Riding Mower Battery- How long do they last?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
5,653
Location
Central IA
Bought one for my Tecumseh powered MTD and it has lasted 23 months. I hook a maintenance charger up to it regularly. Warranty says it has a one year warranty. Is it normal for one to die that early?
 
Its a Super Start from O Reillys btw. Is there a better brand out there. The clerk mentioned its made by Interstate.
 
The only rider I've ever owned is my JD lawn tractor that I bought new in 2002. The only time I've ever touched the battery was when I moved it out of the way a few years ago to lube the steering gear. It still works good. It just sits in the tractor unused in my shed during the winter except for the few times I might turn the headlights on to light up the shed. I definitely should take better care of it, I can't believe it keeps working so well.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Bought one for my Tecumseh powered MTD and it has lasted 23 months. I hook a maintenance charger up to it regularly. Warranty says it has a one year warranty. Is it normal for one to die that early?


I don't know if it's normal. Mine did the same thing (same brand and everything), however, with the same type of care. I never let it freeze or die, and as I recall, it lasted a couple months shorter than yours did.

Mine didn't die a slow, lingering death. It was rather sudden. How was yours?
 
It was pretty sudden. It started like it was running low, cranking the engine slowly. The next time nothing. I hooked a booster pack up to get it going. My maintenance charger says its charged but has no juice. I tried cleaning the cable just in case that was the issue.....nope.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
It was pretty sudden. It started like it was running low, cranking the engine slowly. The next time nothing. I hooked a booster pack up to get it going. My maintenance charger says its charged but has no juice. I tried cleaning the cable just in case that was the issue.....nope.


Well, I guess we were in the same boat. Same brands, similar conditions, and same failure. I charged it one day at a low amperage. It showed fully charged. Next day, I went to use it, dead as a doornail.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
My maintenance charger says its charged but has no juice.

Sounds like your maintenance charger is junk,you need to use a "float" charger one that turns it's self off then on as voltage is needed.

you should have gotten longer service then that.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
It was pretty sudden. It started like it was running low, cranking the engine slowly. The next time nothing. I hooked a booster pack up to get it going. My maintenance charger says its charged but has no juice. I tried cleaning the cable just in case that was the issue.....nope.



Mine went the same way, about the same life....a little over 2 years. Says charged, but will barely turn it over.
Picked one up from carquest last week for $20, made in the USA, works great so far, cranks it over easily.
 
Originally Posted By: daman
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
My maintenance charger says its charged but has no juice.

Sounds like your maintenance charger is junk,you need to use a "float" charger one that turns it's self off then on as voltage is needed.

you should have gotten longer service then that.


Nope it turns off and on as well. Yellow when charging and green when charged and on standby. I used it just the other day to charge up my wifes battery when she left her lights on by mistake.
 
I am going on my third year with a battery I picked up at AAP, it stays hooked up to a battery tender all winter. The battery in my JD was 10 years old when I replaced it(no battery tender), replaced it with another JD battery, kinda pricey though.
 
The L&G batteries don't last that long in my experience..typically two years is all I see. I have a couple tractors that use full-size car batteries, and they last tens of years...I always assumed it was because it was of better construction?

Make sure your charging system on the equipment is operational...sometimes those solid state voltage regulators go bad and overcharge. I had one fail on a Gravely, and it was putting 19 volts out before it finally just quit charging.
 
I had a Walmart battery last 6 years. The current one is only two seasons old. My only grip is they eliminated the carry handle - the bastages!!!
 
Well I think I foudn the culprit. It was leaking acid. I have some spray on cleaner/acid detector and when you spray it if the yellow turns pink or red you have an acid leak. It was leaking pretty good it turns out. When I pulled it, there is plenty of acid corrosion that was not there when I put it in.

Im going with the 19 buck wal mart one. No use in paying 8 bucks more for a battery that wont last.
 
I've been getting about 4-5 years out of my riding mower batteries with no charging or other maintenance. Would applying a charge over winter help the battery last longer? If so, can anyone recommend a cheap charger. Since I am paying less than $10/year for the battery, an expensive charger doesn't make much sense.

Tom NJ
 
I have been getting 3-4 years out of mine. The best was a Huskee (TSC) that went 4. However, I had another Huskee that went 2 years. The most that I ever got out of a JD battery (the last one cost me $46) was 2 years. I have gotten to the point any more that I simply go to Wally World and get the $19 special and replace it when it dies. It's cheaper and easier to do so and they last as long as anything else I've ever been able to find.
 
Im on my 3rd year on a Die Hard from Sears, in a Wheelhorse 310-8.

Lets hope it goes a few years more :)
 
Another thumb up for the John Deere batts, I have had them last 8-10 yrs. Don't know who makes them for JD. Last one was over $50 at the dealer.

Jeff
 
The battery on my Yardman tractor lasted 46 months. When not in use I had a peak detecting charger (maintains a consistent 13.5V charge) hooked up on it. I used the tractor year around.

Most replacement batteries have a 1 yr warranty. Found one at Meijer (midwest discount store) that had a 2 yr warranty at no additional cost. The battery had a cell short at 8 months. With the prorated refund along with a new battery being on sale the total cost for a replacement was $2.64. Not bad!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top