'Tis the season - dead lawn mower batteries

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92saturnsl2

Joined
Mar 2, 2004
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4,391
Location
Kentucky
My neighbor text me asking if I had a battery tester. His mower won't start. He bought the mower 3 years ago and tells me he's had to replace the battery every spring at $70 a pop from Lowes because it's where he bought the mower. He haggles with them every year about it and sometimes receives a slight discount.

I go over there with my 12V load tester and multi-meter and find a TINY ETZ10S size battery, much smaller than what I'm used to seeing in a mower, sealed AGM type. Initially the battery looks good, reads 12.6V. Put any kind of load whatsoever on it and it flatlines to millivolts.

Questions: 1) I've never experienced that in load testing... and 2) why on earth would they use that tiny AGM battery instead of the universal, dirt cheap standard mower battery? Is this the new normal?

Mower in question is a cheap MTD rider, made in China, probably the least expensive on Lowe's lot at the time. I suggested he use something along the lines of a Noco Genuis 1A maintainer during the off season.
 
92saturnsl2 said:
My neighbor text me asking if I had a battery tester. His mower won't start. He bought the mower 3 years ago and tells me he's had to replace the battery every spring at $70 a pop from Lowes because it's where he bought the mower. He haggles with them every year about it and sometimes receives a slight discount.

I go over there with my 12V load tester and multi-meter and find a TINY ETZ10S size battery, much smaller than what I'm used to seeing in a mower, sealed AGM type. Initially the battery looks good, reads 12.6V. Put any kind of load whatsoever on it and it flatlines to millivolts.

Questions: 1) I've never experienced that in load testing... and 2) why on earth would they use that tiny AGM battery instead of the universal, dirt cheap standard mower battery? Is this the new normal?

Mower in question is a cheap MTD rider, made in China, probably the least expensive on Lowe's lot at the time. I suggested he use something along the lines of a Noco Genuis 1A maintainer during the off season.
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Battery is shot. Internal resistance is through the roof. I’ve got a battery on my zero turn that I resurrected from the dead and now have the cheapest tender I could find at Menards on it. It has a quick connect, I just plug it in at the end of the season. Went from a new battery every year to every 4-5 years.
 
Yeah your neighbor needs to stop haggling Lowes for his mistake of not keeping it on a tender. No different than all the people leaving poor reviews on OPE for not starting in the spring after sitting with old E10 gas gumming up the carb.
 
I use a solar charger on my machine all winter long. It stays right up there. The battery is 6 years old and still going strong.

Not a cheapo mini mower batter from WM or TSC. John Deere Strongbox which was expensive. Hoping to get 10 years out of it.

Last battery from TSC lasted one season. Took it back for warranty and they told me no warranty. Pound sand. Thus went for a more quality battery. Cheaper in the long run.
 
walterjay said:
I use a solar charger on my machine all winter long. It stays right up there. The battery is 6 years old and still going strong.

Not a cheapo mini mower batter from WM or TSC. John Deere Strongbox which was expensive. Hoping to get 10 years out of it.

Last battery from TSC lasted one season. Took it back for warranty and they told me no warranty. Pound sand. Thus went for a more quality battery. Cheaper in the long run.
Click to expand...
Been there done that … Even the small Walmart batteries beat the TSC mini’s like a drum …
 
DAAA!! you gotta charge ANY unused battery!! get the largest flooded battery that fits + i like the C-Tek charger i have been using about 10 years on yard equip + vehicles. retired + drive little so you NEED a charge periodically!!
 
I don't use a maintainer . My ZTR gets used at least once a week nearly all year . I mulch leaves in the winter . If I have the leaves under control I'll still crank it weekly and run it for a few minutes . No fuel issues either .
 
Battery Minders on all my batteries when they are parked for the day or longer. They pay for themselves not to mention being ready to go when needed.
Oldest current battery is a '13 in a 1200cc 4s snowmobile with no recoil starter. Went through the winter fine, getting swapped out this summer though. Currently 9 in use on OPE, boat, motorcycles, sleds and a garage queen vehicle.
 
Noco 2 Genius. Can't go wrong. Maintains ALL different types of batteries ( flooded. AGM, Lithium, etc ) It does not overcharge either, so no more poppin the caps & adding distilled water, ( although you should check cell levels periodically on FLA batteries ). I also HAD a cheapo little tiny thing of a battery in my rider mower. Upgraded that to the biggest AGM I could squeeze into it. Had to do some " fabricating" on the battery box, but it fits fine. Has higher CCA's than the little " home alarm system " battery that was in it. That will save the starter in the long run. While I was in he mood, and had all the wiring out, I ran leads to just above the front bumpers on all my cars. I plug them in at night. 3 cars. Computers are constantly sapping current even when the cars are " off". Replace all batteries after 8 yrs, even though they pass a load test. Peace of mind. Noco can't stop ALL the sulfation, at least I don't think so. If you're neighor has no juice in the shed, tell him to buy a good outdoor extension cord and just run it over to the shed. Problems solved
 
Ariens/gravely ships with a small gel cel. Maybe it’s agm. Idk. It’s sealed. Costs $10 more than a lead acid U1. I get 5-6 years out of the first one. Tried a power sports battery for #2 but it only lasted 2-3 years. Now on year three with a second ariens/gravey gel cel and it has been great. It’s small, maybe have the size of a U1, but in this application is far better.
 
Just curious, did you plug them in to a maintainer, or take them out of the machines to store indoors ? Heard if you just plain store a battery inside where the temp doesn't drop insanely low, they should hold their charge. Heat and cold kill batteries, any kind of battery. Believe it or not, the ONLY type of battery that will NOT freeze itself to death is the old school acid filled battery that's been around for eons. AGM and the rest of them will actually freeze and die ( I guess it all depends on where you live ). Anyway, sounds like you got a few good U1 batteries. Good for you ! :) Stick a maintainer on them, you'll get more years out of them.
 
My Kohler Standby Generator takes a 51 R battery ( same battery in a Honda Accord or CRV - 500 CCA's) It actually came with a built in battery maintainer & a thermostatically controlled battery heat wrap for these cold NY winters. The heater turns on and shuts off at a pre-programmed temp to keep the battery warm. Works well. Always started right up when we lost power from the utility company.
 
Both my mowers were stored in unheated areas, on BatteryMinders, and saw -20f temps this winter and in previous winters and are fine. Both batteries are at least 4 or older, can't remember that's why I put dates on them when installed. One mows, the other plows, no issues when I called upon them.
Odyssey AGM battery in my HD was installed in '11, still cranking fine today being on the BatteryMinder and it too spent the winter in the cold.
 
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