Charge your equipment batteries and they last a lot longer

[jenkinsph]

I built a custom set of jumper cables about 35 years ago that are worth mentioning. Used heavy duty nickel clamps and 20' of 3/0 welding lead for each cable. These jumpers are still in excellent condition and have been used for the most part to start other peoples vehicles.

Wow 3/0 welding cables for jumpers is quite a bit of overkill, even 2/0 is much more than needed. I bet they are a bear to handle due to weight and stiffness.
The best jumpers I ever had (prior to them being stolen) was a set I made from Postweld Heat Treating cables. These were 1/0 cables with a really flexible wire and insulation, much more flexible than regular welding cable. I put the heaviest clamps on them that were available and made them 30 feet long. This was long enough so that I could pull up behind a car and jump them rather than getting nose to nose. I sure wish I had those today.[/QUOTE]

Well 3/0 is larger than needed but it was a drop left over on the roll when I rewired a few welding machines. Flexibility is good with the high strand count wire. I bought the nickel clamps and then had a good set of jumpers for my old D7. The total cost was about the same as a 12' set of cheaper cables with #4 wire. Plus the heavy cables are still good today.

 

[Coyote machine]

Batteries loose longevity when their charge state drops below 80%.
Battery Tender Plus - 12v - Herrington Catalog

This type of tender will bring a battery back to full capacity, while not overcharging it. Trickle chargers can damage a battery by overcharging, boiling off the water, etc. in lead acid batteries. Life of the battery can and likely will be extended by using a tender, BUT one either pays to replace chronically discharged batteries, or pays for the electric usage of the tender to maintain them.:confused3:
Granted, maintaining them may be less hassle overall than removing, exchanging and buying a replacement every couple of years or more.

 

[fried1765]

For: Coyote Machine:

Don't know for sure, but I would expect that the"electric usage" of my 14
Battery Tenders" is less than $2 per month, and that is a VERY SMALL price for maintaining 14 batteries.
Maybe $24 per year total.
v/s $100+ for replacing just ONE battery each year.
That puts me $76 to the good every year, and that is assuming only ONE battery would die.
Could easily be more than one, if not using battery maintainers.

 

[DK35vince]

I got 11 years out of my original tractor battery, 10 years from original car battery . My current pickup battery is 10 years old and still going strong.
My 2007 dual sport motorcycle and 2009 street bike still running original batteries
None have ever had a maintainer on them.

 

[murphy1244]

I got 11 years out of my original tractor battery, 10 years from original car battery . My current pickup battery is 10 years old and still going strong.
My 2007 dual sport motorcycle and 2009 street bike still running original batteries
None have ever had a maintainer on them.

Rut Ro you might have just put the kibosh on you. Spit and turn around 3 times.

 

[varmint]

Maybe just because of dumb luck, I have had no problems with my tractor batteries. I do use a cheap HF battery tender, and I installed a 12V ciggie lighter outlet to make it easy to plug a tender in, and unplug it when the tractor is used.

 

[Coyote machine]

For: Coyote Machine:

Don't know for sure, but I would expect that the"electric usage" of my 14
Battery Tenders" is less than $2 per month, and that is a VERY SMALL price for maintaining 14 batteries.
Maybe $24 per year total.
v/s $100+ for replacing just ONE battery each year.
That puts me $76 to the good every year, and that is assuming only ONE battery would die.
Could easily be more than one, if not using battery maintainers.

For fried:

At on average $56 per tender x 14 batteries =$784 in tenders alone. Some savings.

 

[ultrarunner]

My little BX battery is going for my personal best record... 12 years.

Really don't do anything special except it lives in a shed and temp extremes are not typical in the SF Bay Area.

 

[94BULLITT]

I keep battery maintainers on everything. I prefer the Noco genius maintainers.

 

[RaydaKub]

Maybe just because of dumb luck, I have had no problems with my tractor batteries. I do use a cheap HF battery tender, and I installed a 12V ciggie lighter outlet to make it easy to plug a tender in, and unplug it when the tractor is used.

View attachment 450343

That's exactly what I did. Except I added a switch on my dash for the outlet. I used that to run a sprayer last summer, just shut it off with a flick of the switch.