[AT] Having battery problems--so how to fix?

[Ralph Goff]

I leave batteries in all the equipment year round no matter how cold. They 
seem to last a good long time this way so I will continue to do so. Its too 
much trouble taking all those big heavy batteries out of the machinery and 
into the basement of the house like I used to do many years ago.

Ralph in Sask.
http://lgoff.sasktelwebsite.net/
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Hall" <jthall at worldnet.att.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 25, 2006 6:37 AM
Subject: Re: [AT] Having battery problems--so how to fix?


>I guess the severity of the winter plays into the problem. Avg. winter days 
>here are around 50 deg with night temps around the freezing mark. Battery 
>problems from sitting in storage have never been a problem.  We seem to run 
>into more dead batteries in the summer. We just leave batteries in 
>everything and try not to let anything sit over 2-3 months without being 
>cranked up. I guess we are far more fortunate than you guys living in areas 
>where it doesn't get above freezing for a few weeks at the time.
>
> John
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "John Wilkens" <jwilkens at eoni.com>
> To: <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Friday, March 24, 2006 9:55 PM
> Subject: [AT] Having battery problems--so how to fix?
>
>
>> Say you have 6 old tractors sitting outside through the winter and they 
>> all have batteries in various conditions,   how's the best way to 
>> preserve them for use the next season?   I've heard different things 
>> about this but never paid much attention.    I assume you would take them 
>> out of the tractors and:
>> 1)  Put them on a wooden surface (heard that somewhere)?    2)  Charge 
>> them up good and then leave them alone for say a month and then recharge 
>> them?     3)  Keep them on a trickle charger all winter?    4)  Let them 
>> drain off about 1/2 charge before recharging ?   5) Alternate between 
>> trickle charging and regular battery charger charging?    6)  Or ????? 
>> Another thing...I heard you could take an older weak battery and hook it 
>> up to 40 or 60 amps for a short time to "rattle the plates" to revive 
>> them.  Any truth in that?   (I tried it once on a shot battery and all it 
>> did was heatup the battery and totally kill it).    Whatever.  Over the 
>> years I've had pretty good luck with Cat batteries....both 6 and 12 volt. 
>> John W.
>>
>>                    In the wide-open spaces of NE Oregon
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
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