I am new to the Orange world. I just purchased my first tractor for use on 7 acres in California. I am wondering about battery maintenance... The tractor will will have down time throughout the year and I am wondering if I should keep it on a trickle charger when not in use. If so, any recommendations? I have used several of the Schumacher ones that stay attached and they seem to last less time than my batteries on a forklift I had. I am at the snow line, does anybody recommend a block heater or is that not necessary in California. Thanks
Battery maintenance: Trickle charger or not?
- Thread starter bfwaits
- Start date
Well all I can comment on is up here in the coal country, But I have a battery tender on the Harley, the OEM battery lasted 10 years using the tender, and I have one on my little orange beasty. Makes things a little easier on the battery when its fully charged during the winter. If your not going to use it for extended periods of time, then by all means use a tender if you just fire it up and run for a short time put a tender on it. I not sure where you are but I don't think cold will be to much of an issue but long time not running it might be. Sears has them for like 30 bucks and when they are on sale like 20,, as far as I am concerned its cheap ins for your battery.
As for the block heater over here on the right coast, it stays in the low 30s in the day to teens at night, from like Dec to Feb and I have never had a problem starting her, one thought though if its going to sit for a long time outside or even in an enclosed building, use a good diesel conditioner in your fuel, moisture in fuel is no fun! And if ya gots mouses,, a box of moth balls scattered around, I don't know why but it seems to keep them at bay and outa da equipment.
The main thing is to have fun with it, and Oh yeah pictures we love pictures
As for the block heater over here on the right coast, it stays in the low 30s in the day to teens at night, from like Dec to Feb and I have never had a problem starting her, one thought though if its going to sit for a long time outside or even in an enclosed building, use a good diesel conditioner in your fuel, moisture in fuel is no fun! And if ya gots mouses,, a box of moth balls scattered around, I don't know why but it seems to keep them at bay and outa da equipment.
The main thing is to have fun with it, and Oh yeah pictures we love pictures
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Lil Foot
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Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
My F350 and the wife's LHS are driven often....everything else (tractor, TW200, Rhino, & 5th wheel) stay on battery maintainer/chargers. I've used several brands over the years, but currently like these from Cycle Gear:
http://www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/...URABOOST/Battery-Maintainer-750/p/42958_00000
http://www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/...-Series-4000-Charger-Maintainer/p/43174_00000
http://www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/...URABOOST/Battery-Maintainer-750/p/42958_00000
http://www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/...-Series-4000-Charger-Maintainer/p/43174_00000
Kubota Newbie
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Equipment
M4500, New Idea Cut-Ditioner, JD 14T Baler, IH "Plow Chief" plows, Oliver Rake
I've had good luck even just throwing the regular charger on at 2 amps over night about once a month.
I used to use a trickle charger...
Until a friend of mine lost everything in a fire caused by one on his boat battery in the attached garage.
I now use a regular charger occasionally when I'm going to be around home. I'll never leave a charger of any kind on for long periods of time again.
Until a friend of mine lost everything in a fire caused by one on his boat battery in the attached garage.
I now use a regular charger occasionally when I'm going to be around home. I'll never leave a charger of any kind on for long periods of time again.
Lil Foot
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Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
I'd guess that's a pretty rare situation..... tractor has been hooked up for 4 yrs, Rhino for 8 yrs, one motorcycle or another for at least 35 yrs, and 5th wheel for 10yrs.
Maybe "trickle" chargers are still out there but thays not what you would want for long term battery maintenance. The newer are generally called float or maintainers that sence current and keep it topped up. A old school trickle charger will always be sending voltage to the battery and could boil away the electrolyte .I have battery tender brand maintainers on all the seldom used equipment and toys. The real important one is the one on my standby generator it only runs 1hr per week which is not enough to keep it fully charged.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk
I use the old term trickle charger by habit. The unit that started the fire was a battery "minder" according to him, I assume that = tender?
Either way, I'll juice mine on weekends thanks.
Either way, I'll juice mine on weekends thanks.
I have an L2800 (2009) and keep it at Lake Almanor CA....where it gets colder than where you are. I use it sporadically and have never had a problem with it starting right up...
Key to success is that I keep it in a garage (not heated), put a good battery in it the first time (2009)...and I use fuel stabilizer in all fill-ups so that the starter doesn't need to crank forever to start the thing.
I assume some of these folks live in a much colder place and would likely need to keep the battery topped off to crank a very cold block...mine has never failed to fire right up.
Key to success is that I keep it in a garage (not heated), put a good battery in it the first time (2009)...and I use fuel stabilizer in all fill-ups so that the starter doesn't need to crank forever to start the thing.
I assume some of these folks live in a much colder place and would likely need to keep the battery topped off to crank a very cold block...mine has never failed to fire right up.
Lil Foot
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Lifetime Member
Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
I live in Arizona, arguably the hardest climate for batteries. Triple A just published their trouble call list for last year here- tires, #1, batteries, #2.
I've had a battery last nearly 14 years, several in the 7-9 year range, so I think I'll keep modern tenders on them.
I've had a battery last nearly 14 years, several in the 7-9 year range, so I think I'll keep modern tenders on them.
