[AT] 12-volt conversion (OT)

[charliehill]

As Mike said, a 12 V battery will spin the heck out of a 6 volt starter and 
really won't hurt it unless you do something dumb like grind on it for 5 
minutes  or something.

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Sloane" <mikesloane at verizon.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2008 5:15 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] 12-volt conversion (OT)


>I will give you my reasons for doing the conversions: when faced by the
> prospect of replacing the battery, generator, lights, and regulator on a
> "project" tractor, it was actually cheaper to just convert it to 12 volt
> alternator. Several of my "bargain" tractors came to me in that state.
> The second reason was that I used to plow two miles of private lane,
> first with a Farmall Cub and then with a Ford 860. I found out that
> neither tractor would start when the temperatures got down into the
> teens, and even when they did start and run, the drain from the lights
> would get ahead of the generator unless I kept the engine running at
> high speed. (and even then, the 6 volt lights were nothing to write home
> about.) Converting to 12 volt alternator gave me sure fire starting and
> bright lights.
>
> On the Farmall 340, the battery is hung out behind the seat with a long
> cable to the starter. I did everything I could to get the starter (which
> was checked by a shop and found to be good) to spin over quickly on 6
> volts, even in warm weather, and finally just gave up. Converting to 12
> volts made all the difference in the world.
>
> The third reason for wanting 12 volt negative ground is so that I could
> install a Pertronix electronic ignition. Every tractor I have converted
> has had more power, started better, and ran smoother after the
> conversion. And I never will have to screw around with those crappy
> Chinese points again (and on the Farmalls, it is especially difficult,
> owing to the position of the distributor).
>
> Mike
>
> Dudley Rupert wrote:
>> Given enough time, money and an over active imagination we can do most
>> anything to our antique tractors.  We can convert them to 12-volt systems
>> ... heck; we can even convert them to 24 volt if the fancy so strikes us.
>>
>> But, in their responses to this thread, Dean and Steve both asked the 
>> "why"
>> question which I've often asked myself.  I am curious ...can those of you
>> who have made the 12-volt conversion tell us the reason why you did it? 
>> I
>> think all the six-volt tractors I have were initially introduced with 
>> "hand
>> starters" - i.e., crank or flywheel.  I expect these tractors to start, 
>> even
>> with a half dead battery, with just a couple of turns of the flywheel. 
>> If
>> they don't I check corrosion/cables/points/etc but I've never seen a
>> need/reason to convert to 12 volts.  Of course, I can understand that if
>> you've added a bunch of lights or say a cab with a heater with a big 
>> blower
>> motor then you may need more current generation capability and that could 
>> be
>> a reason when going to a bigger generator to just go to 12 volt while 
>> you're
>> at it.
>>
>> Thanks -
>> Dudley
>>
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