Solar Batter Tenders

[Indygunworks]

That's it... Surprised it doesn't have the rated horse power? Also I have a different transmission than whats listed. I have 4 forward and 1 reverse with a high low setting. I also don't have any data stamped on the bell and the consensus was this was a dealer custom who didn't stamp it.

 

[Indygunworks]

At least its the more normal setup. that will lead to less confusion if I ever do anything w/ the electronics, like add lights.

 

[k0ua]

The advice to follow the leads from the battery is good advice, but If you cannot do that, you can use your multimeter to find out if a vehicle is positive ground or not by making sure your multimeter is set to read DC voltage on the correct range. In other words on most digital multimeters set it on the 20 volts max range. On analog meters the ranges may be higher or lower, but choose a range that will be over the expected 12 volts. Then make sure the red lead is plugged into the Volt/ohm port on the meter and the black lead is plugged into the com or common port.
Now place the red lead on the positive terminal of the battery and the black lead on a bare spot on the frame of the vehicle (clean bolt head, or scratch some paint to see bare metal etc.) You should read 12 something volts if the vehicle is negative ground. You will read 0 or near 0 volts if the vehicle is positive ground. It would not hurt to do a double blind test. So take the negative lead (black lead) and place it on the negative terminal of the battery and place the red (positive) lead on to a bare spot of metal on the vehicle frame. If the vehicle is negative ground, you should read 0 volts or nearly so. If the vehicle is positive ground you should read 12 volts or nearly so. Of course it is usually easier to just follow the big cable coming off of the negative terminal of the battery to see if it goes to the frame of the vehicle.

 

[Indygunworks]

THANKS!!! they will be digging the footer for the house on Thursday so I will be out there then to install the disconnect, the solar charger, add a fuel filter to my 55 gallon drum storage setup, and test the PHD I just rebuilt.

 

[k0ua]

I don't know if 1.5 watts would do much to charge a battery if that is truly what the HF panel puts out.

They actually will keep a good battery charged up if there are no parasitic drains (or very small ones). 1.5 watts is a lot of power.. I can talk to radio stations in Europe easily with 1.5 watts of power given good antenna and good propogation conditions and the proper mode. I have done it with a lot less than 1.5 watts. I have a 1 watt LED flashlight that I can make out the body of a deer in total darkness at 100 yards. Granted it has a tightly focused beam, but this is one bright flashlight for its size. As an example the efficiency of a standard incandescent light bulb is somewhere around 3 to 4 percent. So a 60 watt bulb produces maybe just a little over 2 watts of actual light. The rest of the energy goes into making heat. Of course LED lamps are much more efficient even taking into account losses in their needed power supply's. I am just full of useless information aren't I?:laughing:

 

[3930dave]

That's it... Surprised it doesn't have the rated horse power? Also I have a different transmission than whats listed. I have 4 forward and 1 reverse with a high low setting. I also don't have any data stamped on the bell and the consensus was this was a dealer custom who didn't stamp it.

Being an Industrial, that entry is a little light on data; I didn't even see Production Years listed.

Ag tractors (Ford at least) usually have more data listed, with some of it from Nebraska Tractor Tests. Industrials probably weren't tested, as the engine data would have already been established for the equiv. Ag tractor.

Your tractor battery will need a good charge into it, before you leave the solar panel on it. If you are not going to be running the tractor when you are next there, charge it off your running truck. Worth doing, since your battery is not that old.

A small AC generator + AC battery charger works well too, and would burn less gas than leaving your truck idling for an hour or 2.

Rgds, D.

 

[Indygunworks]

I do have a generator on site, but I can easily let the tractor run for a while to get it all charged back up. I think my father is going to be coming into town and I asked him to bring his battery tester/charger, so if he remembers it I will just fire the generator up for a couple of hours. I don't think it would take to long to charge it. Its never been DEAD when I visited the property, just not enough juice to get the thing to turn over quickly. It struggles, and then I drain it enough that it wouldn't matter, but as soon as its hooked up to the truck it cranks over darn near first time every time. I think its just a big engine that needs a very large initial power draw to get it to crank over w/ enough speed to get itself going.