Newlyme
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Equipment
M4900 w/loader, finish mower, tiller, auger, rake. BX24 w/loader, backhoe
I started a thread "Charging Battery while Running Tractor" over in the Tractor Operating section to try and get an idea of how long to run the tractor to bring the battery back to a full charge. While I didn't really get the answer I was looking for it got me into researching battery minders. D2Cat mentioned bringing a battery back to life with Desulfation. I found the de-sulfation interesting and thought I would try them.
My golf cart was sitting for awhile and when I decided to get it up and running again I hooked it up to its 36 volt charger and that was generating too much heat. So I split the batteries up into three groups, two batteries each, and charged them that way on the high setting of my regular charger. They wouldn't hold the charge for long. But the golf cart is up and running. While charging I did not notice any gassing inside the cells.
I bought three BatteryMinders and hooked them up after I charged up the batteries. After a day I noticed the gassing in the cells. So maybe they are doing the trick of removing the sulfation and putting some life back into them. Its been a week now and they are slowly bringing up the voltage. When I started the process the lowest of the six batteries was 5.9 volts before charging. The BatteryMinders say they will work on 12 volt batteries with at least 10.5 volts and above as long as there are no dead cells. When I put the two in series I was well above that. So we'll see how it goes and I'll report back.
My golf cart was sitting for awhile and when I decided to get it up and running again I hooked it up to its 36 volt charger and that was generating too much heat. So I split the batteries up into three groups, two batteries each, and charged them that way on the high setting of my regular charger. They wouldn't hold the charge for long. But the golf cart is up and running. While charging I did not notice any gassing inside the cells.
I bought three BatteryMinders and hooked them up after I charged up the batteries. After a day I noticed the gassing in the cells. So maybe they are doing the trick of removing the sulfation and putting some life back into them. Its been a week now and they are slowly bringing up the voltage. When I started the process the lowest of the six batteries was 5.9 volts before charging. The BatteryMinders say they will work on 12 volt batteries with at least 10.5 volts and above as long as there are no dead cells. When I put the two in series I was well above that. So we'll see how it goes and I'll report back.
Low amperage "trickle" chargers are NOT a good tool for recharging a depleted battery.
They don't have enough "uoomph" to form rising bubbles and beneficial circulation within the cells.
But for "topping off" and maintaining a battery during periods of inactivity, Battery Tenders and trickle chargers are very useful.
In winter, I put the 1 amp trickle charger on which ever tractor I plan to start up the next day.
The Battery tender gets cycled around between all the batteries fitted to infrequently used equipment. That's four rigs, a couple of tractors plus the motorbike. So , Once a week....
I like having a snappy battery when it's needed.
The six X 2 amp chargers are brought out when I do something stupid like leave a door ajar, or a work lamp on. You would think I could see a lit light bulb, but......
Sulfation starts as soon as the battery is even slightly below full charge. Keep 'em topped off!
They don't have enough "uoomph" to form rising bubbles and beneficial circulation within the cells.
But for "topping off" and maintaining a battery during periods of inactivity, Battery Tenders and trickle chargers are very useful.
In winter, I put the 1 amp trickle charger on which ever tractor I plan to start up the next day.
The Battery tender gets cycled around between all the batteries fitted to infrequently used equipment. That's four rigs, a couple of tractors plus the motorbike. So , Once a week....
I like having a snappy battery when it's needed.
The six X 2 amp chargers are brought out when I do something stupid like leave a door ajar, or a work lamp on. You would think I could see a lit light bulb, but......
Sulfation starts as soon as the battery is even slightly below full charge. Keep 'em topped off!
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Newlyme
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Lifetime Member
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M4900 w/loader, finish mower, tiller, auger, rake. BX24 w/loader, backhoe
I was wondering why these BatteryMinders said to charge the battery first.
It’s funny though, the instructions also said that they will work on a battery with as low as 10.5 volts.
Low amperage 1.3 amps, high frequency ?hz
They are gassing now with the BatteryMinders running. They weren’t with the fast charger.
I’ve always had battery chargers for use when a battery was low. I never knew about Sulfation.
That’s why I thought I would give these a try. Making the rounds on all of the batteries.
Newlyme
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Lifetime Member
Equipment
M4900 w/loader, finish mower, tiller, auger, rake. BX24 w/loader, backhoe
Well its been 13 days since I started my BatteryMinder use/test.
I am working with six 6 volt batteries, Trojan T-105’s hooked up in series to create three 12 volt batteries. And using three BatteryMinders to charge them.
Following the instructions I charged each set, ( one hour ), before hooking up to the trickle charge. Then ran the trickle charge for twelve days recording voltages each day.
