12 Volt Battery Replacement

[JWR]

Awwright.... 19 posts and some more than 2 years old I may as well do my dump on battery opinions. This is limited to 12v, lead-acid, non-marine, non-deep discharge applications (i.e. cars, trucks and tractors.)
1) If it fits it will work. Measure.
2) You do care in many cases which side or corner of the battery has the positive and negative posts. Cable lengths, etc. 24F and 24C batts were once "Ford and Chevy" and the only difference was the terminal placement/orientation.
3) Obviously the terminal type matters -- needs to match your cables.
4) The main things that matter on battery capacity are Amp Hrs and Cold Cranking amps. Bigger is better. Handy comparison is your old battery or the mfr suggested one. None are gospel.
5) Nearly all "store batteries" now are remanufactured. Rare few are really 100% new -- I know of NONE. The "core charge" you get back for turning in your old battery is not a casual accident. The lead and other things WILL get reused.
6) Some new batteries in brand new vehicles are APPARENTLY really new. I have had 2 Ford Motorcraft batteries last more than 7 years and I suspicion they were "really new." One in an F-250 pickup lasted 10 years and I got rid of it for fear it would strand me that next winter.
7) Battery guarantees are a pure joke. Not worth reading or listening to. The only phrase that is worth anything in a battery guarantee is "full replacement" period when there is no prorata BS.
8) My theory is that batteries predominantly "wear out" based on charge/discharge cycles not on years or miles or hours. Largely crud accumulating in the battery case around the plates.
9) I recommend the biggest one that fits the spot you have to put it, provided that extra size shows in terms of CCA and AH. A battery with more lead and more acid has more capacity, usually. Larger tractors tend to have some very large batteries and very hard to find ones. Read that "money." They will cost you way more than car batteries not only because they are large but because far fewer of them are made. Some are "made better" in terms of shock and vibration resistance, etc. which is very hard to prove.
10) All of us no longer teenagers have formed opinions over the decades and favor certain brands. Sometimes justified, sometimes not.

 

[mjym]

my bx is a 2005 with 600hr and still have the same battery but i put a slow charger every couple mouth

 

[Garandman]

A Odyssey AGM battery will be my choice when it comes time to replace my battery. Good for all of the stated reasons, shock, vibration, heat, cold etc. AGMs are just much better batteries for vehicles of all types, tractors included. If it's good enough for an A1 Abrams tank, it's good enough for my stuff.

The Odyssey AGM (owned by EnerSys) is the best.

Sears Diehard Platinums are Odyssey AGM and you can often get 10-20% off in summer.

Optima AGM (Owned by Johnson Controls) are lighter but don't seem to hold up as well. Good in my WRX.

 

[jeff9366]

I am a believer in coating new battery terminals and connections with specialized N0-OX-ID battery grease. I have fooled with a lot of greases. NO-OX-ID is distinct. Once and done.....at least for six years and counting.

LINK: Google: NO-OX-ID

 

[TomSeller]

Gents,

I have a 2012 Kubota B3200 series tractor with FEL. The original battery that came with my tractor is not holding a charge and is only 2 years old. The original Kubota battery has a 1 year warranty? There is also no name on the battery, just a product number 55B24LS (51R-430). I am looking for a recommendation on a replacement battery other than Kubota. Your assistance and expertise is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Tobyone

I would worry about a slow drain. 2 years is not much. Did you check into that?

 

[Bronco82]

Kind of entertaining. My wife's Hybrid Nissan Pathfinder's battery took a dump on us during the last bitter cold snap we had. Unfortunately because it's a hybrid, the battery part number wasn't listed when I was attempting to find a replacement based on vehicle make/model. With a family trip coming up, and no more stores in town to try, I popped my Kubota's hood. Low and behold was the same size battery as under the hood of her Pathfinder. Well, out of the Kubota and into the Pathfinder, and we made our family vacation in the Pathfinder with my tractor battery.
Now that time permits, taking the Pathfinder's old battery around to match it up size wise and then put the Kubota's battery back in.

Gotta love it when a last ditch effort pulls through!

 

[Jay4200]

I dragged my dead battery (L4200) down to Sam's Club and matched the size and lug locations just this past fall - I've been running the same battery since 2006 when I got the tractor, so it was 12-13 years old at least. I forget the group size I got, but I picked the highest cranking current battery that would fit - over 1000 cranking amps.

 

[mikester]

Costco had some good pricing on car batteries but the top posts were all reversed for my tractor and my leads would be too tight to make a different battery fit.

I accidentally killed my 2 year old OEM Kubota battery this fall by leaving the ignition switch in the on position for a week and the cab light was on. I wasn't too impressed when I discovered that the OEM Kubota batteries only had 1 year warranties.

