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WHwest8597

Best Battery

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WHwest8597

I'm looking for some feedback on batteries.  I have purchases AutoZone 425cc in the past.  I was wondering if anyone has found a better battery.  Its seems some brands the quality has gone down over the past few years.

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rmaynard

I use mainly Battery Warehouse brand. The last I knew, they were being made by Exide. My other battery of choice is Interstate. Seems it doesn't matter the brand, none of them last more than 4 or 5 years.

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elliot ness

I like interstate battery's.:twocents-02cents:

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Achto

With any brand, I find that I have the best luck if I put a new battery on a trickle charger over night before I install it. That way I know that it has a full charge before I put load on it for the first time. Loading a partially charged new battery I believe creates a memory in the battery. I could be wrong, but I have had good luck with this practice.

 

For an example: I had to change a 6v battery in one of my farm tractors last year, the date on the old battery was 5-03. The old battery was a Fleet Farm brand. I don't know who makes their batteries, but they are not a high price battery.  

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Sparky

I hate the Everstarts from Walmart, sworn off them forever (or until the quality improves). I am having a good run with an Exide from Tractor Supply.

 Mike....

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FatJackDurham

I have a question about batteries... how do you know what kind to get?

 

I looked in my manual for the GT-14 and it listed the amps needed etc. I went to TSC and it was hard to find a small battery with the right amps. I eventually got a Huskee and it starts the tractor fine, but it's much smaller than the space the old battery would have used.

 

Is this normal?

 

Has anyone ever posted a guide here for suggested replacement batteries for these tractors?

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WHX??
51 minutes ago, achto said:

the date on the old battery was 5-03. The old battery was a Fleet Farm brand

That's not the worst service then Dan, I have always had pretty good luck with the FF batteries, and do the same charge thing. I always thought it was like changing(charging) the oil on a new to me tractor, do it just because you don't know when it was done last.

Went to start the Missus tractor yesterday and no go. Bat. was on one of those Schumacher trickle chargers http://www.batterychargers.com/mc-1/all winter in a heated shop and said charged but the bat tester said open cell or sulfated. This was a Batteries Plus unit and only about two years old.  I agree with @rmaynard in that you get five years you did good. Those maintainers do help but you have to have a slew of them.... Boats, Atv's, tractors, campers!!! I would also agree with

3 hours ago, WHwest8597 said:

some brands the quality has gone down over the past few years.

 

52 minutes ago, Sparky said:

hate the Everstarts from Walmart,

Also agreed Sparkeye.. had a couple of those bad right out of the box.

10 minutes ago, FatJackDurham said:

space the old battery would have used.

 

Is this normal?

 It can be, like everything else these days everything seems to be getting smaller. I always go for the biggest battery that will fit and have the right terminal config. Sometimes finding the OEM type battery can result in a lot of looking and most times they have been replaced many times by PO's so you don't know what is supposed to be there.

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TDF5G
1 hour ago, Sparky said:

I hate the Everstarts from Walmart, sworn off them forever (or until the quality improves). I am having a good run with an Exide from Tractor Supply.

 Mike....

I bought a cheap Everstart for a "maybe" kind of project and ended up keeping it.  It is the worst leaking battery I've ever seen.  Can't keep the corrosion cleaned off of it.

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SPINJIM

I've been using NAPA batteries private labeled by Deka, and have had good luck with them.   They also have a good warranty if you do have a problem.

 

But I also have a Korean made U1 battery on my Gravely ZT that is 10 years old and still working well to start the 23hp Kawasaki.   I contacted the Gravely dealer to see whether I could buy one for my WH.   He checked with Gravely, to see if the Korean made battery (no brand name on it) might be available.  I'm not sure how had he tried, because he wanted to sell me an Exide.  Gravely said they only came on the new mowers from the factory.   Shoot!   But it does prove that a battery can be made better to last more than 4 to 5 years.   I'm going to call Gravely myself to see if I can get a brand name.

