 Caddyroger
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
To the west |
Garden tractor batteryI need to buy a garden tractor battery. The size is 71/2 in wide by 5 in deep and 61/2 high. The old battery is an interstate battery that I bought about 5 years ago. Should I buy another Interstate or are there some better? |
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 UHFAll static, all day, Forever
MVM
join:2002-05-24 |
UHF
MVM
2014-Mar-14 10:18 pm
From what I'm told they are all equally crappy, but 5 years is pretty good life for a garden battery. |
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 Tursiops_GTechnoid
MVM
join:2002-02-06
Brooksville, FL
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to Caddyroger
That sounds like a U-1 size battery. Interstate is a well-respected brand, but if you happen to have a Costco membership, you may find their Kirkland brand to be a better bang for the buck...  |
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Caddyroger
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
To the west |
Yes we have a Costco about 12 miles from me and I am a member. I'll go tomorrow. |
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 LazMan
Premium Member
join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA |
to Caddyroger
Last two I've gotten were Energizer brand from Wally-world...
Got 3-4 years out of then, which isn't half bad for the price. |
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1 recommendation |
to Caddyroger
Johnson Controls is the leading USA supplier of lead acid batteries for virtually every type of passenger car, light truck or utility vehicle as well as the leading independent supplier of hybrid systems. I buy 20 or 30 batteries a year so I've researched this pretty well.
Interstate and Kirkland are both made by Johnson Controls. As was said Costco is the place to find better bang for the buck. 5 or 6 years ago wally world switched to a Chinese supplier and I had nothing but trouble and wallys denied warranty on batteries less than 2 years old. I don't know if they are still with that supplier but I'll never go back to wallys for batteries. |
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HarryH3
Premium Member
join:2005-02-21 |
to Caddyroger
Make note of how the + and - terminals are placed. They are reversed on some tractors, and should have the U-1R marking to denote that. The cables probably won't reach and/or route properly if you buy the wrong one.  |
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 nunyaLXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO ·Charter
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to Caddyroger
5 Years? I'd buy another Interstate. Just saying, I'm lucky to get 1 year out of the Autozone / Oreily / Advance / Lowe's / Walmart batteries. This is the first year in ages I can remember my battery carrying over (Oreily). I put it in the mower and it started right up.
I didn't even think about Interstate for a lawnmower. Next time (which I'm sure will be soon) I will. |
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Caddyroger
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
To the west |
said by nunya:5 Years? I'd buy another Interstate. Just saying, I'm lucky to get 1 year out of the Autozone / Oreily / Advance / Lowe's / Walmart batteries. This is the first year in ages I can remember my battery carrying over (Oreily). I put it in the mower and it started right up.
I didn't even think about Interstate for a lawnmower. Next time (which I'm sure will be soon) I will. I said it was about 5 years but it could have 4. I bought it at Homedepot |
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 Del_Gue
join:2001-10-03
Lancaster, OH |
to Caddyroger
You might want to try a Strongbox sold by John Deere. It's my understanding that they are probably a little more able to withstand the shake rattle and roll that garden tractors without shocks provide. But then again you had one last you 5 years so . . . |
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to Caddyroger
I just remembered last year someone told me that Exide was making Wal Marts batteries but walleys switched back to Johnson Controls for supply in 2012 due to high failure rates. Than I just found that Exide filed a chapter 11 in June of 2013 due to losing Wal Mart... » online.wsj.com/news/arti ··· 39936994 |
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 shdesignsPowered By Infinite Improbabilty Drive
Premium Member
join:2000-12-01
Stone Mountain, GA
ARRIS SB6121
1 recommendation |
to nunya
said by nunya:5 Years? I'd buy another Interstate. Just saying, I'm lucky to get 1 year out of the Autozone / Oreily / Advance / Lowe's / Walmart batteries. Dead over the winter, wont charge? Get a battery tender. Sitting over the winter they discharge and then sulfate. Or they freeze. A battery tender will keep it from self discharging. Note a battery tender, NOT a trickle charger. Those will run the batts dry of electrolyte. My mower is on a solar cell with a float charge controller. I get 4-5 years out of any make batt. I wasted money on expensive OEM batts in mower and bikes only to replace them about a year later. The cheap Walmart batts have been good. 10 years on cars, 3-4 years ob bikes. |
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nunyaLXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO |
nunya
MVM
2014-Mar-15 3:42 pm
Nope. Lawn tractor batteries are just shit. |
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 Zorack
join:2001-12-14
Fayetteville, WV |
Zorack
Member
2014-Mar-15 3:50 pm
Agreed on that |
