If you have the space to mount a 6 Volt golf cart battery, a $5 core could last for years on your tractor. When a golf cart can’t make it through the day without stranding the golfer, the pack is replaced. I have replaced many cart battery packs and found there is usually one bad battery and the rest are fine to use on my tractor. This is possible because the batteries in a golf cart are connected in series and the weakest battery in the pack limits the range of the cart.
The reason a golf cart battery core can be used on a tractor is the requirement to start a tractor is much different than powering a golf cart. If a tractor can start in about 10 seconds with a battery current of 100 amps, the Amp hours used are 100 times 10 divided by 3600 (seconds in an hour). This is less than 0.3 Amp hours. I have measured golf cart battery cores at more 50 amp hours. A new 6 Volt tractor battery is about 50 AH and a useable battery can be less than 10 AH. I have started engines on a battery with less than 5 AH.
A quick way to choose which core to buy is finding the battery with the highest voltage in the same pack. If they all were charged and discharged together the best battery will have the highest voltage. It may take a day or two to charge the battery before it’s ready for your tractor.
Wayne
This a discharge curve of an old 6 Volt battery logged with a BATTERY TEST SYSTEM I designed several years ago.
The reason a golf cart battery core can be used on a tractor is the requirement to start a tractor is much different than powering a golf cart. If a tractor can start in about 10 seconds with a battery current of 100 amps, the Amp hours used are 100 times 10 divided by 3600 (seconds in an hour). This is less than 0.3 Amp hours. I have measured golf cart battery cores at more 50 amp hours. A new 6 Volt tractor battery is about 50 AH and a useable battery can be less than 10 AH. I have started engines on a battery with less than 5 AH.
A quick way to choose which core to buy is finding the battery with the highest voltage in the same pack. If they all were charged and discharged together the best battery will have the highest voltage. It may take a day or two to charge the battery before it’s ready for your tractor.
Wayne
This a discharge curve of an old 6 Volt battery logged with a BATTERY TEST SYSTEM I designed several years ago.