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MalMac

The subject of which battery is best is very hard to pinpoint. There are only a handful of battery manufactures left and probably less than that. One manufacturer will make a slew of batteries and label them for the customer that bought them. Also the customer can specify the quality of the battery. Just a example would be say Exide, they may make a battery that is top notch with their Name on it, then may contract to make a battery for someone else at their specs that's junk. Now I have used Die-Hard batteries and have had excellent life out of them. I have no Idea who makes them. Could be they buy them from a couple of Manufactures. I have bought some Name brands and have had some good results and then the same brand and it was junk. If you go out and buy a battery that is 19.95 don't expect it to be a top notch. In other words with the subject of batteries you usually get what you pay for. Now with that said. You go and let it sit all winter and expect it to have a full charge more than likely you will be disappointed when you go and hit the keep come spring. I would try and stay with a name brand and then go with there more of their top line if your wanting more than a couple years use out of it. Like mention though maintaining a charge is a big key to longevity. 

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DennisThornton

Very few manufacturers left and I suppose they will build whatever a big brand store wants and adjust whatever to get to the required price point.  I've bought Walmart, TSC and wherever but I now buy the largest amp capacity and seem to get longer life compared to the lower amp capacity. 

 

@Molon_Labe  posted this:http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm#M 

Which really changed my mind regarding:  

 "Very few manufacturers left"!  Maybe only a few in the US but lots worldwide!


Edited by DennisThornton
@Molon_Labe
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Lee1977

I have bought two from TSC, I buy the 420cc. The second one died with in a year, but when I took it back they replaced it. Didn't even ask any questions, just went and got a new battery, and a full rated guarantee.

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WHX??

Took a battery in to Batteries Plus where it was bought in 09 so I I guess that on went the 4-5 years & then some. Guy at B+ said 2-3 years at best. This is what he sold me for a replacement, 35 bucks & $5 rebate witch I didn't think was the worse. Time will tell on longevity.

20170403_173217[1].jpg

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Elkskin's mower junkyard

i mainly buy Everstart batteries anymore. I have one interstate that is going on 3 - 4 years old that i have in a tractor that dont see much action but starts up all the time. I have bought farm and fleet batteies never get a year out of them. and i refuse to buy a exide, last one i bought didnt last a year and it started not wanting to hold a charge. all the everstarts i buy i get 3 years or more out of. longest was i beleive 5 1/2 years. heck i even had a Voltage regulator let go on a tractor almost cooked a everstart battey. that battery was still going strong up til i sold the tractor i put it in. I rotate batteries with machines i sell. if i sell another machine the interstate will more than likely go in one i sell and a new one will be put in that machine where the interstate is now. but how we were able to get 5 1/2 years out of a everstart is probably because we use machines all year round. that everstart was in my dads 1972 sears compact 8e (i rewired the machine and upgraded the charging system in it after we got it from a junkyard). it never sits in one place very long usually because of the attachments we got for it. 

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Molon_Labe

Batteries are a science unto themselves. In most cases the battery with the lowest amp hour rating capable of doing the job will last longer than a higher amp hour battery due to plate density. Battery cases are size specific, the amount of material that goes into them is at the manufacturers discretion to produce the desired current. The higher the current rating the more dense the lead plates and more reduced the space for the plates to grow during the discharge cycle. For my GT's I don't use anything over 230 CCA and they last an average of 7+ years with proper maintenance.

 

Here's a good reference site to see who actually manufactures what brands

 

http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm#M

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DennisThornton

@Molon_Labe What do you consider proper maintenance?   I occasionally leave a key on and completely discharge a battery. I'm sure that's not proper but it happens here anyway.  One of the reasons I buy bigger.  I think batteries degrade in time and a bigger battery just buys more time.  Just what I think I've seen through the years. 

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ClassicTractorProfessor

Not sure who makes them or where all they are available...But my local tire dealer who does the service on all my rigs sells Global Power. Been buying that brand of battery from him for going on 12 years now for everything from my tractors and welder to my pickups and two ton trucks, and so far have only had one bad one, which he promptly replaced under warranty when I took it in. I too like Interstate batteries but the different in cost and as many as I buy made me switch to the Global Power.

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shallowwatersailor
19 hours ago, Molon_Labe said:

Batteries are a science unto themselves. In most cases the battery with the lowest amp hour rating capable of doing the job will last longer than a higher amp hour battery due to plate density. Battery cases are size specific, the amount of material that goes into them is at the manufacturers discretion to produce the desired current. The higher the current rating the more dense the lead plates and more reduced the space for the plates to grow during the discharge cycle. For my GT's I don't use anything over 230 CCA and they last an average of 7+ years with proper maintenance.