 

[3930dave]

Diesels need a battery to be in tip-top shape - esp. so if you are running conventional motor oil in cold weather.

With your new disconnect in place, and a solar panel added, that should help you get some good years out of that battery.

Rgds, D.

 

[Blaneypark]

I would still pull the Battery out and take it to an auto supply store and have it tested. They don't make batterys like they one did. I hade one crap out after two months of use.

 

[Indygunworks]

I am going to put a battery tester on it tomorrow that I am borrowing from my dad when he comes to visit in the morning. I added the disconnect, and hooked the charger up. Going back out tomorrow morning so it may not be a GREAT indicator if this will be a good patch, but if she starts easy it will be a start.



Solar charger hooked up to the battery I did clean off the connections



and I put a bolt under the cover to keep the metal from clamping down on the cords from the charger. You can see the blue light is lit up indicating that its producing at least SOME power. It wasn't lighting up as bright as it did in the house, but it was cloudy today. If all it needs is a tiny little trickle to keep the battery healthy I think it will work just like this w/out having to run any extra line. No need to go through all that effort if its fixed as it sits now.

 

[Indygunworks]

for what its worth the level of light that you see in the picture is 100 percent sunlight coming through the skylights, as I don't have any power on the property yet.

 

[Buggs67]

I think that black lead need to go to the battery terminal. If it's after the disconnect it's not gonna charge anything.

 

[Indygunworks]

I think that black lead need to go to the battery terminal. If it's after the disconnect it's not gonna charge anything.

HA, you know what, now that I think about it your right. I had it hooked onto the other side, but pulled it off so I could clean the corrosion off and I just cleaned the same spot on both sides, didn't even think about the disconnect. I will have to make sure I plug that in on the correct spot after tomorrow morning.

 

[Ford850]

It looks like your cable clamps are corroded quite a bit. I would scrub them until clean, and all mating surfaces are bright and shiny.

 

[RPW]

Also if that disconnect is on the positive side you have the charger hooked up backwards.

 

[Indygunworks]

No, the disconnect is hooked up to the negative side. I pulled the battery and it tested OK, but needs charge as it was only at 50 percent capacity. Ill have to buy a charger, but hopefully adding the disconnect will keep it from getting that low again.

Also, I looked a the lucas oil engine oil conditioner. Says its supposed to help with cold starts, seems like a good product for what I got going on, any advice?

 

[doxford jim]

I would check and clean all battery connection first - a dirty connection can cause a lot of grief.
I would also when finished with the tractor, disconnect the ground after each use. This way it cannot discharge when not in use.
Once these things are looked at you can consider what to do regarding solar power.

 

[3930dave]

No, the disconnect is hooked up to the negative side. I pulled the battery and it tested OK, but needs charge as it was only at 50 percent capacity. Ill have to buy a charger, but hopefully adding the disconnect will keep it from getting that low again.

Also, I looked a the lucas oil engine oil conditioner. Says its supposed to help with cold starts, seems like a good product for what I got going on, any advice?

For cold starting, if you are close to needing an oil change, just go with any decent 5W40, Rotella T6 for example. Lucas's conventional Oil Conditioner is pretty thick stuff, and their more expensive synthetic version may not "thin down" a 15W40 enough (esp. used oil) to help with a weak battery. My 2 cents.

50% is low, try and bulk (meaning non-solar) charge it as soon as you can.

Rgds, D.

 

[kevin37b]

What kind of shape is that starter in ? Just thinking .

 

[rd_macgregor]

I have a solar panel very much like the one you are using. Originally, I used it to help keep a charge in a battery for an electric fence (but it couldn't keep up with the drawdown). Now, I'm thinking of hanging the solar panel in the back window of my tractor cab, connected to the battery through a cigarette lighter plug (the stock one is hooked up through the ignition, so I can't use it without some rewiring). Oh, my tractor lives outdoors all the time.
Bob