acid batteries, so that'd be the bare minimum. i'd recommend something a 20, 30 or 40 amp charger.