Battery and Maintainer

[Stmar]

Original battery (2016) going on 10 years, keep it on a maintainer when not in use. Thought it had failed but turned out to be the maintainer, a lot cheaper than battery. Who would have thought the battery would outlast the maintainer. How long do batteries normally last? Our MKC lasts about 3 years even on a high end maintainer. F150 and F250 about 5 years.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

That's how they're built to fail.... Unless you actually pop the caps, you'll never see the loss of electrolyte. So called 'maintenance free' batteries won't last, especially of required to used under harsh conditions like winter, heavy loads, hot summers and 'just OK' alternators.

 

[85Hokie]

I have 9 of these all different amp charges, bought over the last 10 years. Had one fail out the box, they replaced quickly.

The ONE amp ones are typically around $25 on sale.
Also working on a battery in my BX25D ...... on year 13

 

[BruceMc]

How long do batteries normally last?

Still have the original battery in my 2014 BX25D. Used year-round, ~950 hrs, no maintainer, it still tests in the green. Never gave me a problem.

 

[jaxs]

On recommendation of a harbor master I bought three 1.25 amp Deltran brand tenders about y2k then two 750ma about 2010. Had them on something most all the time. Lost one a few years ago and I believe it was my fault. Here's what happened if anyone is interested. The charger is protected in case it is hooked up in reverse polarity. I hooked it in reverse,disconnected both clamps, had a brain fart and immediately hooked them back in reverse and let the smoke out. Another fyi is that 750ma is marketed for motorcycles but works fine on truck and tractor batteries. Needless to say it takes a long time if large battery is almost dead so I normally put battery on a 2 amp or 6 amp charger until 75% or more charged before hooking 750amp. Every 90-120 days I put a tender on daily drivers because I'm convinced it has a desulfation effect that doesn't happen with alternator.

I've seen much longer battery life since using these maintainers.

 

[imarobot]

Going on 14 years on original battery. I keep it on a maintenance charger all of the time. Well not all the time, I unplug it when I'm using the tractor, I don't have a long enough extension cord.

 

[Boatman]

I got 17 years out of the original battery in my L2800. Never on a maintainer and never needed a charge. Slowly losing power until I decided it was time to retire it. My BX1870 battery went 9 years. Same thing never maintainer or charged. One day it just didn't even have enough power to spin the engine.

 

[imarobot]

I got 17 years out of the original battery in my L2800. Never on a maintainer and never needed a charge. Slowly losing power until I decided it was time to retire it. My BX1870 battery went 9 years. Same thing never maintainer or charged. One day it just didn't even have enough power to spin the engine.

I would think ambient temperature may be a factor in the life of a battery. Being as you are in a warmer climate your battery will not see the extreme below 0 temperatures my battery sees and the extra stress on the battery when starting a tractor with oil temps below 0.
I'll check back it I get 17 years on my tractor battery if it's still alive
I keep all my toys- motorcycles, snowmobiles, tractors, trailers on maintenance chargers all the time and get well over 15 years on all of them.
My neighbor has a 2008 JD garden tractor which I do maintenance on for her. She does not keep the thing on a maintenance battery charger as I recommend - even though I bought her one, and I have replaced the battery twice. I have checked the charging system on this tractor, and it is working fine.
This may mean nothing, I have no detailed facts on why, but all I know is that the stuff I keep on a maintenance charger full time keeps them alive.

 

[GeoHorn]

OEM batteries almost Always Out-Live replacements …if they are treated similarly, is my experience.

My tractor (first delivered in ‘96) has a record that its oem battery was replaced in 2010 (14 yrs) and got an unk-brand which lasted 8 yrs, replaced in 2018 with an Everstart, which I just replaced (after 8 yrs) with another Everstart . (No special treatment or maintainers on it…but the key was left “on” for a week at a time by my step-son…..twice. Can’t complain.)

 

[number two]

After 13 years as an auto parts store outside salesman,the only thing
I could figure out battery life wasn't who made the battery but who owned the battery!
Go figure.
Good Luck!

 

[BAP]

I got 13 years on my original battery with No maintainers. So no extra expense of buying a maintainer, buying electricity and hoping to an extra year out of the battery. It was not dead when I replaced it, but when it started turning cold, it was slower to start and I didn’t want it to not start some morning in the middle of a snowstorm.

 

[Botamon]

My 2016 M7060 is still on its original battery. Just changed out the battery in my ancient John Deere 2020 diesel for the second time. Walmart Everstart, and it lasted just over 13 years. As did the battery it replaced, which was also an Everstart. But both tractors have battery maintainers attached all the time if the tractor is not in use.

 

[Stmar]

I have 9 of these all different amp charges, bought over the last 10 years. Had one fail out the box, they replaced quickly.

The ONE amp ones are typically around $25 on sale.
Also working on a battery in my BX25D ...... on year 13

View attachment 170799

Thanks, bought one at Menards.

 

[BruceMc]

I would think ambient temperature may be a factor in the life of a battery. Being as you are in a warmer climate your battery will not see the extreme below 0 temperatures my battery sees and the extra stress on the battery when starting a tractor with oil temps below 0.

Of course, at 0ºF, you should be plugging in. It's been discussed before, but most battery maintainers aren't doing much of anything when it gets that cold.

The real enemy of lead-acid batteries is heat. Batteries are simply chemical reactions, and the rate of the reaction is temperature dependent. Self-discharge rates rise pretty dramatically the warmer it gets and the surest way to shorten the life of a lead-acid battery is to let it self-discharge until it's dead.