[AT] JD 620 / charging six-volt batteries

[Dean VP]

Brad,

It won't hurt anything to charge one 6V battery when two 6V batteries are in series to make 12V.   Or
using two 6V battery chargers at the same time one on each of the two 6V batteries I don't think any
AC to DC charger has to be referenced to a hard ground to charge properly. But I suppose one should
check the manual. The batteries are essentially connected in an open circuit because there is no load
at the second negative terminal. The second battery is kind of dangling in the wind at whatever
voltage the first one is at. 

Dean VP
Snohomish, WA

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave
unsaid  the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of
Gunnells, Bradley R
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2014 8:31 AM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] JD 620 / charging six-volt batteries

Someone correct me if I'm wrong. But if you plan to use the 6v better tender you will need to put it
on only 1 battery and disconnect the short cable that ties them together in series. If it's cold and
snowing, connecting and disconnecting battery cables might not be the most enjoyable task. I'd opt for
leaving everything together and just swapping he 12v unit between tractors.

Brad

On Nov 21, 2014, at 6:56 AM, Dean Vinson <dean at vinsonfarm.net> wrote:

> Thanks for all the good replies, gentlemen.  Consensus certainly seems to be
> that I can just charge the two batteries together as a single 12-volt
> battery.
> 
> My purpose in all of this is to keep the batteries charged and the tractor
> ready to start on cold mornings this winter, when I need it to clear snow
> from the driveway.  I have both 6-volt and 12-volt battery tenders, and
> enough of the quick-disconnect harnesses to put two on the 620, one for each
> battery, so I could use the 6-volt tender there and leave the 12-volt tender
> on the Super M (which has been converted to a 12-volt system).  Or I could
> put a single harness on the 620 by treating the two batteries as a single
> 12-volt, and then just move the 12-volt tender back and forth between
> tractors now and then.  From the discussion here I believe either approach
> would work.
> 
> I haven't had any trouble with the 620 batteries, but it's unlikely to get
> many long-duration periods of use over the winter, mostly short-duration
> work, so lots of cold cranking to start and not much run time to recharge
> via the generator.   I have to say I was pleased that it fired right up last
> night when I went to move the brushhog to a better winter-storage location;
> the weather's been way cold for this time of year, single-digit temps or
> nearly so every night for the past few days, and I hadn't run the tractor in
> a couple of weeks.
> 
> Dean Vinson
> Saint Paris, Ohio
> 
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