Battery experts needed - substitute 24F for 24 to get positive terminal forward.

[jenkinsph]

I guess folks are wondering why I went with the Walmart unit. 5 year warranty and I can buy a lot of them for the price of the others. Turns out my bad battery is not totally bad due to a very corroded connection. Corrosion was inside where I could not see it. I'll use it to run my 12V fueling station - should be good for a long time.

Again thanks for the help.

Now having said that I have been studying solar power with battery backup. That's where you need a very high density deep cycle and pays to go premium from what I am reading.

If the new battery works well over the winter you should have your answer.

I have looked at solar for some time and my thought is selling back to the power company/grid is the best compromise. I would have a small bank of batteries for emergency use and buffering. Buying a bunch of these large batteries isn't cost effective yet unless you are remote and out of reach of power lines.

 

[fried1765]

I have bever paid the extra for an AGM or optima battery in anything other than a motorcycle. So no experience with full sized batteries. Just cannot justify the cost. The battery in my old L3400 that I sold to dad, still has the OEM battery in it from 2005.

YUP, In my opinion, full size AGM/Optima batteries are NOT worth their ridiculous cost!
Buy a decent quality, lead/acid battery, and keep a quality trickle charger ( Deltran or solar ) on it when you expect your machine to sit a week or more.
You can buy TWO or more lead/acid batteries for the price of one of those fancy "forever" batteries.
Your TWO batteries should last at least a total of 16 years. I think it rather unlikely that you would get 16 years out of any AGM/Optima battery.

 

[fatboycowen]

For what it's worth, I did a Walmart battery in my ct235, and cleaned up the connections, about a year ago. I haven't had to charge it or trickle it, yet it regularly sits for 2 or 3 weeks at a time.

 

[RickB]

Cleaning the posts and clamps once per year would save the needless replacement of literally thousands of batteries.

 

[TractorGuy]

I actually have a lawn tractor battery in my little JD. Have the same battery in my 99 Mustang and on my gate openers. The one in the Mustang went bad after 5 years and got replaced with the same for another $25. I replaced the ends with heavy duty eyelet connectors. I always smear petroleum jelly on my connectors to keep corrosion from happening.