 

Here's a good reference site to see who actually manufactures what brands

 

http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm#M

 

I agree as I used to be in the Bigger-is-Better bandwagon for battery CCA. But I have found that the key is using a battery tender to maintain the charge and not allow the sulfation to deteriorate the plates. A good battery tender may cost as much as a battery but is amortized over the years. I have also found a solar panel that is sold to charge batteries to be beneficial for the tractors outside. But you do need to get the correct recommended size as a twin requires a larger battery than a single.

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WVHillbilly520H

The YUSA brand that came in my Anniversary 520H was by far the best it lasted 7 years through a bad (overcharging) RR,  then I got an Interstate maybe 5 years , then I went with the Duralast in '09  just had to replace it last month, using a maintainer in the "off season" waiting on snow but not so much during mowing season all were 400CA/350CCA, seen too many advance auto and Walmart batteries not go much past 2 years even with the maintainers as my dad is cheaper than me ,lol, but their car batteries seem OK, and Exide has been 50/50 in my experiences, Jeff.

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Molon_Labe
11 hours ago, DennisThornton said:

@Molon_Labe What do you consider proper maintenance?   I occasionally leave a key on and completely discharge a battery. I'm sure that's not proper but it happens here anyway.  One of the reasons I buy bigger.  I think batteries degrade in time and a bigger battery just buys more time.  Just what I think I've seen through the years. 

Dennis, To your point, yes all batteries degrade with time, it's inevitable. One of the keys to long battery life is keep the battery as close as possible to it's recommended float voltage, for the sake of this discussion a flooded lead acid battery would have a float voltage of 13.4 volts, and avoiding extended discharges below 12.6 volts, the point at which sulfation begins. In the case of leaving the key on, I think I can safely say that we have all done it. If it's been left on all winter you will probably never recover the capacity of the battery due to sulfate crystallization (hard sulfation). If left on overnight a trickle charge over the course of several days will usually bring it back to life. On a side note, battery tenders are not created equal, you usually get what you pay for, do your research before laying down your hard earned money. Another topic is "smart chargers", most of which will not charge a discharged battery. This is when it's nice to have an analog 1 amp battery charger to raise the voltage to the point that the "smart charger" recognizes the battery and completes the charge. I personally use an old Schumacher 2-10-50 charger to which I've added filter capacitors and a 35 amp 15kHz pulse width modulator on the output but that is another story. Sorry for the rambling and hope some of this info is helpful.

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WHX??

So while we are on the subject and have the Major's ear does anyone use those green & red  felt :thingy:s that are supposed to help prevent corrosion? Or are they just a gimmick. They are supposed to go underneath the terminals.  I bought some just because they are cheap and will try anything once. I do have a few tractors where the corrosion builds up, mostly on the large knop type older automotive style terminals.

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WVHillbilly520H

Jim, I use them on my top post car batteries but not the garden tractor batteries, it does help and also the terminal grease or dielectric grease on the actual connections helps keep the corrosion at bay, Jeff.

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Tankman

I'm voting for Exide and Interstate batteries.

I don't expect more than 3-4 years from any battery.

 

If I'm not using a tractor frequently, I do use (when I remember to) a trickle charger from time to time. No schedule.

Weather permitting, barn doors open run the engines a bit.

Grandsons need something to do? A short ride to our local airport, 100 Octane LL (Low Lead) Ethanol Free, fill a few gas cans.

 

Not enough for the boys with cabin fever? I have work for my WHA (Wheel Horse Addicted) laborers!

Charlie_Linus.jpg.d9972c2535f4da4927446157688fe795.jpg

Edited by Tankman

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Tankman
2 hours ago, WHX11 said:

So while we are on the subject and have the Major's ear does anyone use those green & red  felt :thingy:s that are supposed to help prevent corrosion? Or are they just a gimmick. They are supposed to go underneath the terminals.  I bought some just because they are cheap and will try anything once. I do have a few tractors where the corrosion builds up, mostly on the large knop type older automotive style terminals.

Terminal grease works great!

 

 

Terminal_Grease.jpg

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pfrederi

The red/geen felts are nice in that I am sure which terminal I am putting the charger on.  Tthe cast in black + and - on the case are getting harder to see:P

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