Because it is a reproduction battery.

 

Have you taken the battery out? That's the first thing I would have done. There is plenty of these battery dress up cases sold that fit a standard battery.

 

Where is the listing for this SV-24-F?

 

Thanks guys for the date code information, but still no answer to my question.

When I replace the Autolite I will be going to a AGM style battery, not looking at matching the Sta Ful look.

 

 

ND, does that SV24 get used in a Ford tractor or large truck? Something other then car/pickup.

Can you see water and plates when you open 2-5 caps? Like a std battery? If not, then likely it is an AGM and the packaging is larger then needed and thus they left the ends open. Just my thought on it.

 

Just got to look in the right book ND.

 

Freightrain -- Thanks for your reply. When I remove caps 2-3-4-5 I can not see any water or plates like a normal wet battery. There are round plastic inserts that are in each cell (2-3-4-5) just below the cap bottom. I am starting to believe that this is one of the Sta Ful AGM battery that use a Autolite Sta Ful case copy and do not use the two end cells. As I understand the company that was making them has went under and the quality of the battery was not so good.

matthewq4b --- Thank you for the printout of the Ford Truck Parts manual, section 106 that shows the Sta Ful SV-24-F (dry) and the SV-24-FW (wet) units listed. They both use the same Sta Ful Autolite case with 55 Amp & 66 Plate in raised letters on the case end. I think as Freightrain said that they only needed to use 4 cells to build the dry SV-24-F battery & they left the two end cells empty.

 

You battery is reproduction AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) battery, Conventional batteries like the original 24-F are a flooded lead acid battery. When these old style batteries are charged they out gassed some of the water in the electrolyte was converted to Oxygen and Hydrogen and was out gassed, eventually the level of the electrolyte dropped and would need to be topped off with distilled water.
In the supposed maintenance free (they really were not) or valve regulated lead acid battery, the hydrogen and oxygen produced in the cells is largely recombined back into water but the electrolyte level will over time diminish.

The SV-24-F is a dry battery meaning it was shipped dry with no electrolyte in it and would be filled at the dealership when sold. Dry batteries have an almost unlimited shelf life .. The SV-24-FW battery was a wet battery meaning it was pre filled with electrolyte before being shipped. That is the only difference.

AGM Batteries were developed in the 70's for the military, and did not see wide spread use till the 1980's In AGM batteries the electrolyte is held in glass mats, as opposed to freely flooding the plates like a flooded lead acid. The electrolyte aslo does not cook off during charging. The popular Optima batteries are a spiral wound AGM.
AGM batteries can have equivalent cranking amps in a smaller case compared to a flooded lead lead acid.
Your battery is an AGM in a reproduction Autolite case.
Good quality AGM batteries can last many years, I have one that has been in service for 14 years in a daily driver.
But good quality AGM batteries are not cheap look to pay $300 plus for a good quality AGM.
The advantage with AGM's is they can be mounted in any position but upside down and with no outgassing you get no induced corrosion on the battery terminals and they can be mounted in a sealed compartment without having to provide provisions for venting.

 

matthewq4b --- Thankyou for setting me straight on the dry & wet and when they were filled. I am sure my battery is a reproduction Autolite Sta Ful
case with AGM in the 2-3-4-5 cells and the 1 & 6 cells empty as they were not needed to build this battery. The battery tests 12.5 - 13.9 volts sitting and seems to hold a charge fine. I will continue to run it and keep an eye on it.

If I replace it I will go with an Optama Red Top AGM, real good battery that I can get for $225. I used this battery in both my drag race car and two in my F350 diesel crew cab.

 

Ya the Optima are good batteries. The spiral wound AGM Optimas give a good cost option over the flat plate AGM's, spiral cells have less material in them over a flat plate AGM giving them a cost advantage.
Optima batteries are made by Johnson Controls who also happens to be the supplier for Ford and have been for many years. They also produce more AGM's than anyone else on the planet. And yes my 14 year old AGM is a Johnson Controls built battery.

 

Thanks for the Optima battery information. I really did not know that they made two types of AGM and who made them, just new that they worked well for my application on my race car and crew cab.

 

Your question was answered in post #7.

 

JEFFFAFA --- Yes post 7 did think that I had a Sta Ful Aurolite AGM reproduction. I have used a lot of sealed AGM batterys in my race cars but I have never seen one with the 6 caps and open empty cells on each end. This is not how 99% of the AGM batteries are made. This one off type through a wrench into the deal. After seeing what barrery I may have, did some checking on the net and found that only one company made those Sta Ful Autolite AGM batteries and they went under. The word out there is that their battery with 1/3 less AGM material was a very poor battery overall.

As I stated before it works OK for now and when I replace it the new battery will be from Johnson Controls, more than likely a Optima AGM plate unit.

 

They did the empty ends to make a reproduction battery to be the same chassis size as a group 24 battery. You see, back in the day most cars got a group 24F battery. Some bigger cars and trucks got a group 27F. Which was longer and more powerful than a 24. When the little Pinto came out, it got a group 22.