Kohler winter starting and a 5 year old battery

[woodlandfarms]

David,

I haven't tried one yet, but the feedback I've seen on the Optima/Odyssey/Hawker (I *think* they are all the same item) batteries has been as near 100% positive as I've ever seen. The consensus is that they have effectively zero self-discharge, so there is no need for a trickle charger. They also apparently provide a lot of cranking amperage for their size and weight. I've heard lots of stories of strong cranking after over a year of unattended storage. The next time I need a battery for my PT or my motorcycle, I plan to get one of these.

Gravy

Welll, this all said I had an interesting experience with my Yellow Top Optima. I have a 69 Dodge Charger that I blew a brake line on and have not had a chance to repair it since it went in November... It is a good story, kinda a Little Miss Sunshine moment in front of the fanciest hotel in LA and my clients... That all said, I pulled the negative, parked it in the garage. Today I put in new brake lines, put on the negative, and low and behold it barely turned over. Battery is at least 2 years old, and is abused by a hot engine compartment, and poor charging habits... But I was surprised. Expected it to hold a charge for at least 3 months...

 

[BTDT]

Another out of the box idea by a crazed southerner. I know they have air starters on some racecars and such. I think it would be nice to have the electric starter motor shaft come through the back of the starter with a 1/2" square connector that would fit an impact wrench. Then on initial startup, just insert impact and pull trigger. Seems like this would save battery and starter. When engine warms up, then start as usual. If it was engineered this way, starter could be put on top of engine bell housing for easy access.

 

[BobRip]

Any thoughts about battery brands, types and the battery tender?

I have been using "Battery Minder". They have a circuit to reduce sulfation of the batteries by doing pulse discharges. I cannot really judge the impact yet, but the concept is good. Lead acid batteries die from sulfation. The battery minders are available at Northern.

 

[MossRoad]

Well, the factory battery croaked at -8F last week. Five years on the original battery... I ain't complaining!!!

I happened to have a very large battery out of that old IH2500b that I sent to the scrapper last spring, so I just threw on some jumper cables and it popped right off.

Tonight when I came home from work I took advantage of the balmy +10F in the garage and removed the four muffler/header nuts, the two heat sheild/support bolts, the muffler itself, the two bolts that hold the battery retainer strap, and finally the battery cables. It lifted right out. Only took about 10 minutes. I purchased a new, 500 CCA battery that lists for $79.00. The guy at Auto Zone gave me a deep discount to match the price of a 425 CCA battery, so I got it for $54.99. I also replaced the positive battery cable end, as it was corroded.

This weekend I will look for a Battery Tender Plus and install that. Should be good for another 5 years.