New 12v battery

[danmorea]

Bought a new car battery from my tractor,interstate
Wonder
I should charge it or not

 

[Mudball]

Bought a new car battery from my tractor,interstate
Wonder
I should charge it or not

Out of all the years that Ive bought new batteries, Ive never charged them prior to installation, but maybe I should start checking them out first.
You could check the voltage across the terminals if you have a voltmeter, or carry the battery to a local auto parts supplier and they could check it for you, just to be sure.
Good luck.

 

[85Hokie]

Bought a new car battery from my tractor,interstate
Wonder
I should charge it or not

I typically charge a new battery for a bit - typically it has been sitting a good bit in the store, most of the time you may not need to do so - what is the standing voltage ? 12.7? If that high - you should be good to go!

 

[danmorea]

Been planning to change the battery in the spring
Winter is hard on battery here upstate New York
Just it would not hold a charge for a day
5-7 years old battery
It is for my John Deere x540 garden tractor that I use for mowing,spraying and now soon to collect the fall leaves
It is parked in the shed over the winter

 

[85Hokie]

Been planning to change the battery in the spring
Winter is hard on battery here upstate New York
Just it would not hold a charge for a day
5-7 years old battery
It is for my John Deere x540 garden tractor that I use for mowing,spraying and now soon to collect the fall leaves
It is parked in the shed over the winter

Well - I will tell you this, a "lawn" mower battery doesn't seem to hold up long at all! If one gets two years out of one I am amazed. Seems like those size batteries cannot last very long for whatever reason. That is why they are typically on sale for only 30 bucks too! I would say you have got your money's worth on that one!

With your new battery - take it off the tractor for winter, place it on a maintainer ..... NOT a trickle charger......
I have had great success with this particular brand. I have three of them and they all work very well.

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS1...arger+automotive+genius&qid=1600779707&sr=8-5

 

[SidecarFlip]

If you consult a battery manufacturer like East Penn or Deka, they will tell you to trickle charge a NEW battery prior to installing it. SOP with me. In fact I have a new AC Delco sitting on the bench for the Suburban with a Battery Tender on it, charging it eight now. When flooded cell batteries sit on the shelf prior to purchase, they slowly discharge. Trickle charge it prior to install. When you install it, makes sure the terminals are clean and use di electric grease on the terminals too.

 

[Captain13]

I bought a new battery last month and it came with an instruction sheet that recommended an 8 hour charge at two amps so I did. After I retired, I worked at an auto parts store for a couple of years. Looking at the batteries, especially the commercial type for farm equipment, some of them were over 6 months old. In the past, I never charged a new battery but I will from now on.

 

[Stmar]

Lawn tractor batteries were only lasting one or two years. I got a 2 amp solar charger and use it on the battery during the winter, so far 4 years and counting. I got the charger on sale for about what a good battery cost. Sometimes during the summer I will put the ATV tender on the lawn tractor just for the heck of it since they are parked near each other. I have all my batteries on tenders or solar chargers; ATVs, tractors, F250, trolling battery, etc. Bought a Ctek charger that I have on my F150 or MKC in garage depending on which vehicle is being used. I figure tenders pay for themselves if they extend battery life because I buy the best battery I can find when replacing and they are not cheap.

 

[danmorea]

Well - I will tell you this, a "lawn" mower battery doesn't seem to hold up long at all! If one gets two years out of one I am amazed. Seems like those size batteries cannot last very long for whatever reason. That is why they are typically on sale for only 30 bucks too! I would say you have got your money's worth on that one!

With your new battery - take it off the tractor for winter, place it on a maintainer ..... NOT a trickle charger......
I have had great success with this particular brand. I have three of them and they all work very well.

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS1...arger+automotive+genius&qid=1600779707&sr=8-5

This garden tractor x540 uses a 51 group battery,like a car battery $150

 

[85Hokie]

This garden tractor x540 uses a 51 group battery,like a car battery $150

sorry Dan- had in my mind the smaller version of batteries

 

[Tughill Tom]

When in long term storage in cold climate, remove it and keep it warm. The same goes for storage in warmer weather equipment, i.e Snowmobiles, blowers ECT but keep them cooler.
Batteries Lives Matter!