Lawn mower batteries are junk even when new

[CleanSump]

Last time I had a similar problem it was a bad diode in the rectifier. The lights on that rider were AC so were only on when running. The ignition, starter, and kill switches were DC. New rectifier, battery stopped discharging when off.

 

[chemman]

Check to see what the AC ripple voltage is while the engine is running (and if your mower has headlights, turn them on as well). The higher the AC ripple voltage (ideally it should be less than 0.50 V) the less the battery is going to like it and the shorter the battery life.

 

[meep]

I’ve had excellent service from ariens oem sealed batteries. About $65 each. 5-6 years

 

[Pablo]

I’ve had excellent service from ariens oem sealed batteries. About $65 each. 5-6 years

Mine is at 5+ years now. Cranks like new. I think the alternator in the Kawa twin is fairly robust

 

[Learn Ya]

No matter what brand lawn mower battery I buy they all seem to last about 3 years

I agree. Anything beyond 3 years is a bonus for any OPE battery these days. I take good care of my batteries, but they still don't last like older batteries did. Prices go up, but quality goes down. It's seems to get worse every year.

 

[zzyzzx]

Anything beyond 3 years is a bonus for any OPE battery these days.

Absolutely! I'm thinking that my winter usage to mulch leaves and occasional battery tender usage is the only reason why mine lasted 5 seasons. Also, in hindsight, it had been getting harder to start lately. The pricing today vs 5 year ago at Walmart was around $35 last week vs around $21-$25 (I forget exactly) in 2021.

 

[Touring5]

I replaced the battery in my Craftsman lawn tractor last year. The old battery was a 6+ year old FVP (cheap Korean) from Menards. The replacement was the same.

I remove the battery around Thanksgiving and store it in the basement. I put it on the Battery Minder for a week or so and let it desulphate, then do so again in early March. I believe THAT is what extends the life.

 

[meep]

Mine is at 5+ years now. Cranks like new. I think the alternator in the Kawa twin is fairly robust

I can get 2-3 years where it just cranks. Starting at year 3-4 it might hang if it doesn’t get all the way over and I have to re-key it and then it will spin and catch. Thats without keeping it on a maintainer. 2 months on the CTEK and it’s acting a year younger. By 5-6 I might have to key the starter 2-3 times but it’ll still start. This is with a one lung Briggs 14.5 hp.

 

[Not Sure]

Try to get a dry charged battery (a battery that comes dry with a bottle of electrolyte and you add the electrolyte to it yourself) next time. Dry charged batteries will not start to degrade or sulphate until you add the electrolyte to them and have a much much longer storage life then ready to use batteries.

These lawnmower and power sports batteries tend to sit around on the shelf for a long time. They aren’t on a float charger and sulphate over the course of months or even years at a low state of charge.

If you can’t find a dry charged battery take a good mulit meter with you and don’t buy any batteries that are under 12.6 volts or more then 6 months old according to the date code. Try to get your battery from a place moves a large volume of mower batteries.

Lastly don’t discount installing a recoil starter on your riding mower, that was the best thing I ever did to mine no more dead batteries to deal with, no more problems with broken compression releases and anemic starters that can’t crank the engine without a compression release. Just give it a pull, hop on and mow.

 

[repairman54]

Battery in my one lawn tractor was installed in '19, still going strong. Just put the tester on it and tested at 100%. It's always on a Battery Minder when parked as all of my other equipment and toys are. It see's snow plowing and sub zero temps and dragging around a cart with firewood and other yard duty now.
Battery is a AZ maintenance free one not that it matters as all these little U1 batteries are junk unless on a maintainer.
My BM's, all 9 of them, have more than paid for themselves over the years. I get over 10 yrs. out of a many a battery in my ''fleet''.

 

[Hermann]

The current Walmart U1 in my Walmart(Murray) rider is not babied and its in it 4th season. At season end it is fully charged with a 2 amp car charger for a couple hours, that does not have a float mode. So I just unhook everything from it and store it in my heated (55-60°) garage. It sits on a piece of cardboard. This spring when I hooked up my 1amp Noco with a float mode, it didn't even start up to try to charge. Noticed the other day that the U1 at Walmart is now $50 quite a jump from the $30 I paid.

 

[Mainia]

Sounds like a parasitic leak, have you tested for that?



Also, I myself would add some vibration dampening to the battery at the bottom, sides and where the strap has load points or make you own rubber bungee strap, as a Hail Mary.

https://www.menards.com/main/hardwa...-pads-8-pack/3603/p-1444442247329-c-13089.htm

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[Tdbo]

I've gotten to the point anymore that I just buy the cheapest and view them as a consumable.
I have had a John Deere branded battery (that was almost $50 25 years ago) only last a year, while I have had WM or RK cheapos go 6-7 years.
I agree with the overall average being about 3 years.
I used to pull them every winter and put them on a charger.
I gave up the hassle of doing that after I surmised that made little to no difference.
I have found amazingly that Exide L&G batteries last longer for some reason.
Presently I am running a WM battery (that actually says it was produced by Exide right on it) that is on its 6th year and still going strong. Now that I've said that, It probably will die next week.
I'm sure that heat/cold/vibration, etc. play a factor in longevity. However, I can't help but think that QC plays a factor as well.
Warranties reflect that as well. The longest I have ever observed is 1 year, with 60-90 days being the norm.

 

[vwmaniaman]

Those Duracell mower batteries made by East Penn seem to last a long time for me. I get them at Sam's Club..