Battery life

[RalphVa]

The battery showed up dead in my 2004 tractor on Sunday. I took it out yesterday and went to the battery place where I've bought the last few batteries. There was another guy there who also had a tractor. He was saying 5 years is pretty good because he's cranking his tractor more and often starts it without running it very long, and it stands for long periods of time. I should have mentioned that mine doesn't need cranking very much. It starts hot and cold with about one turn of the crankshaft, same as the old 1983 Benz diesel.

So, how long have your batteries lasted on your tractor?

This one came with those little felt washers on the posts. They've kept the corrosion at bay on at least a couple of my other vehicles. Had to make up some baking soda solution to get the corrosion off the posts of this one. I'll make sure that I keep that stuff washed off in the future. Can get to the positive post now that I cut away that red cover over it. Now it has a slit in in where it'll come off for washing.

 

[banjodunn]

G'day batteries are funny animals i have had cheap ones last 4 -5 years and expensive ones last until a month or two out of warranty but usually the more you pay for a battery the better quality they are the best i have seen is a pair of delkor batteries in a massey that comes into work and they are 7 years and still going strong. Best of luck with whatever you buy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I've had batteries last as long as 10 years. Had 'em fail in the first year. No rhyme or reason....

I've had great success with Optima batteries. With what they cost, I SHOULD!

Cold starting seems to take the life out of a battery faster than most things, but HEAT can do them in just as fast.

I put grease on the battery post/cable ends after everything is hooked up. That keeps corrosion to a minimum.

 

[20 20]

Same here I've had them last 10+ years. Then on the other side of the coin, I've had them last less then a year. Maybe the bad ones are friday or monday batteries???

 

[Paystar]

I used to go through batteries every year on my lawn and garden tractors and atv's. Then I started using Battery Tenders on them, haven't touched them since. When I'm done using a tractor or atv I plug it in as soon as I park it until I'm ready to use it again. Seems to work?

 

[Soundguy]

Ditto what farm said about grease on the terminals.

I'm getting on average 3ys on the cheap batteries. ( had some die in 2 ) and up to 4 on a better grade.. have seen 5.. but for batteries that set thru a season.. it's hard on them.

soundguy

 

[Heavyduty]

I used to go through batteries every year on my lawn and garden tractors and atv's. Then I started using Battery Tenders on them, haven't touched them since. When I'm done using a tractor or atv I plug it in as soon as I park it until I'm ready to use it again. Seems to work?

On equipment that sit unused most of the year, a Battery Tender is the way to go.

 

[Bird]

I bought a new battery for our mini-van a few years ago from a Ford dealer; free replacement first 36 months, prorated for another 48 months. It died in 35 months. In fact, I called AAA to come get me started and a different Ford dealer replaced it at no charge.

Then we bought a 2002 Crown Victoria in January. I took it in for an oil change today and a battery test showed it to have 12 volts, but weak on amps (it was the original battery) so it's about 7 years old. I let them put a new battery in it, and the starter does sound different now; obviously spins faster.

 

[LBrown59]

The battery showed up dead in my 2004 tractor on Sunday. I took it out yesterday and went to the battery place where I've bought the last few batteries. There was another guy there who also had a tractor. He was saying 5 years is pretty good because he's cranking his tractor more and often starts it without running it very long, and it stands for long periods of time. I should have mentioned that mine doesn't need cranking very much. It starts hot and cold with about one turn of the crankshaft, same as the old 1983 Benz diesel.

So, how long have your batteries lasted on your tractor?

This one came with those little felt washers on the posts. They've kept the corrosion at bay on at least a couple of my other vehicles. Had to make up some baking soda solution to get the corrosion off the posts of this one. I'll make sure that I keep that stuff washed off in the future. Can get to the positive post now that I cut away that red cover over it. Now it has a slit in in where it'll come off for washing.

Still got orig. in my 2004 BX24.

 

[Transit]

I've explained this many times before; the BIG battery killer is Lead Sulfate. When a battery is discharged, the lead reacts with the Sulfuric acid to form Lead Sulfate. Recharging the battery reverses the process. However, nothing is 100% and some of the Lead Sulfate is not converted back to the original forms. In addition self-discharge is at work also forming Lead Sulfate. Now there are three forms of Lead Sulfate, all chemically, the same with different crystal forms; we'll call them stage I, II and III.
Stage I Lead Sulfate is easily converted back to lead and sulfuric acid. Stage II takes some doing with a little higher recharge voltage and longer time. Stage III is so stable that it takes a much higher voltage to break the crystal bond. So over time the battery will accumulate Lead Sulfate III and die. That's the short story.

My battery is going on 11 years old and that's the OEM Chinese battery. Not to complicate things more, batteries have gone Hi-tech, sealed with additives built in, some types may last long but are sensitive to over charging, etc, etc.
So now, the question is how do I get such long life from the batteries?
First, keep them charged at 100%
Two, never, never use tap water to replace lost electrolyte, use ONLY distilled water.
Three, I give all my batteries a good dose of Charge-it. The Charge-it cleans the plates and converts the Stage III Lead Sulfate back to its original form.