V after charge. V after BM. V after sitting 24 hrs
B1. 5.99. . . . . . . 6.84. . . . . . . 6.36
B2. 6.16. . . . . . . 7.00. . . . . . . 6.41
B3. 6.20. . . . . . . 6.84. . . . . . . 6.40
B4. 6.25. . . . . . . 7.03. . . . . . . 6.44
B5. 6.27. . . . . . . 7.02. . . . . . . 6.42
B6. 6.10. . . . . . . 6.87. . . . . . . 6.39
The BatteryMinder never shutdown automatically to maintenance mode as designed. It never reached that threshold. During the test I was doing some research and stumbled across batteryunivesity.com and decided mid test to change my method. Their course BU-403 Charging Lead Acid Batteries was a good read. This is all free by the way. While waiting 24 hours to obtain the readings below I put the BatteryMinders on my BX24 and ATV and they did automatically shutdown to maintenance mode.
12.6 volts is the reading on a fully charged battery. My battery pairing readings after sitting 24 hours.
B1/2. 12.77 v
B3/4. 12.84 v
B5/6. 12.81 v
Next test is this weekend to see how well they hold up under use. These batteries were fully charged at one point when I stopped using the golf cart and then sat unattended for 12 to 18 months. So we’ll see if I can bring them back and to what degree.
Disclaimer: I have no interests in BatteryMinder I got the name and information from of this site.
I am working with six 6 volt batteries, Trojan T-105’s hooked up in series to create three 12 volt batteries. And using three BatteryMinders to charge them.
Following the instructions I charged each set, ( one hour ), before hooking up to the trickle charge. Then ran the trickle charge for twelve days recording voltages each day.
V after charge. V after BM. V after sitting 24 hrs
B1. 5.99. . . . . . . 6.84. . . . . . . 6.36
B2. 6.16. . . . . . . 7.00. . . . . . . 6.41
B3. 6.20. . . . . . . 6.84. . . . . . . 6.40
B4. 6.25. . . . . . . 7.03. . . . . . . 6.44
B5. 6.27. . . . . . . 7.02. . . . . . . 6.42
B6. 6.10. . . . . . . 6.87. . . . . . . 6.39
The BatteryMinder never shutdown automatically to maintenance mode as designed. It never reached that threshold. During the test I was doing some research and stumbled across batteryunivesity.com and decided mid test to change my method. Their course BU-403 Charging Lead Acid Batteries was a good read. This is all free by the way. While waiting 24 hours to obtain the readings below I put the BatteryMinders on my BX24 and ATV and they did automatically shutdown to maintenance mode.
12.6 volts is the reading on a fully charged battery. My battery pairing readings after sitting 24 hours.
B1/2. 12.77 v
B3/4. 12.84 v
B5/6. 12.81 v
Next test is this weekend to see how well they hold up under use. These batteries were fully charged at one point when I stopped using the golf cart and then sat unattended for 12 to 18 months. So we’ll see if I can bring them back and to what degree.
Disclaimer: I have no interests in BatteryMinder I got the name and information from of this site.
Newlyme
Active member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
M4900 w/loader, finish mower, tiller, auger, rake. BX24 w/loader, backhoe
Here is one of the things they said about Sulfation on batteryuniversity.com...
“Much has been said about pulse charging of lead acid batteries to reduce sulfation. The results are inconclusive and manufacturers as well as service technicians are divided on the benefit. If sulfation could be measured and the right amount of pulsing applied, then the remedy could be beneficial; however giving a cure without knowing the underlying side effects can be harmful to the battery.“
Course number for Sulfation BU-804b
I'm a retired EE/CS living off grid on my own design 120VDC battery management system and inverter. I also use 12v with my own charge control hardware.
A charger to keep your battery in the proper float voltage range will certainly make the battery last much longer than a charge it when you remember system. The cheapie listed above had decent specs- it's a 750ma max current charge with a voltage hysterisis range that is acceptable for float service.
One thing to watch for is cell balance; if you check your electrolyte with a hygrometer, you can see if any cells are higher or lower than the others. If so, you will have much shorter battery life, as this will tend to undercharge the low cells (sulfation) and overcharge the faster cells (plate erosion) more and more with time. The solution is to do an equalization charge at 15.3v or thereabouts- check the battery manufacturer. About 5 hrs will do the job and get all the cells matching. You may only need this as the batteries get a few years old, just watch the cell balance. You will need to find a charger with an equalization charge mode, or manually adjusted fixed charge voltage.
Equalizing as needed will buy you a few extra years service- it keeps the dead cell problem away.
Battery University is a good place to learn about all types of batteries.
A charger to keep your battery in the proper float voltage range will certainly make the battery last much longer than a charge it when you remember system. The cheapie listed above had decent specs- it's a 750ma max current charge with a voltage hysterisis range that is acceptable for float service.
One thing to watch for is cell balance; if you check your electrolyte with a hygrometer, you can see if any cells are higher or lower than the others. If so, you will have much shorter battery life, as this will tend to undercharge the low cells (sulfation) and overcharge the faster cells (plate erosion) more and more with time. The solution is to do an equalization charge at 15.3v or thereabouts- check the battery manufacturer. About 5 hrs will do the job and get all the cells matching. You may only need this as the batteries get a few years old, just watch the cell balance. You will need to find a charger with an equalization charge mode, or manually adjusted fixed charge voltage.
Equalizing as needed will buy you a few extra years service- it keeps the dead cell problem away.
Battery University is a good place to learn about all types of batteries.