12 Volt Battery Replacement

[JWR]

Awwright.... 19 posts and some more than 2 years old I may as well do my dump on battery opinions. This is limited to 12v, lead-acid, non-marine, non-deep discharge applications (i.e. cars, trucks and tractors.)
1) If it fits it will work. Measure.
2) You do care in many cases which side or corner of the battery has the positive and negative posts. Cable lengths, etc. 24F and 24C batts were once "Ford and Chevy" and the only difference was the terminal placement/orientation.
3) Obviously the terminal type matters -- needs to match your cables.
4) The main things that matter on battery capacity are Amp Hrs and Cold Cranking amps. Bigger is better. Handy comparison is your old battery or the mfr suggested one. None are gospel.
5) Nearly all "store batteries" now are remanufactured. Rare few are really 100% new -- I know of NONE. The "core charge" you get back for turning in your old battery is not a casual accident. The lead and other things WILL get reused.
6) Some new batteries in brand new vehicles are APPARENTLY really new. I have had 2 Ford Motorcraft batteries last more than 7 years and I suspicion they were "really new." One in an F-250 pickup lasted 10 years and I got rid of it for fear it would strand me that next winter.
7) Battery guarantees are a pure joke. Not worth reading or listening to. The only phrase that is worth anything in a battery guarantee is "full replacement" period when there is no prorata BS.
8) My theory is that batteries predominantly "wear out" based on charge/discharge cycles not on years or miles or hours. Largely crud accumulating in the battery case around the plates.
9) I recommend the biggest one that fits the spot you have to put it, provided that extra size shows in terms of CCA and AH. A battery with more lead and more acid has more capacity, usually. Larger tractors tend to have some very large batteries and very hard to find ones. Read that "money." They will cost you way more than car batteries not only because they are large but because far fewer of them are made. Some are "made better" in terms of shock and vibration resistance, etc. which is very hard to prove.
10) All of us no longer teenagers have formed opinions over the decades and favor certain brands. Sometimes justified, sometimes not.

 

[mjym]

my bx is a 2005 with 600hr and still have the same battery but i put a slow charger every couple mouth

 

[Garandman]

A Odyssey AGM battery will be my choice when it comes time to replace my battery. Good for all of the stated reasons, shock, vibration, heat, cold etc. AGMs are just much better batteries for vehicles of all types, tractors included. If it's good enough for an A1 Abrams tank, it's good enough for my stuff.

The Odyssey AGM (owned by EnerSys) is the best.

Sears Diehard Platinums are Odyssey AGM and you can often get 10-20% off in summer.

Optima AGM (Owned by Johnson Controls) are lighter but don't seem to hold up as well. Good in my WRX.

 

[jeff9366]

I am a believer in coating new battery terminals and connections with specialized N0-OX-ID battery grease. I have fooled with a lot of greases. NO-OX-ID is distinct. Once and done.....at least for six years and counting.

LINK: Google: NO-OX-ID

 

[TomSeller]

Gents,

I have a 2012 Kubota B3200 series tractor with FEL. The original battery that came with my tractor is not holding a charge and is only 2 years old. The original Kubota battery has a 1 year warranty? There is also no name on the battery, just a product number 55B24LS (51R-430). I am looking for a recommendation on a replacement battery other than Kubota. Your assistance and expertise is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Tobyone

I would worry about a slow drain. 2 years is not much. Did you check into that?

 

[Bronco82]

Kind of entertaining. My wife's Hybrid Nissan Pathfinder's battery took a dump on us during the last bitter cold snap we had. Unfortunately because it's a hybrid, the battery part number wasn't listed when I was attempting to find a replacement based on vehicle make/model. With a family trip coming up, and no more stores in town to try, I popped my Kubota's hood. Low and behold was the same size battery as under the hood of her Pathfinder. Well, out of the Kubota and into the Pathfinder, and we made our family vacation in the Pathfinder with my tractor battery.
Now that time permits, taking the Pathfinder's old battery around to match it up size wise and then put the Kubota's battery back in.

Gotta love it when a last ditch effort pulls through!

 

[Jay4200]

I dragged my dead battery (L4200) down to Sam's Club and matched the size and lug locations just this past fall - I've been running the same battery since 2006 when I got the tractor, so it was 12-13 years old at least. I forget the group size I got, but I picked the highest cranking current battery that would fit - over 1000 cranking amps.

 

[mikester]

Costco had some good pricing on car batteries but the top posts were all reversed for my tractor and my leads would be too tight to make a different battery fit.

I accidentally killed my 2 year old OEM Kubota battery this fall by leaving the ignition switch in the on position for a week and the cab light was on. I wasn't too impressed when I discovered that the OEM Kubota batteries only had 1 year warranties.

When I shopped around I found that I was going to spend 2 to 3 times more for a non Kubota battery with similar CCA and the other warranties were only 24-60 months. I ended up getting the OEM Kubota battery because it was the cheapest, was a drop in fit, and my lasted one only died after 2 years because of my brain fart moment... I decided to stick with the Kubota. I figured the Kubota batteries can't be too bad considering my 7 year old zero turn is still running on it's original 1 year warranty OEM Kubota battery...

 

[rScotty]

SNIP........ ended up getting the OEM Kubota battery because it was the cheapest, was a drop in fit, and my lasted one only died after 2 years because of my brain fart moment... I decided to stick with the Kubota. I figured the Kubota batteries can't be too bad considering my 7 year old zero turn is still running on it's original 1 year warranty OEM Kubota battery...

I hadn't though of that, I may do the same when the time comes. The battery in our 2007 M59 is the original & seems as strong as ever. Pretty good batteries.
rScotty

 

[alexinPA]

This was interesting, but... Would anybody care to actually give the brand and type of battery 55B24L(s)-MF replacement you use?