Battery Info

[LittleBill21]

Yes, but I've found that a battery is noticeably happier after several hundred miles of driving - and that's starting with a battery that's already at 12.5 V or better, and a 220 A alternator.

With a typical maintainer (1.5 to 5 A) it seems to take about two weeks to get the same result.

And speaking of maintainers, it might have been in this thread that someone recommended a very affordable Noco Genius. Well, I bought one. Two days ago it was connected to a used but charged and good battery, basically just to have it do something.

It reached the fully charged state the next day, but this morning it had the "bad battery" icon lit, and the formerly good battery was now at just over 11 volts. Started over, it shows it's charging, and the voltage is up as it should be. Maybe it was a fluke, but I'll never trust that one again.

you think the noco killed the battery?

 

[DarkBlack]

For BatteryMINDer chargers (and some others), it's not high voltage, it's high frequency pulses.

What voltage do you think the pulses are at?

 

[Too many Kubotas]

you think the noco killed the battery?

No, I'm sure it hasn't killed it, just wounded it. It'll never be quite as good again after having been drawn down that far.

In this case it won't be hard to tell as it's one of a pair. I'll mark that one so it's possible to tell their performance apart in the future.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have until March 12 to return the battery to Walmart if that's the problem.

Now I need to think of what I need to buy next. Big battery charger? Trickly Charger? or Battery Load Tester?

 

[ultrarunner]

Can you swap in a known good battery?

 

[LittleBill21]

I have until March 12 to return the battery to Walmart if that's the problem.

Now I need to think of what I need to buy next. Big battery charger? Trickly Charger? or Battery Load Tester?

if you have a 50amp charger you don't need a bigger one.

you need to remove the battery. charge it. let it sit for 2 days off the charger and off the tractor and check the voltage. if its above 12.4 its not the battery, if its back down around 10, the battery is bad

 

[EddieWalker]

The battery in the Backhoe is good. I don't know if the cables will hook up to it. They are quite a bit different in size.

We're having extreme thunderstorms right now with the possibility of tornadoes and 3 inches of rain. We've already received 2 1/4 inches during the week from two other storms.

I'll disconnect the battery, check the voltage, hook up the charger and monitor the voltage for a couple of days, and post the results.

Thank you.

 

[Hay Dude]

I have until March 12 to return the battery to Walmart if that's the problem.

Now I need to think of what I need to buy next. Big battery charger? Trickly Charger? or Battery Load Tester?

Eddie, trust me. Get yourself one of these. You’ll love it. I have one and it’ll start or charge anything.
Only drawback is you need a wall outlet. It won’t trip your breaker. Well designed for the farmer or heavy equipment operator.

 

[EddieWalker]

That's very similar to what I used to have, but ran over. And what I'm looking to buy now. I'm just trying to decide on what one is the best one to buy. I have 4 tractors, a Mule and two riding mowers. There is always a battery issue of some kind here!!!

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Now I need to think of what I need to buy next. Big battery charger? Trickly Charger? or Battery Load Tester?

I'd get at least a load tester, and they're cheap. Next a quality maintainer with desulfation, which can be anywhere from $20 to $200.

If PusleTech still has them on sale an Xtreme Charge XC450 is $70.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've never used a Load Tester before, but I've seen them use it at NAPA when bringing a battery in. They always have something like this.

Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

Is there an advantage to the digital ones? I'm sort of leaning towards something like the Schumacher that I post the link to. I also see that there is a Neiko that looks indentical to the Schumacher, but for about $15 less.

Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

 

[Hay Dude]

That's very similar to what I used to have, but ran over. And what I'm looking to buy now. I'm just trying to decide on what one is the best one to buy. I have 4 tractors, a Mule and two riding mowers. There is always a battery issue of some kind here!!!

Look on FBM for a used one, too. I got mine 15 years ago for $75.

 

[EddieWalker]

Do the big battery chargers have load testers on them?

 

[John_Mc]

That's very similar to what I used to have, but ran over. And what I'm looking to buy now. I'm just trying to decide on what one is the best one to buy. I have 4 tractors, a Mule and two riding mowers. There is always a battery issue of some kind here!!!

You do NOT want to use a high amperage charger on a small ATV or motorcycle sized battery (as is probably in your Mule). Those typically like to be charged at a rate of about 1 or 2 amps.

Not sure what the max charge rate your riding mower batteries can take, but worth checking before you hook them up to a big beast.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Speaking of battery issues, yesterday I found one that puzzles me.

These batteries have been flawless for about two years, always maintaining a good charge for months. Don't know if it's related, but recently decided to be nice to them and add some water. They didn't need much, some cells none.

Also in the process of rebuilding the power control box for this vehicle, basically a solenoid that provides power when the battery switch is turned on, and one that sends power to the starter's solenoid when activated.

With all systems seemingly good to go, the starter acted like the batteries were low. The voltage was still up there, but when load testing them the upper left and lower right one failed completely. Never had anything like that happen before.

The upper right one is positive in this 24 V system, and the lower left is negative. What I don't understand is why those two, first and last in the chain, are dead while the other two tests perfectly. Yes, stuff happens, but in this case, how?

Put them on a solar charger and with desulfation on the two bad ones. It'll be interesting to see if the specific gravity is still as bad as it was yesterday.

 

[LittleBill21]

Do the big battery chargers have load testers on them?

no

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I've never used a Load Tester before, but I've seen them use it at NAPA when bringing a battery in. They always have something like this.

That's the kind I use. It works.

Also, I do have a larger wheeled charger, but use that one maybe every five years or so. Despite taking care of 80+ batteries there's rarely a need for it. Frankly, I keep forgetting that I have it.

That's partially because bringing a battery back to life is best done with a low charge (1-2 A) over a longer time. In a shop where it's just a matter of getting a customer out the door asap, that's obviously not a concern.

 

[grsthegreat]

Yo do NOT want to use a high amperage charger on a small ATV or motorcycle sized battery (as is probably in your Mule). Those typically like to be charged at a rate of about 1 or 2 amps.

Not sure what the max charge rate your riding mower batteries can take, but worth checking before you hook them up to a big beast.

The mule uses a car battery, buy the statement of amp charger is correct

 

[EddieWalker]

Yo do NOT want to use a high amperage charger on a small ATV or motorcycle sized battery (as is probably in your Mule). Those typically like to be charged at a rate of about 1 or 2 amps.

Not sure what the max charge rate your riding mower batteries can take, but worth checking before you hook them up to a big beast.

I have trickle chargers on the mowers. They are smaller models for lawn mowers. I used one of them on the battery for my tractor for two weeks before putting it in, but it doesn't seem to have worked.

 

[WM75Guy]

I bought this one at Harbor Freight in Tyler.