4 years out of factory battery?

[tcrote5516]

Just had to replace my BX's battery after 4 years which seems like a less than great performance for a factory battery. Tractor has 325hrs on it and I'm good about finding some little project to keep it running it once a week or so. Never had a charging issue or battery drain causing it to be discharged. I feel like I should have got at least a couple more years out of it.

Truth be told if I was in a southern climate this battery would still get the job done but up here in the North East it lacked the juice to fire the glow plugs and get her started the last two times the temps dropped below 20 degrees.

The battery in my F150 is 8 years old and still going strong. That truck sits for 3 weeks at a time on average. Am I expecting too much from a tractor battery that just cost me $125?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Am I expecting too much from a tractor battery that just cost me $125?

What kind of battery did you get that cost $125
All of my batteries in all my equipment cost me less than $100 and have a five year warranty.

The bad part about batteries in equipment is you don't know how long the equipment sat at the dealer so what you think is a four year old battery could very well be a 6 year old battery.

 

[billrigsby]

Just had to replace my BX's battery after 4 years which seems like a less than great performance for a factory battery. Am I expecting too much from a tractor battery that just cost me $125?

factory battery ?
Since I have a 70s era Kubota I don't know who makes the quote-unquote factory batteries, but if they're not made by someone such as Interstate I doubt you can expect more than four years out of one. If new tractors are like new cars, they tend to use the cheapest they can get.

For $125 you could probably get a really good Interstate Battery that will last you the eight years you're looking for.

Just food for thought, and grounds for further research.

 

[Bulldog777]

I would expect more life than that, but.....the name of the game is sales. Engineered to get past warranty and then, "Hello, sales counter!" Lol

Short little trips and killing the engine may not give it enough time to charge. I generally let mine idle if I'm not going to be long. But most of the time I start one little project and end up doing three or four.

 

[Tooljunkie]

Vibration. Thats what takes them out.
Short cycle is another thing, periodically charging them may help but a deep discharge/slow charge will keep them at best performance.

I would try a couple discharge/recharge cycles before giving up completely. If it is still around 12 volts and tries to crank then maybe a surface charge is your problem.

A boost then running machine can sometimes fool charging system,and battery wont take a charge. I have successfully pulled a battery back from the dead on a few occasions.

 

[billrigsby]

....the name of the game is sales.

YEP !!!

Short little trips and killing the engine may not give it enough time to charge.

YEP, if I just start it to pull it out of the shop for room, it sits there for at least a half hour to an hour at a higher idle, diesels take a lot more current to start, and they like to just run !!

 

[Tooljunkie]

Did i mention that some things are built by the same company that builds stuff for major car manufacturers? Very popular. This company goes by many names, best known as Low Bidder!!

 

[KubotaVet]

My old B7800 battery was still going strong after 14 years when I sold the tractor. I kept it in my garage (not heated) and it had a block heater to assist with winter starting.

 

[sagor]

Just had to replace my BX's battery after 4 years which seems like a less than great performance for a factory battery. Tractor has 325hrs on it and I'm good about finding some little project to keep it running it once a week or so. Never had a charging issue or battery drain causing it to be discharged. I feel like I should have got at least a couple more years out of it.

Truth be told if I was in a southern climate this battery would still get the job done but up here in the North East it lacked the juice to fire the glow plugs and get her started the last two times the temps dropped below 20 degrees.

The battery in my F150 is 8 years old and still going strong. That truck sits for 3 weeks at a time on average. Am I expecting too much from a tractor battery that just cost me $125?

Lots of factors for battery life, including just "bad luck" at times. Things like really cold weather, lots of starting, or overcharging can reduce battery life. 8 years on your F150? Heck, my 5 year old F150 is on its third battery. Seems cold weather and sitting idle kills it faster than normal. My backup generator battery lasts about 2-3 years (lawn tractor battery). My Skid steer battery is 7-8 years old and still going strong (I hope...). So, it all varies. Someone may get 3-5 years on one battery, and someone with the same battery may get 8 years or more. It is all those other factors that can affect the life of a battery....
While 4 years may seem a bit short, it is not outside the possibility it has gone bad. Once you replace it, check your charging circuits, just to be sure...

 

[tcrote5516]

Thanks for all the replies.

I say "factory battery" because it literally doesn't have a name on it. The model number doesn't cross reference to anything so I don't know what else to call it. Obviously it's made by someone and that's not Kubota but who knows.

I ran out to get a new one tonight. Went to TSC first but they didn't stock the BX's size so I got HOSED at Autozone for a buck and a quarter. Problem is we have snow coming tonight and I really didn't feel like playing the game of removing the cover, shimmy out the battery to jump it in the freezing cold game a third time tomorrow.

Could have found a better battery at a better price but I didn't have it in me to drive around.

Yes, I'm amazed every time my truck fires up in the unheated garage on a 10 degree day. It's been treated worse than my Kubota battery and for twice as long so go figure.

 

[Missouribound]

The bad part about batteries in equipment is you don't know how long the equipment sat at the dealer so what you think is a four year old battery could very well be a 6 year old battery.

That's almost exactly what my dealer told me on Tuesday...when I took in my 6 month old battery from my 6 month old B2320. It wouldn't take a charge after only 20 hours.

