B2650 battery already bad 3 yrs old?

[Rob 80]

Anyone else have there battery die in only 3 yrs? Mine still works but it's slow to turn over the motor. No way it will work once it get's cold.

I keep a trickle charger on it in the winter.

 

[ultrarunner]

My little 2005 year model BX battery is still going strong... best battery service I have ever received... very impressed with Kubota on that.

Maybe the supply chain has changed?

 

[prichard]

My 3 year old B2601 battery seems fine. I've had to jump once or twice when it sat for too long. Winters are milder here though so that helps.

 

[mddorange]

My 4 1/2 year old battery is still going strong.

Of course I have never used anything to keep it charged. I wonder if the trickle charger you used shortened its life?

 

[ultrarunner]

I have used a charger from time to time over winter... but only for a day or so... never left my Tender on for extended time.

 

[SDT]

Anyone else have there battery die in only 3 yrs? Mine still works but it's slow to turn over the motor. No way it will work once it get's cold.

I keep a trickle charger on it in the winter.

Not uncommon if your tractor sat on the dealers lot for months without being charged or something was left on running it flat.

Doing either will significantly shorten the life of a cranking battery.

When buying a new tractor from stock I insist that the battery be replaced if I suspect either.

Dean

 

[diesel85]

x2

When a lead battery goes flat, it can actually form crystals that can eventual short the plates.

I had this happen to me recently with another piece of equipment. Battery was OK, until I took it out and set it down on the ground. I then heard this girgling noise coming from the battery. Didn't think much of it till I tried to start the piece of equipment. Deader than a doornail in 20 minutes.

 

[JWR]

My 4 1/2 year old battery is still going strong.

Of course I have never used anything to keep it charged. I wonder if the trickle charger you used shortened its life?

I would wonder the same thing. I know the chemical process of a lead-acid battery well. I have had "new" batteries only last a couple of years. I have never seen a battery guarantee worth the paper it was written on beyond the (usually short) full replacement portion. I also had an F-250 Ford battery (truck ordered from the factory not bought off a lot) last 10 years. I only took it out for fear, because of age, that it would crap out on me during a winter ski trip. My theory is that battery life is more closely related to the number of charge and discharge cycles than to calendar age. Sure, there are many variables that would put a battery "outside the norm" such as being frozen while discharged, subjected to unusual severe vibration, sitting on a lot for many months without ever being used, extremes of heat and cold, etc. None of this is precise.

But based on my charge/discharge cycle count theory I wonder, like you, if being on a trickle charger (probably lacking the sophisticated electronic protections built into expensive chargers) for many months might do similar damage. Don't really know. Maybe so.

The old standard battery test is to fully charge it and then apply a resistive load,drawing out energy to some significant fraction of the amp-hour capacity of the battery. If the battery voltage remains at/near the spec voltage (e.g. 12v) after/during the draw down then you have a good battery. If you really question a battery that's how you prove whether it is "good" or not.

I'm not a fan of trickle chargers intended as "tenders." Study the comments and manufacturer recommendations and decide for yourself.

 

[oosik]

Five years ago I started leaving my Deltran battery tender on my tractor - year round. I've had no battery problems with this situation and really appreciate it being "hot, up & ready to go" in the winter.

Likewise - the OEM battery on my first tractor only lasted four years. The fourth winter - it fell flat on its face. Replaced with a gel type battery and it lasted eleven years. Actually - the fall of the eleventh year I got nervous and replaced it. The gel cell battery went on another six years as a standby jumper battery.

Honestly - there are just a whole lot of unpredictable variables - you buy a new battery - do the best you can for it - its a roll of the dice on how long it might last. I've seen expensive ones fail early - and cheapies last a loooong time.

I'm into my second year with a group 31 - 1200 CCA - Odyssey AGM battery in my Kubota M6040. I keep a Deltran battery tender on it 100% of the time. Only time will tell...........

 

[Gary Fowler]

My 2009 B26 original battery got replaced last spring. It always turned the engine over somewhat slowly but the new battery does the same thing. It never failed to start the engine though. 9 years of use is the best I have service I have ever had from a battery. My LS battery lasted 6 years before finally refusing to take a charge. Most of my automobile batteries last only 3-4 years but the cars are heavily loaded with electronics so there is a heavy load on their batteries plus the parasitic drain from the computers and anti-theft devices take a toll.
The biggest drain I found out is from the little insurance devices that monitor your driving habits. They will drain a good battery in about 3 weeks if the vehicle isn't used. Now, I keep a battery maintainer on my little used car all the time after finding out how much current the device drains.