6 volt to 8 volt?

1951FarmallH · Nov 25, 2008

hey all, a friend of mine gave me an almost brand new 8 volt battery to use on my H. My question is how will the 8 volt affect the 6 volt lights, charging system, etc? Will the charging system charge the 8 volt? Could I charge it with my 6/12 volt combination battery charger? thanks, my buddy said the 8 volt will crank it over faster.

Anonymous-0 · Nov 25, 2008

Iv seen where they used an 8 volt battery and they didnt do anuthing to the charging system just put the batt in and go. That was done on old cars back in the 40s so they would start better in the winter.

Janicholson · Nov 25, 2008

If it is free, do it. Adjusting the voltage to a bit over nine might be needed. Bulbs will be bright, but not explode. The use of O gauge cables is a good idea. Charging is a problem. It might charge on a 6 volt set to high charge. If using 12v, watch it like a hawk, do not leave it, and check for temperature. JimN

1951FarmallH · Nov 25, 2008

Ok thanks guys. my tractor has the 6 volt system and I just wanted to know if I would make the bulbs explode or ruin the charging system. thanks!

KEB1 · Nov 25, 2008

An old tractor (or car) with a cutout relay will charge an 8 volt battery, just a little slower than it will a 6 volt one. With a voltage regulator, the voltage cutout relay inside the regulator has to be adjusted to produce a higher voltage, or the 8 volt battery will never charge properly. Not difficult if you have some knowledge of the inner workings of a voltage regulator and a decent voltmeter.

My '43 H still has the cutout relay, but someone could have changed yours to a regulator somewhere along the line.

Using an 8 volt battery is a quick & dirty work-around for a poorly maintained 6 volt system. A 6 volt system with a good battery and properly sized cables (at least 2/0, bigger is better) will spin the engine over plenty fast enough, even when its really cold.

Running on 8 volts will shorten the life of any bulbs, although they will be a little brighter until they die. Had an old Willys jeep that someone had put an 8 volt battery in, ended up going to back to 6 volts.

Use it if you want and its free, but there's really no reason to change from a properly maintained 6 volt system.

Keith

KEB1 · Nov 25, 2008

Using an 8 volt battery will also shorten the life of the points somewhat. If you don't use the tractor a lot, may not be a big deal.

Keith

Brownie 450 · Nov 26, 2008

Some of the older chargers had a 6-8-12 switch to select the voltage. Folks who put in an 8-volt battery would use the charger on 8-volts once a week to keep the battery charged up.

charles todd · Nov 26, 2008

There is a brand called "BatteryTender" that makes an 8 volt charger. I have one that is a maintainer. It comes with a fused plug that you wire to the battery so you can plug it in at night. My charger puts out 1.25 Amps so it is not designed to bring up a dead battery, just light charging.

www.batterytender.com

I have had bad problems with 6 volt and 12 chargers on an 8 volt battery.

Charles

1951FarmallH · Nov 26, 2008

okay thanks. the tractor seems to be running fine. Normally I would have gotten a 6 volt, but this one was free and my old battery was dead.

6 volt to 8 volt?

1951FarmallH

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Janicholson

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