Two year / 70 hour reflection on Max 26

mike69440 · May 14, 2017

I also got an Interstate battery also a little more than a year ago when I had it in for warranty work on what turned out to be a bad fuel solinoid. I swear thae repalcement battery was not a new one, looked dirty and used, but what the heck, even a used Interstate is likely to be a better battery than the OEM. No corrosion that I can see.

Laderbuilt · May 14, 2017

oldpilgrim said:
It's not the charging system, it's the leaky post/case as I mentioned above. It's a well known/documented problem.

BINGO! I've had the same issue with mine even with the dielectric grease and the felt washers I still have to clean the terminals and connectors every year. So this winter I scrapped the "still good" battery and put in a interstate battery and so far so good. However time will tell.

AchingBack · May 14, 2017

I'm somewhat convinced battery failure may be caused by loose cell caps leaking acid, exacerbated by vibration. Which, after two failures, is why I bought an Optima AGM battery. I'll never need to clean and repaint my battery compartment, again.

AGM

Sealed Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries like OPTIMA® Batteries do not spill, sulfate or degrade like flooded batteries do. AGM design holds the electrolyte in suspension while keeping it in constant contact with the active lead material on the plates. This results in higher efficiency when both discharging and recharging.

AGM design offers lower internal resistance and greater plate area, which provides superior starting power, the ability to recharge much faster and higher voltage characteristics during discharge.
KEY BENEFITS:

Impressively high cranking characteristics in a small battery
Higher charge acceptance during AGM battery-charging
Sealed maintenance-free design
Virtually spill-proof
Shock and vibration-resistant
More power per pound as compared to standard batteries
Long service life

mike69440 · May 14, 2017

Got stuck trying to turn over our (Wife's) garden. Darn diff lock is sure tough to engage. After some struggle, I got it engaged and really managed to bury the Max 28. I yanked it out with the L39. I was worried I was going to pull the FEL right off the Max. I should have hooked the chain to the frame, but I did not want to take a mud bath.

I got to see about adjusting that diff lock linkage, once I wash the mud out. I got the Max to pull out the RTV900, The L39 to pull out the Max, the PC75 to pull out the L39. and Rusty's Towing to rescue the Ex, but I haven't got step #4 yet.

dickfoster · May 15, 2017

AchingBack said:
I'm somewhat convinced battery failure may be caused by loose cell caps leaking acid, exacerbated by vibration. Which, after two failures, is why I bought an Optima AGM battery. I'll never need to clean and repaint my battery compartment, again.

AGM

Sealed Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries like OPTIMA® Batteries do not spill, sulfate or degrade like flooded batteries do. AGM design holds the electrolyte in suspension while keeping it in constant contact with the active lead material on the plates. This results in higher efficiency when both discharging and recharging.

AGM design offers lower internal resistance and greater plate area, which provides superior starting power, the ability to recharge much faster and higher voltage characteristics during discharge.
KEY BENEFITS:

Impressively high cranking characteristics in a small battery
Higher charge acceptance during AGM battery-charging
Sealed maintenance-free design
Virtually spill-proof
Shock and vibration-resistant
More power per pound as compared to standard batteries
Long service life

I'll second all that but I like Odyssey since Optima seems to have taken a quality hit since they moved production to Mexico. Odyssey is still made in the USA.

dickfoster · May 15, 2017

mike69440 said:
Got stuck trying to turn over our (Wife's) garden. Darn diff lock is sure tough to engage. After some struggle, I got it engaged and really managed to bury the Max 28. I yanked it out with the L39. I was worried I was going to pull the FEL right off the Max. I should have hooked the chain to the frame, but I did not want to take a mud bath.

I got to see about adjusting that diff lock linkage, once I wash the mud out. I got the Max to pull out the RTV900, The L39 to pull out the Max, the PC75 to pull out the L39. and Rusty's Towing to rescue the Ex, but I haven't got step #4 yet.

I'll bet if you has wasted a cylinder or tweaked the the forks on your loader you'd have been wishing you'd taken the mud bath.

mike69440 · May 15, 2017

dickfoster said:
I'll bet if you has wasted a cylinder or tweaked the the forks on your loader you'd have been wishing you'd taken the mud bath.

I've been burned plenty of times taking the shortcut. My dad from his grave is saying that boy will never learn! I was at least 50% manure, that's my excuse.

You know the suggestion to use you FEL bucket to pull push yourself out of a mess. It seldom works.

Like struggling in quicksand, you may make it a few feet forward, but you sink really deep and then your STUCK stuck.

I should have just got the L39 immediately when I ceased making progress in 4WD, rather than continue burying the Max deeper in poopy mud.
I told my wife I was going to have a hard time, but I don't win those arguments. She is all worried about a late planting season.

I reached in the garden as far as I could with the L39's BH to try to smooth out the hole where the Max got stuck. In a week I will rake and rotor-till by hand.

I will say this about the Max. It is my go to machine for most chores. I would not want it to be my sole tractor, too small, but it really can do most of the stuff the next size CUT can, and a lot of stuff in tight places most would think a SCUT could only do. 205 hours in just under 30 months.

ultrarunner · May 15, 2017

The Deka in my BX is 13 years old... best service ever from a battery that I have owned and also my only Deka.

The felt washers and painting the terminals help for the older cars.

mike69440 · May 18, 2017

mike69440 said:
Got stuck trying to turn over our (Wife's) garden. Darn diff lock is sure tough to engage. After some struggle, I got it engaged and really managed to bury the Max 28. I yanked it out with the L39. I was worried I was going to pull the FEL right off the Max. I should have hooked the chain to the frame, but I did not want to take a mud bath.

I got to see about adjusting that diff lock linkage, once I wash the mud out. I got the Max to pull out the RTV900, The L39 to pull out the Max, the PC75 to pull out the L39. and Rusty's Towing to rescue the Ex, but I haven't got step #4 yet.

I finally got chance to give a good hose down. The Max is at least 100 lbs lighter, after cleaning the crap from it. I never got chance to look at adjusting the diff lock, but while getting under the tractor some to clean it, I really noticed how exposed lines, linkages, filter, etc. are so if you go in the woods much, armor that fragile underbelly. Worst I do is sink it in the muddy poop, so for my use, it is not much of a problem, My L39 and excavator are better protected, and can knock down small stuff in the woods, take out stumps etc., so the Max can stay the chore tractor, not the trail blazer. I did notice that the Interstate battery the dealer replaced under warranty has a date code indicating it was new, just dirty. Forgive my suspicions that it was used.