Lithium. AGM & Lead Acid battery
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AGM and Lithium batteries have significantly different charging and maintaining requirements than Flooded or SLA batteries. The OEM circuity in your tractor will probably not do a good job of charging or maintaining these batteries, and may in fact damage them.
Then there is the increased initial cost of these battery types.
Do your research before forking over your money.
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Your SLA battery should be lasting longer than a 'year or two' unless it is of really low quality (i.e. super cheap) or if your use of it is outside the 'norm' (i.e. lots of full discharge cycles, leaving it discharged/unmaintained for long periods of time, etc...)
Q: Have you checked to see that your electrical system - especially the voltage regulator - is working correctly?
Q: Have you considered putting a battery maintainer on the tractor when not in use?
I have a maintainer on both of my tractors, on my car in storage, and on the battery for my trap thrower, and my sense is that battery life has increased on all of these...
One example - there are many others
Then there is the increased initial cost of these battery types.
Do your research before forking over your money.
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Your SLA battery should be lasting longer than a 'year or two' unless it is of really low quality (i.e. super cheap) or if your use of it is outside the 'norm' (i.e. lots of full discharge cycles, leaving it discharged/unmaintained for long periods of time, etc...)
Q: Have you checked to see that your electrical system - especially the voltage regulator - is working correctly?
Q: Have you considered putting a battery maintainer on the tractor when not in use?
I have a maintainer on both of my tractors, on my car in storage, and on the battery for my trap thrower, and my sense is that battery life has increased on all of these...
One example - there are many others
Not sure what battery you are using but it has to be very cheap! I buy Diehard Gold batteries for both my Case GT's and they least at least 6+ years. If yours don't you either are buying very cheap batteries or your charging system is shot and needs work
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Hi Troops,
The charging systems on most small engines is a half wave system. As the stator puts out alternating current, only half of a full wave of AC is of the correct polarity, the other half wave is blocked by diodes and not used. This is part of the reason that voltage regulators get warm. The voltage regulation of the correct polarity is another source of heat. The correct polarity voltage half wave starts at zero, rises to to the point of regulation and then decreases back to zero. This happens quickly and quicker with an increase in engine RPM. The end result is that the battery sees pulses of varying DC voltage for which the battery has sufficient capacitance to accept. This power supplies the electrical system with mostly a non pulsing supply of voltage and amperage during operation.
Some tips about servicing and maintaining standard wet lead acid batteries:
New batteries always need to be charged prior to use and the electrolyte level checked. Distilled water only if needed!
Battery needs to be securely mounted on the tractor. This is for all battery types.
One hour of operation, mowing, etc doesn't put a lot of charge back into the battery. Periodic charging with a 1.5 AMP maintaining charger left on for several days or longer will prolong the life of the battery.
Off season servicing and charging of the battery is recommended along with periodic charging with a maintaining charger.
The electrolyte can become discolored and will show up in a hydrometer when checking the state of charge of cells.
When using a higher output charger, hydrogen gas bubbles form in the electrolyte giving an incorrect electrolyte level. Shaking the battery will cause these bubbles to rise out of the electrolyte correcting the level. Don't smoke around charging batteries, hydrogen gas burns!
If the electrolyte level is low exposing the tops of the cell plates, the battery may need to be replaced and the charging system voltage checked to see if it is too high indicating a problematic voltage regulator.
Always check the charging system with a fully charged battery and a warmed up running engine at full RPM.
The charging systems on most small engines is a half wave system. As the stator puts out alternating current, only half of a full wave of AC is of the correct polarity, the other half wave is blocked by diodes and not used. This is part of the reason that voltage regulators get warm. The voltage regulation of the correct polarity is another source of heat. The correct polarity voltage half wave starts at zero, rises to to the point of regulation and then decreases back to zero. This happens quickly and quicker with an increase in engine RPM. The end result is that the battery sees pulses of varying DC voltage for which the battery has sufficient capacitance to accept. This power supplies the electrical system with mostly a non pulsing supply of voltage and amperage during operation.
Some tips about servicing and maintaining standard wet lead acid batteries:
New batteries always need to be charged prior to use and the electrolyte level checked. Distilled water only if needed!
Battery needs to be securely mounted on the tractor. This is for all battery types.
One hour of operation, mowing, etc doesn't put a lot of charge back into the battery. Periodic charging with a 1.5 AMP maintaining charger left on for several days or longer will prolong the life of the battery.
Off season servicing and charging of the battery is recommended along with periodic charging with a maintaining charger.
The electrolyte can become discolored and will show up in a hydrometer when checking the state of charge of cells.
