Battery Life?

EdinKS · May 27, 2021

I just replaced the 12 volt Everstart on my Oliver 88. The old battery was dated 2009 and it still started the tractor in 2021, but was slow cranking the diesel. I was kind of shocked to see a battery that old still function. I had no idea they could last for 12 or 13 years! What is the longest any of you seen a battery last on your tractor?

Brown Swiss · May 27, 2021

I got over 10 years service out of an interstate in my 1850 Oliver, but that sucker is ready to go as soon as I touch the key, pretty easy life for it! The easier a tractor starts, the longer the battery lasts!

Tony in SD · May 27, 2021

Most amazing was a little battery on a Honda 4 wheeler. They barely make a year. Mine lasted 11 years.

DIM · May 27, 2021

I had a tractor with a 6volt round cells OPTIMA battery. The tractor sat for 5 years and the battery was dead I put it on the charger and it took charge. The battery started the tractor. The battery was 25 years old. But all is not good. After 3 days it lost it's charge.

Farmer Rock · May 27, 2021

Back when I bought my non running mf203 diesel, it had a 13 year old Walmart battery in it that was sitting unused for 5 years at the time, and after jumping it and replacing some fuses, it fired up instantly. I ended up replacing it last year before I sold it, but it really surprised me that it lasted that long, especially since it was sitting awhile.

Rock

bc · May 27, 2021

I just replaced a 2009 everstart mower battery.

Michael Soldan · May 27, 2021

I had an'85 Firebird and had to replace the battery in 2000 so 15 years for that one. Car is long gone now

Richard G. · May 27, 2021

I can't remember how old my 8N battery is, but it has been a long time.
Gets used all the time around here.
Richard in NW SC

DR. EVIL · May 27, 2021

DIEHARD GOLD group 65, 1000 CCA bought in 1995 and installed in my '54 Super H. No trickle charger, no maintainer, but I did disconnect the ground cable anytime the tractor was stopped. REPLACED it in 2016. Three guesses what I replaced it with and first two don't count. Tractor is my #1 snow mover, starts mostly in winter, plug block heater in, turn on the monster 185,000 BTU kerosene heater till insulated shop goes from 30 degrees to 50 and tractor starts like it's 80 degrees. I had the starter rebuilt, tractor is 12V Delco 10SI alternator, tractor spun so fast with rebuilt starter it SCARED ME!
The battery in the '51 M has to be close to that old too. Was in the tractor when I hauled it here in 2006. It gets ground disconnected as soon as tractor is shut off. Tractor only gets run every year or two.

John T · May 27, 2021

When I was a used tractor dealer and farmed I saw batteries well over 10 years old still functioning even if not near their capacity when they were new. Sulfation occurred on the plates over time reducing their efficiency and capacity....

A battery typically is designed and built and rated to have a certain finite number of Life Cycles with a Cycle being roughly speaking a charge then discharge then charged back up, each time of which uses up one Life Cycle. Sooooooooooo if a battery is well maintained,,,,,,,,,,, not allowed to completely discharge (such as using a trickle charger over long idle periods),,,,,,,,,its electrolyte levels maintained,,,,,,,,,,,,never allowed to freeze,,,,,,,,,HEY IT CAN LAST A LONG TIME

HOWEVER if it endures a ton of Life Cycles consisting of a number of discharges and re charges versus that above, hey it obviously may not last as long. Its NOT good to allow a battery to set long periods in a discharged state !!!!!

Longevity is increased if good maintenance such as keeping the water levels up,,,,,,,,using a trickle charger/battery maintainer to reduce deep discharges,,,,,,,preventing freezing

While sure the design and quality affects longevity and people can brag this or that brand are the best, the BOTTOM LINE remains that a battery has ONLY X number of Life Cycles so the more they are used up the less time it will last.

A TRICKLE CHARGER (or any charger) and not allowing a lot of discharges and re charges are a batteries friend ...

John T NOT a chemist or battery expert so no warranty but believe this to be true, if not maybe an expert can enlighten all of us and lets see if others agree ???

showcrop · May 27, 2021

pretty much any battery that is used only occasionally will last a long time if a maintainer is kept on it and it is protected from high heat.

rusty6 · May 27, 2021

(reply to post at 22:44:28 05/26/21)

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Russ from MN · May 27, 2021

My best battery was a JD Strongbox, it lasted over 12 years. Never had a maintainer on it, parked in an unheated garage on the Canadian border of MN all winter, not started for 5 months.