 

[skeets]

And dat chillins is why I have battery tenders on everything that sits for a long time, both the bike and tractor also it keeps the battery warm in the winter, something else people forget about. The OEM battery in the HD was 14 years old before it gave up the ghost, again battery tender.

 

[mudog88]

And dat chillins is why I have battery tenders on everything that sits for a long time, both the bike and tractor also it keeps the battery warm in the winter, something else people forget about. The OEM battery in the HD was 14 years old before it gave up the ghost, again battery tender.

That's what I do too. Generator and tractor both have electronically controller tenders. I think they were ~$20/ea. at Wally World. I have no idea how old the battery in the tractor is, but this is my third year having it, and it's still going strong. Generator came with it's own, but I would have to plug it in for ~12 hours and unplug it once a month, so I installed the electronic one.

 

[Tooljunkie]

That's what I do too. Generator and tractor both have electronically controller tenders. I think they were ~$20/ea. at Wally World. I have no idea how old the battery in the tractor is, but this is my third year having it, and it's still going strong. Generator came with it's own, but I would have to plug it in for ~12 hours and unplug it once a month, so I installed the electronic one.

I put a timer to charge battey 1 hour/day.

 

[lugbolt]

Deka supplies the "factory" batteries.

Battery life is subjective. 4 years isn't bad given the climate and operational characteristics.

Remember..batteries self-discharge when not in use. The smaller the battery the faster they self discharge.

Where the battery is mounted plays a part too. Excessive heat and vibration will hurt them faster than if there was very little of either.

Charging. Your Ford has a much higher output charging system. 130-200 amps typically. Your Kubota has most likely less than 40 amp charging system. What this means is that it takes longer to recharge after the initial start. So if you start it, and it runs 5 minutes at low idle, it's not recharging fully.

I really like the battery tenders. They have extended the life of all my battery powered equipment by a larger margin; the battery in my boat was 15 years old when I finally had to replace it. Had a tender on it when it was not in use. It was bought new 1/18/01 and I replaced it 2/7/16.

Initial servicing of the battery is the most crucial part of it's life. The 2nd most crucial part is sitting. If it sits for weeks on end (and remember...the smaller the battery the more sensitive it is to sitting without charging), it will self-discharge. After a while, they tend to develop a memory of sorts, and this will reduce the life of it. Keeping it on a battery tender will help immensely.

 

[tcrote5516]

Deka supplies the "factory" batteries.

Battery life is subjective. 4 years isn't bad given the climate and operational characteristics.

Remember..batteries self-discharge when not in use. The smaller the battery the faster they self discharge.

Where the battery is mounted plays a part too. Excessive heat and vibration will hurt them faster than if there was very little of either.

Charging. Your Ford has a much higher output charging system. 130-200 amps typically. Your Kubota has most likely less than 40 amp charging system. What this means is that it takes longer to recharge after the initial start. So if you start it, and it runs 5 minutes at low idle, it's not recharging fully.

I really like the battery tenders. They have extended the life of all my battery powered equipment by a larger margin; the battery in my boat was 15 years old when I finally had to replace it. Had a tender on it when it was not in use. It was bought new 1/18/01 and I replaced it 2/7/16.

Initial servicing of the battery is the most crucial part of it's life. The 2nd most crucial part is sitting. If it sits for weeks on end (and remember...the smaller the battery the more sensitive it is to sitting without charging), it will self-discharge. After a while, they tend to develop a memory of sorts, and this will reduce the life of it. Keeping it on a battery tender will help immensely.

That's a good point regarding the charging system. I expect a lot from my alternator especially in the winter with the cold temps and short days. 4 LED floodlights are on 90% of the time, blower for the heat and of course the stereo. Factor in the extra energy to run the glow plugs then turn over a frozen engine and that's a lot to expect from a battery. I'm going to put a quick connect charging plug on it, keep it on a electronically controlled trickle charger and see how much time I get out of this battery.

 

[RCW]

I say "factory battery" because it literally doesn't have a name on it.

I'm at year 4 also - so far so good. I haven't put a tender on it, either, but should since I'm upstate New Yorkistan - kinda cold too. My BX2360 probably sat on a lot for a while before I bought it, since the xx70's were out.

I got 11 years on a factory Harley battery with tender.

For my last JD - I stuck with a dealer battery - and only put 1 in it in 12 years.

 

[OldeEnglish]

I had to replace the battery in the 2910 last summer after 15 years! My wife's Subaru battery lasted a little over 2 years and 40k miles, but she has a remote car starter that shuts the car off when you open the door. So basically gets started 2x more in the winter and she always has the heat cranked, heated seats on, and the headlights are automatically on. That's a huge draw down right off the bat, but I've read that the batteries are junk in the Subaru for some reason. I replaced it with a Optima red top with more CCA, we'll see how long it lasts.

 

[RCW]

That's a good point regarding the charging system.

Gosh tcrote -- after reading lugbolt's explanation, I think I ought to be doing the same......except for the heat, radio, and chute controls - we're similar in use/climate, etc.....

I've looked at them several times, just haven't done it.......

 

[tcrote5516]

Yea, I just finished wiring up a permanent charging port on the outside of the cab and on the "drivers side". I have to remove the plug to open the door so hopefully that will keep me from driving off with it still attached . Will be interesting to see how much longer (hopefully) this battery lasts. It's about 100CCA higher than the original so that alone should help.