When I shopped around I found that I was going to spend 2 to 3 times more for a non Kubota battery with similar CCA and the other warranties were only 24-60 months. I ended up getting the OEM Kubota battery because it was the cheapest, was a drop in fit, and my lasted one only died after 2 years because of my brain fart moment... I decided to stick with the Kubota. I figured the Kubota batteries can't be too bad considering my 7 year old zero turn is still running on it's original 1 year warranty OEM Kubota battery...

 

[rScotty]

SNIP........ ended up getting the OEM Kubota battery because it was the cheapest, was a drop in fit, and my lasted one only died after 2 years because of my brain fart moment... I decided to stick with the Kubota. I figured the Kubota batteries can't be too bad considering my 7 year old zero turn is still running on it's original 1 year warranty OEM Kubota battery...

I hadn't though of that, I may do the same when the time comes. The battery in our 2007 M59 is the original & seems as strong as ever. Pretty good batteries.
rScotty

 

[alexinPA]

This was interesting, but... Would anybody care to actually give the brand and type of battery 55B24L(s)-MF replacement you use?

 

[rScotty]

This was interesting, but... Would anybody care to actually give the brand and type of battery 55B24L(s)-MF replacement you use?

I think that the reason we don't give a specific battery part number is because there are so many, they are somewhat interchangeable, and the specifications for batteries have changed over the years. But the common batteries are all lead & sulphuric acid types. So the variation is in physical size and electrical capacity. As long as the battery is big enough to crank the tractor in cold weather, everything else about the electricals of the battery DO NOT MATTER.

There is no way to avoid looking at battery specs. I wish there were. If you will put the number of the battery you have now and how you like it then I'm sure someone will be kind enough to make up a few recommendations.

What matters is:
1. physically does it fit? The battery "group designation" gives a rough place to start with dimensions. Be sure to include height.
2. Configuration of terminals - get the same configuration so that your existing battery cables & terminals will fit.
3. Electrical: Get at least the same Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) as original; more is always better. CCA in a lead acid battery is basically how much lead has been used for the plates. Although some plate configurations are more energy dense than others - and more expensive to manufacture - the difference is not large. Generally the more CCA the longer the battery will crank before going dead. And the more it weighs.
4. Your tractor can use and charge either a wet cell or AGM type battery and you will never know a difference.

5. Most of us "battery guys" have some sort of science background and more or less agree on these points.
And we have all been leaning heavily toward AGM or "ventless" type batteries in our vehicles over the traditional "wet cells" type that have the caps on the top.

In batteries you pretty much get what you pay for. Good AGMs cost twice what wet cell types do, and last about twice as long. And AGMs don't corrode the terminals.

Good Luck,
rScotty

 

[bdhsfz6]

I'm still amazed that the OP, back in 2014, only got 2 years out of a Kubota battery. Mine have always lasted a minimum of 7 and some as many as 10.

 

[rScotty]

I'm still amazed that the OP, back in 2014, only got 2 years out of a Kubota battery. Mine have always lasted a minimum of 7 and some as many as 10.

Mine too. They do last....but unfortunately they are vented wet cell types. Add the vibration of a tractor and the whole area around the battery suffers from fume and acid corrosion. Not just the terminals, but I actually had the negative wire corrode away inside the insulation for a couple of inches. I've cleaned them several times, replaced both terminals, and re-paint coated the box

I'll bet you his battery was fine and the problem was terminal/cable corrosion.

Finally replaced mine this last year (14 years!) and went to a group 24 sealed AGM type. I'm done with cheap wet cell batteries. No more corrosion in our future.
rScotty

 

[mikester]

Try costco

I've had good luck with my K batteries...other than the one I killed leaving the ignition key on. Decent prices too.

 

[big bubba]

Mine too. They do last....but unfortunately they are vented wet cell types. Add the vibration of a tractor and the whole area around the battery suffers from fume and acid corrosion. Not just the terminals, but I actually had the negative wire corrode away inside the insulation for a couple of inches. I've cleaned them several times, replaced both terminals, and re-paint coated the box

I'll bet you his battery was fine and the problem was terminal/cable corrosion.

Finally replaced mine this last year (14 years!) and went to a group 24 sealed AGM type. I'm done with cheap wet cell batteries. No more corrosion in our future.
rScotty

recently replaced my original after 13yrs. unfortunately, the replacement has removable cell inspection plates. as mentioned above, acid weeps onto the tray even after removing some fluid. So for ag work, get a sealed battery. guess i'll have to replace mine, no point in flushing tray w/water after every use.

 

[varmint]

Here's a next to useless comment, but FWIW, I bought a used L3400 about 6-7 years ago. It came with a battery that looked like it had been in there a couple of years, at least. All I know is that it's a NAPA premium battery, and it's still going strong. That'll be my choice when it finally needs replacement. I have a voltmeter that tells me what my alternator is doing, and I do keep the terminals clean and protected.

 

[eddieirvine]

L3940 changed it last year, Went to Orileys bought there best battery higher CA great warranty, Been working great even in colder weather