Battery Info

[airbiscuit]

 

[SwingOak]

I recently replaced both batteries in my farm truck, a 2002 2500HD Duramax. They are yellow top Optima batteries (AGM). I was sure I’d replaced them 3-4 years ago, but I was wrong, I must have been thinking about my old suburban - the date code on them was 2011. 13 years is pretty amazing life on a battery.

I second the vote on AGM battery, and I’d also suggest a deep cycle one. They will handle discharge and recharge cycling much better than a standard battery, especially in something like a tractor (or farm truck) that sits in the yard more than it is used.

 

[jrsavoie]

I recommend an AGM battery with at least 800 Cold Cranking Amps.

Measure the battery unless you know the size code, to be sure it fits.

It's good to measure and note the position of the posts.

Sometimes with slight or no modifications you can fit a bigger battery.

Get the heaviest battery with the most CCA you can get.

Battery quality seems to be way down. I don't know why. They just don't seem to be lasting very long anymore.

 

[Oaktree]

Battery quality seems to be way down. I don't know why. They just don't seem to be lasting very long anymore.

I haven't noticed any big difference in how long they last. Given that most of us keep our vehicles longer now than in years past maybe we're just more aware of replacement.
It's very much YMMV as far as brands go...someone here highly recommended O'Reilly batteries which I've had terrible experience with, someone else bashed Walmart ones which have given me very good service.

 

[CoyPatton]

My 2022 Massey Ferguson 4707 tractor has a dead battery. The date of 09/11/2021 is on the battery, so I'm guessing that's how old it is.

View attachment 1966544

I bought a battery for my wife's van last month, and the guy at NAPA said that batteries only last 3 years on modern cars because of all the electronics on them that never turn off. Her battery was 3 1/2 years old. It looks like my battery is just over 3 years old.

Does this make sense to everyone? I used to get five years out of a battery, and sometimes in older vehicles, even longer. 3 years just seems like it's too quick to die and need replacing.

I do not want another Massey Ferguson battery. I'll go to NAPA and see what they have during the week. Before I go there, I'm curious if this label makes any sense to you?

View attachment 1966545

I haven't removed the battery yet. I should do that now, but it's too cold out there, and I'm going to work on my fence first.

Is there something that I should ask for when I go to NAPA to get a better battery?

Several pieces of info are available if you know how to translate the info. CCA=Cold Cranking Amps (your battery has 800) this is different from CA=Cranking Amps (I did not see this number in your battery). CCA is in my opinion a better indicator of what your battery can do.
Your battery also includes some deep cycle ratings. Not really helpful for cranking, but modern batteries tend to carry these ratings as modern vehicles often have a continued draw on battery power besides just the cranking needs.
It shows 75 ah and RC 170. A bit of explanation for these. RC=Reserve Capacity and AH=Amp Hours. Your battery says it has a reserve capacity of 170 minutes. Good luck getting that long out of a battery even new and fully charge (at least in my experience and opinion). It is also rated at 75AH (again I doubt you will ever see that ability from a battery). A bit of explanation on this.
If you have a 1 amp continuous draw on the battery, it will provide that 1 amp for 75 hours. The reverse is also there—75 amp draw will be sustained for 1 hour. Also whatever combo equates to the draw and time—25 amps and 3 hours.
My bess guess is your old battery was a 1000CA, but match the 800CCA rating, pay close attention to the space you have available for the battery in your tractor. I’m not sure what group that battery belongs to.

 

[grsthegreat]

View attachment 2089293

A few years ago i sent a text to a client. It said “im on my way”. I guess it autocorrected just before i hit send. What he got “ you are so gay”. He was quite perplexed when i arrived.

 

[crabbinman]

The Deka batteries are made in the USA and I have also had good luck with them.

A while back I started leaving solar trickle chargers on my tractor batteries which I think has helped service life. I just had a small lawn tractor battery (300 cca) go almost 8 years.

They sell some Dekas at Lowes, and also at Battery Warehouse, not sure what stores are near you.

I would take it out and take it to the store for a match up. You have to get your core charge anyway and it will save you a trip.

Good luck with it, always seems to happen in the cold when the replacement is painful.

 

[dkmc]

This thread got me thinking of my SO's 2011 MF 1529 tractor. It only has like 180hrs on it, and still has the OEM battery in it. That's quite a run.

 

[jiggseob]

Batteries "last three years" because electronics never turn off? The battery in my Kubota is 12 yrs old, but it keeps in the shop and does not get cold. The battery in my 1998 Toyota Rav4 is eleven years old and still going, it lives outside and still starts at -30C, sometimes 2 ~ 3 weeks between uses.

The biggest killer of lead-acid battery is discharging them to zero. Always-on electronics do that, if given enough time. How much time? Varies between vehicles, some power-off loads are as much as 3-amps, but most car computers go to "power saving" mode of a couple hundred milliamps after about 10 minutes.

Another battery-killer is that the car battery doesn't get charged properly especially if only run for short trips. Electrically-heated things such as seats, windows, mirrors, steering wheel all add up. Not enough coming out of the alternator to properly recharge the battery.

Once a year, each vehicle in my care gets its battery disconnected, and the Optimate-6 desulphating battery charger connected for a 24-hour "battery saver" cycle. I started that routine about 10 years ago, and have not replaced a battery since.

 

[soler]

I've had good luck with interstate batteries. AGM is a good option as others have said.

In my experience... I've tried keeping a trickle charger on batteries that sit for more than a week. But I've had bad luck with chargers that over charge and ruin a battery. So now, on my tractor, if it sits more than a couple of weeks, I put a charger on it overnight every three weeks or so, if I remember. But what I ultimately do is if it has been sitting for more than three weeks (one week in dead of winter) and I know I'm going to use it I put the charger on it the night before. What will really kill the battery is when it's been sitting for a while and it's in a lower- charge state and you go start it up. Being low on charge and cranking an engine will really kill an otherwise good battery. BTW, knock on wood, my 2016 Mahindra is on its original battery, using above method. YMMV.