All lead-acid batteries lose 5%-30% per month of their charge. All depends on the metals in the battery AND how big it is. The more antimony used inside the battery, the faster it goes dead. Just because it starts a tractor after sitting, doesn't mean it's not partially discharged.
Antimony is added to the lead plates in batteries to make them more vibration resistant. So, the more HD a battery is, the faster it will self-discharge - and more it might need to be run more, or stuck on a maintainer.
AGM batteries (like Optimas), don't use a lot of antimony in the plates since the glass-matts help with vibration resistance. So, AGMs typically only lose 5%-10% per month.
In theory, a battery can last much longer if never left in a state of discharge. A battery can be near dead at 12 volts and still crank a tractor pretty well. 12 volts means a battery is 80% discharged. A fully charged battery is 12.9 volts. Most 12 volt systems crank at 9 volts.
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Today's Featured Article - A City Guy's First Tractor - by Fred Hambrecht. After living in apartments in Atlanta for more years than I care to remember, the wife and I decided to move to the country. Humming "Green Acres is the place for me..." we purchased a 29 acre tract about 60 miles south of Atlanta. Next came the house, I could talk about that ordeal for another two weeks... But, I want to talk about my tractor! We didn't even own a lawnmower, and all of a sudden we had enough grass to feed all the starving children of the bovine world. Naturally, I talked
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