Geo-TH,In · May 27, 2021

Typically I get 9-10 years.
If I have 5 year old battery in car or truck, I replace it before going on a long trip and use the old battery in dump trailer or tractor.

If I have a battery that won't start a mower, good chance it will start the old Farmall because the Farmall has a mag and back in the day, you could start it with a crank. So all it needs is a battery to flip it over a time or two.

Using a battery maintainer on old battery can get you another year or two.

Bill(Wis) · May 27, 2021

I just replaced the original battery on my Kubota M6800. It was exactly 20 years old. Worked flawlessly for 20 years but just before I changed it it wasn't holding a charge the way it used to. I replaced it with a John Deere OEM Strongbox which is the highest grade JD offers. Made by Exide to JD specs.

Stephen Newell · May 27, 2021

I have a Ever Start Maxx in a golf car that came out of a car last used in the 1990's. Never know about a battery. You can buy two exact batteries at the same time and have one not last a month and the other last years. Some people swear by brand however there is only a few companies that make batteries and they just put the label of the buyer on them. You could buy an off brand battery cheap which the only difference between it and a Die Hard is the label. Someone I knew worked for a company that made batteries and he said they just had more quality control people on the floor when they were running batteries for Die Hard.

SDE · May 27, 2021

I bought 16 batteries at an on line auction. Five of them are holding a charge. One of them is dated 06.

jddrawbar · May 27, 2021

With all my rolling stock, batteries are a major problem. 6 volt seem to be an even bigger issue, 3-4 years tops. Strongbox has by far been the best, but pricey.

DoubleR · May 27, 2021

I have a 2010 Honda Goldwing with the original Yusa sealed battery. This spring I decided to replace it with a sealed battery off Amazon. It arrived dead so I charged it and put it in the bike. A week later it was dead again. After a back and forth fight with the shipper Amazon got my money back and I put the old one back in.
I just got back from a 2000 mile trip on the bike and the old battery never missed a beat. Even running heated gear, heated seat and grips, and all the other electrical bells and whistles on the bike. I still get a little nervous every morning when I get ready to leave a motel when traveling worrying about it going dead.

P I Pete · May 27, 2021

I bought a JD 318 lawn mower used about 20 years ago still the same battery in that it came with don't know how long it had been there before I got it.

Pete

Bill(Wis) · May 27, 2021

Here are some pics of the 20 year old battery I talked about below.

sotxbill · May 27, 2021

There is a chart of North America with lines through it showing average battery life... The hotter states have a much shorter average battery life than the cooler states. HOwever iirc if you get too far north, it starts back a bit.

In the deep deep hot south of the us, 30 months was the average battery life.

In the north, iirc it was like 7 years???

New cars now have a insulated blanket around the battery to help protect it from excessive heat.

PJH · May 27, 2021

The battery on my JD 50 is dated 2004. I was gonna replace it, but now I'm curious about how long it will last. The tractor starts on the first roll over.

Paul Janke · May 27, 2021

My 2006 Toyota Corolla with 99,000 miles on it is still on the original factory battery. It has had a small solar maintainer on it for about the last three years because it wasn't being used regularly, sometimes sat for a few weeks at a time. Now it is back to normal use, several times each week.

HenryO · May 27, 2021

I have a six volt battery in m y Super A that is nine years old and works great even after sitting in the barn for 7 months over the cold winter. Most of the 12 Volt only last 3 years in our old tractors (9). NE Ohio

buickanddeere · May 27, 2021

As long as a battery is not over heated , over charged, vibrated to bits, deep cycled or left in a discharged state. 10 years should be a common occurrence .
Run the battery ground wire to a starter mounting bolt instead of the current location . Then give it a try .
Actually given the age , it is a fair bet that the cable to clamp connections are oxidized . Two new HD cables will do no harm .

Phil-mar Farms · May 27, 2021

My buddy had a 6 volt Allstate battery that was 20 years old. Disclaimer is that it was a good summer battery It spent its winters on a shelf in a heated garage

Battery Life?

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