When using a higher output charger, hydrogen gas bubbles form in the electrolyte giving an incorrect electrolyte level. Shaking the battery will cause these bubbles to rise out of the electrolyte correcting the level. Don't smoke around charging batteries, hydrogen gas burns!
If the electrolyte level is low exposing the tops of the cell plates, the battery may need to be replaced and the charging system voltage checked to see if it is too high indicating a problematic voltage regulator.
Always check the charging system with a fully charged battery and a warmed up running engine at full RPM.
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Thanks Bob for the very informative post. This explains why my tractor battery charge, starting capacity, was getting lower after a couple of shorter mowings or usages. And to answer some previous posts, "I did not buy cheap batteries". I will keep a trickle charger on the tractor when idle.
I agree with dundee222. The original post said that poster was having to replace the battery every year or so.. yest this post morphed into battery charging? If the battery was totally shot and needed replacement that's one thing but if the battery was just discharge that is something else. It just seems to me that people jump to conclusions. Yes I realize that this could be a charging issue, that the start to stop time might be too short to recharge the battery and therefore gradually lose charge guys. What we did not ask before making our determinations what what battery amp hour, how long was the GT run, how often and how long did it take to start, etc.. And yet we all jumped to our own conclusions.. We need to get better...
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418 Posts
The charging system may not charge a dead battery, but it should keep the battery topped off even during short run times.
Sorry not true at all! not even true for a car or anything else!.
Whilst it is true that when an engine charging system is running the aim is to charge the battery to replace the charge used when starting and running the charge happens at a prescribed rate and will take time to replace the charge used to start, etc. If the engine takes a few cycles to start the longer those cycles are will result in a longer charge time to replace back to where it was before the start occurred. Even if the charge system is fully functional, and the battery fully charged at the start, that will take time, and the longer the discharge to start the more time it will need and the more starts/stops also need to be factored in and any other things that will draw current too such as lights, PTO, etc.
OH, and another thing.. My GT's sit outside - summer and winter. During the summer they see very little use as they both are used for winter - one with a snow blower and the other a plow. I have about 1/2 acre of grass to cut in the summer and a couple of 80ft drives in the winter. Never had an issue starting, never had to trickle charge, etc. When I start either of my GT's they start in 4 or 5 revolutions of the engine (both B&S Vanguard) and (I use non ethanol gas) too. I do basic maintenance on both the engine and hydraulics (synthetic oil change on about a three year cycle, etc). I think in perhaps the last 6 plus year I changed my batteries but frankly can't remember the last time I charged them. My biggest issue is frozen ignition keys and not starting, etc
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To add some opinion on batteries,
I've had quite a few types of tractors over the years,, and for the most part, 2 years is approx what I'm running on for battery change intervals.
Currently, I'm on my 3rd year on my 446 though. What's the difference? My 446 doesn't require a long crank, even if it's sat idle for quite awhile, and likely the biggest reason, every 4 months or so, I'll top off my battery with a standard charger. I thought I'd try that, versus a new battery every 2 years. So far, so good.
So, dump the long cranks, and periodically, top off your battery.
My batteries of choice are, typically the highest cold cranking amps I can find, 350 to 425.
I've had quite a few types of tractors over the years,, and for the most part, 2 years is approx what I'm running on for battery change intervals.
Currently, I'm on my 3rd year on my 446 though. What's the difference? My 446 doesn't require a long crank, even if it's sat idle for quite awhile, and likely the biggest reason, every 4 months or so, I'll top off my battery with a standard charger. I thought I'd try that, versus a new battery every 2 years. So far, so good.
So, dump the long cranks, and periodically, top off your battery.
My batteries of choice are, typically the highest cold cranking amps I can find, 350 to 425.
Going on 8 years now with an (inexpensive at the time) Advance Auto battery. Have never used a battery tender on it or even needed to use a battery charger in the spring. This is the first one that has lasted more than 3 or 4 years (in the last 30 years with the 446) before needing to be replaced. I have read that the internal construction is key for garden tractor battery life due to strong vibration and bouncing that they are subjected to vs car and truck batteries. Don't know how I got lucky with this one, but If I don't get thru another year I am still way ahead at this point.
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One could come up with an exception scenario, but both car and tractor charging systems are designed to not need additional charging under normal use. Your next post states how you never have to use a charger under normal use, that is my point exactly. My tractor is used mostly in the winter, but occasionally in the summer. Battery stays in year round, no issues. My zero turn mower is put away for the winter so that battery comes out and on a Battery Tender.
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Having done a fair amount of research on solar electric with FLA batteries and there life expectancy and maintenance needs, I have learned a few things that I bring to my tractor batteries.
