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Battery life


davidmoll

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I have a 6216. Just curious what you guys think is normal for battery life on a garden tractor. I use the tractor year round. I got two years on my last one. Tired of jumping my tractor to cut the grass. I could steal the one from my 6516H but that's just robbing Peter to pay Paul. Will use my charger to recharge(trickle charge to see if I can get a little longer out of it) Definitely replacing before winter!

Thanks Dave

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Assuming you have clean battery connection and if you're having to jump to start all the time, the problem might not be the battery at all. Either you have a minute drain on the system when not running or it is not charging at all. Running WOT and using a VOM, you should read about 13.6V across the terminals and when the engine is off, your steady state voltage should around 12 - 12.5V. Also don't try to buy a 22NF battery as in your case it's like stuffing a 5 gallon pail in a one gallon bucket. With the charging system working properly , A GT sized battery should go 4 - 5 years and if they go only 3 yrs, three of them are cheaper then a 22NF.:D

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Just life experience data points here:

My 1999 original Silverado truck Delco battery lasted 13 years; always an "outside in the environment" vehicle.

My 3314H has a 2006 date code battery and has been in the under house garage(hence no freezing temp's)and still cranks the Briggs over fine.

My dad's 728 would typically get 4-5 years out of the STD small garden tractor size battery by removing it each fall and storing it in the basement (fully charged first).

I would guess that the el'cheapo current STD garden tractor battery's quality & longevity (like everything else) is not like it was 10-40 years ago.

Tom (PK)

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If you buy batteries off the shelf that are ready to bolt in make sure you buy one from a store/company that rotates batteries on the shelf and or keeps them charged while on the shelf. If you buy one that needs battery acid added and charged at home make sure you follow the battery manufacture instructions on set up and the first initial charge. If it's not charged 100% before first use you cut the battery life in 1/2. Also need to check your charging system as BLT stated.

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If a battery is not fully charged due to the charging system being faulty and it gets below freezing that battery most likely has suffered a catastrophic event that it never can recover from. In laymans terms batteries last longer in the South, lol, still what others are saying about the charging system is true. All that said, a small cheap lawn and garden battery is rarely around for its second birthday even with a good charging system, maybe because it made by guys (and children) making 10 cents an hour, and it doesn't seem to matter, ya'll keep buying them. I pay 50-60 bucks for a 51r many of my batteries are over 5 years old, thats 10 bucks a year, compared to 25 a year for a cheap battery, your taking it up the anode and cathode buying them.

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The 51R argument for a 6200 series is irrelevant as the machine was not designed with the physical dimensions to accept such a large battery. Here is my experience. I have been buying $15- $22 Rural King Group U1 batteries by Exide for about 4 years. (The pricing depends on if a rebate was applied or not). I think I might have one that's 4 years old. I have probably bought over fifteen since they have opened that store. Some have gone in tractors that got sold. I usually rotate by putting the oldest functional used one in the tractor for sale and keeping the new ones in my tractors that sit around. Of all of them I only had one last less than a year and the machine it was in had charging problems. Most in my machines are two and a half to three years old and still ticking. That's only like $7 a year. I am in the Midwest and all the tractors are either outside or in an unheated garage. The also don't get started very often. Sounds like I have better luck than some.

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quote:Originally posted by Chris727

The 51R argument for a 6200 series is irrelevant as the machine was not designed with the physical dimensions to accept such a large battery. Here is my experience. I have been buying $15- $22 Rural King Group U1 batteries by Exide for about 4 years. (The pricing depends on if a rebate was applied or not). I think I might have one that's 4 years old. I have probably bought over fifteen since they have opened that store. Some have gone in tractors that got sold. I usually rotate by putting the oldest functional used one in the tractor for sale and keeping the new ones in my tractors that sit around. Of all of them I only had one last less than a year and the machine it was in had charging problems. Most in my machines are two and a half to three years old and still ticking. That's only like $7 a year. I am in the Midwest and all the tractors are either outside or in an unheated garage. The also don't get started very often. Sounds like I have better luck than some.


id="quote">
id="quote">Chris, Exide is a very good battery and your getting them at a very good price
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  • 3 weeks later...

Guys, Thanks for all the good suggestions. The terminals look good and the voltage checks out when running. Voltage was low before jumping. Checking to see how much it drops overnight.

Thanks Dave

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