hold down for optima battery

bud4410 · Apr 2, 2005

hi everyone, starting to see corrosion around my battery so i'm going to get an optima d51r yellow top battery for my 4410. can anyone post a picture of one installed showing the hold down bracket. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks, bud

WCarlson · Apr 3, 2005

No photo, but I installed mine using 12 inch long piece of 1 inch by 1/8" flat aluminum bar stock with a couple holes drilled in the ends the same distance as the D51R is long and a set of Pep Boys' 10 inch battery hold down bolts ($3.99). The hold down bolts have a 90 bend at the bottom and are a bit smaller than the JD hold down bolts, they will slide up through the existing holes without modification. They come with wing nuts and rubber spacers. I coated the aluminum bar stock with black liquid electrical tape, but that was probably overkill.
Bill

rockyridgefarm · Apr 4, 2005

<font color="green"> I coated the aluminum bar stock with black liquid electrical tape, but that was probably overkill. </font>

You mentioned the aluminum stock before, and was going to suggest insulating it. Maybe there is no possible way for the hold down to short the battery and burn up your tractor. But, then again, there's Murphy's Law.

WCarlson · Apr 4, 2005

The aluminum bar is 2 inches inboard of the terminals resting on the sealed plastic top of the battery so I don't feel that there is any more risk of shorting the battery than with a metal battery frame hold down common on older automobiles. However, the black liquid electrical tape coating was easy and is more aesthetically pleasing than plain aluminum.
Bill

WCarlson · Apr 4, 2005

Bud,
Here is a photo of the battery installed with the hold down as described in my earlier post.
Bill

bud4410 · Apr 4, 2005

dear bill, thanks so much for going to the trouble to take and post the picture for me. i have the aluminum and i think i will coat it also just to be on the safe side. thanks again, bud