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to shdesigns
said by shdesigns:said by nunya:5 Years? I'd buy another Interstate. Just saying, I'm lucky to get 1 year out of the Autozone / Oreily / Advance / Lowe's / Walmart batteries. Dead over the winter, wont charge? Get a battery tender. Sitting over the winter they discharge and then sulfate. Or they freeze. A battery tender will keep it from self discharging. Note a battery tender, NOT a trickle charger. Those will run the batts dry of electrolyte. My mower is on a solar cell with a float charge controller. I get 4-5 years out of any make batt. I wasted money on expensive OEM batts in mower and bikes only to replace them about a year later. The cheap Walmart batts have been good. 10 years on cars, 3-4 years ob bikes. Exactly right on the battery tenders. I have about 10 of the "Battery Tender 800 Waterproof" units here and they float the batteries at about 13.1 volts nice and constant. I always leave one in the Amazon shopping cart and when the price drops under 30 bucks I grab another one.. Yep, the number one destroyer of lawn/tractor batteries is over charging and boiling the electrolyte. Trickle chargers will destroy batteries if left on too long. |
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only if they don't have an automatic float feature which iirc all the battery tender brand chargers do. |
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said by boogi man:only if they don't have an automatic float feature which iirc all the battery tender brand chargers do. Hard to dispute the Amazon feedback on them with over 2,399 reviews and a 4.5 rating out of 5. » www.amazon.com/Battery-T ··· 0CITK8S/ |
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TheSMJ
join:2009-08-19
Farmington, MI |
to Caddyroger
Are you leaving the battery on a trickle charger every winter? If not, that would improve the life of the battery by quite a bit.
I bought my used GT with a 7 year old Walmart battery installed. While it did need to be replaced it did still start the tractor. The new one I have has been on a charger all winter and I expect it to perform like new this spring once the lawn is ready for fertilizer. |
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 John97Over The Hills And Far Away
Premium Member
join:2000-11-14
Spring Hill, FL |
to Caddyroger
+1 on the Costco batteries.
100% refund or replacement for 36-months which can't be beat, after that it's pro-rated. |
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shdesignsPowered By Infinite Improbabilty Drive
Premium Member
join:2000-12-01
Stone Mountain, GA (Software) pfSense
ARRIS SB6121
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to TheSMJ
said by TheSMJ:Are you leaving the battery on a trickle charger every winter? If not, that would improve the life of the battery by quite a bit. That will kill bats. I left my motorcycle on a trickle charger over the winter. Come spring, battery measured 17 volts and had no electrolyte left in it. Completely dead. A float charger or battery tender will not overcharge a battery. I use small power supplies set to 13.1V. |
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Caddyroger
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
To the west |
to John97
Ok I bought a kirkland battery. I try it out today. |
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HarryH3
Premium Member
join:2005-02-21 |
to Caddyroger
I didn't think of this earlier,  but a whole lot of garden tractor batteries get replaced early because the valves in the engine need to be adjusted.  I was amazed at how much easier mine starts since I eliminated excessive backlash. I thought the battery was dying, then I read something about adjusting the valves to lower cranking compression. Search YouTube for instructions on your particular engine. My OHV Briggs would barely turn over before and now it spins right up, using a battery that I thought was a goner 2 years ago.  |
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TheSMJ
join:2009-08-19
Farmington, MI |
to shdesigns
said by shdesigns:A float charger or battery tender will not overcharge a battery. I use small power supplies set to 13.1V. I'm not sure what you're talking about. A trickle charger is a float charger. |
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shdesignsPowered By Infinite Improbabilty Drive
Premium Member
join:2000-12-01
Stone Mountain, GA (Software) pfSense
ARRIS SB6121
1 edit
3 recommendations |
said by TheSMJ:said by shdesigns:A float charger or battery tender will not overcharge a battery. I use small power supplies set to 13.1V. I'm not sure what you're talking about. A trickle charger is a float charger. No, a trickle charger is just a current limited supply. The trickle charger I had happily charged my batts to 17V. It was only 300ma but still charged at 300ma when that battery was full. On a float charger, when the batt reaches 13.1-13.2v, the charge drops to near 0. The difference is one is voltage (and current) limited, the other is just current limited. |
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but a whole lot of garden tractor batteries get replaced early because the valves in the engine need to be adjusted. 
I was amazed at how much easier mine starts since I eliminated excessive backlash. I thought the battery was dying, then I read something about adjusting the valves to lower cranking compression. Search YouTube for instructions on your particular engine. My OHV Briggs would barely turn over before and now it spins right up, using a battery that I thought was a goner 2 years ago. 