#1 is state of discharge. Some have mentioned a well tuned engine that starts quickly, this minimises the depth of discharge Also mentioned big CCA batteries, while you will draw the same amount of amps the % of discharge will be much lower My Simplicities will take a bit bigger battery, I have been able to find 625 CCA batteries for them and have get 10 and 11 years out of them
#2 FLA's have a natural tendency to self discharge. This can be reduced by keeping the battery clean. If you have a dirty/wet battery top place a multimeter lead on one post and the other lead on top of the battery next to the post and slide it towards the other post and watch the voltage climb. People have told me I was full of it, till I pulled out my meter and showed them why their battery died after sitting for a while but a charger would bring it back Any state of discharge will speed up the formation of a white substance called lead sulfate, the more of this that forms on the plates the less capacity the battery has because the LS acts as a insulator to the flow of electricity. That is why i keep the "Battery Tenders" on. The current snow mover battery has a date of 4/16, and is plenty strong yet
I also use the felt washers and protective sprays to seal and keep the clamps and posts clean.
Cheers,
Gordy
Edit; 🤔 Had to change Lead oxide to lead sulfate
#1 is state of discharge. Some have mentioned a well tuned engine that starts quickly, this minimises the depth of discharge
Also mentioned big CCA batteries, while you will draw the same amount of amps the % of discharge will be much lower My Simplicities will take a bit bigger battery, I have been able to find 625 CCA batteries for them and have get 10 and 11 years out of them #2 FLA's have a natural tendency to self discharge. This can be reduced by keeping the battery clean. If you have a dirty/wet battery top place a multimeter lead on one post and the other lead on top of the battery next to the post and slide it towards the other post and watch the voltage climb. People have told me I was full of it, till I pulled out my meter and showed them why their battery died after sitting for a while but a charger would bring it back
Any state of discharge will speed up the formation of a white substance called lead sulfate, the more of this that forms on the plates the less capacity the battery has because the LS acts as a insulator to the flow of electricity. That is why i keep the "Battery Tenders" on. The current snow mover battery has a date of 4/16, and is plenty strong yet I also use the felt washers and protective sprays to seal and keep the clamps and posts clean.
Cheers,
Gordy
Edit; 🤔 Had to change Lead oxide to lead sulfate
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Hi Gordy and group,
I fully agree with you about conductivity across the top of a battery. In the 70s I was a mech at a boat dealership and we worked with the USCG Research and Development Center in Groton, CT testing different situations. I made the conductivity across the top of a wet lead battery comment to one of their engineers, he did an experiment and proved it. I was USN in the 60s on board two WW2 vintage diesel submarines and got involved with the batteries and was told this by old timer electricians. The cells were 5' tall and held 22 gallons of electrolyte. There were 126 cells in each battery well and two battery compartments. Both of these subs were built in the 1940s and had closed cell ventilation which means that there was a maze of piping in each battery well that needed to be periodically removed and cleaned and partly opened up to add distilled water to the cells or check specific gravity. This piping would leak electrolyte onto the top of the cells. Newer and reworked subs have open cell ventilation.
I fully agree with you about conductivity across the top of a battery. In the 70s I was a mech at a boat dealership and we worked with the USCG Research and Development Center in Groton, CT testing different situations. I made the conductivity across the top of a wet lead battery comment to one of their engineers, he did an experiment and proved it. I was USN in the 60s on board two WW2 vintage diesel submarines and got involved with the batteries and was told this by old timer electricians. The cells were 5' tall and held 22 gallons of electrolyte. There were 126 cells in each battery well and two battery compartments. Both of these subs were built in the 1940s and had closed cell ventilation which means that there was a maze of piping in each battery well that needed to be periodically removed and cleaned and partly opened up to add distilled water to the cells or check specific gravity. This piping would leak electrolyte onto the top of the cells. Newer and reworked subs have open cell ventilation.
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AGM or just sealed and maintenance free? There is a difference.
If it is truly an AGM how did you modify the charging system?
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c
I will have to take a look. It is one of those grey ones from Auto-zone. It is In my little ford rather than the CASE. I have done some epic hill climbs on the 220. I don't think the 220's battery has leaked.
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I also get about 2 years out of a GT battery. I've tried most of the brands. Temperature has a lot to do with battery life. I worked with the large lead acid batteries banks we used at Power Plants. The vendors data showed life declining over 77F. I had a Texas friend who moved to Colorado for about 10 years he was amazed at the increased length his batteries lasted. so I'm convinced the Texas summer heat is part of what kills my batteries.
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