I was using a tractor battery with 300 amps but it kept draining so i would have to hook up a back up that would die. I went months without this happening but it happened continuously last week. What do you use? I bought a marine 800 amp and a poerpro jumper kit. aNYONE ELSE EVER HAVE THIS PROBLEM. sorry about the srewy typing i am holding a 5 month old
What type of battery do you use
- Thread starter XTREME1
- Start date
Desk Jockey
Member
What's the battery for? :?:
Is it the one your wife uses to wake you up with?
Is it the one your wife uses to wake you up with?
Desk Jockey
Member
What's the battery for? :shock:
Your TM? or your Truck?
Geez you need one to jump start that pea brain of yours, you big dinosaur!
Your TM? or your Truck?
Geez you need one to jump start that pea brain of yours, you big dinosaur!
Desk Jockey
Member
It's probably not the battery.
It's that weird alternator type setup on those units.
Check with a PC distributor, they can hook you up with the right part.
You can use the big 800 amp to shock yourself every time you say something dumb.....that will get some good use!
It's that weird alternator type setup on those units.
Check with a PC distributor, they can hook you up with the right part.
You can use the big 800 amp to shock yourself every time you say something dumb.....that will get some good use!
Desk Jockey
Member
Go hold the baby! 
When I started building my new TM I took this problem into consideration. My current TM has a 20 hp Honda engine which is hooked up to the truck's battery for the electrical starter. This setup may go for 3 or 4 months and never drain the battery, then for some unknown reason it would drain the battery overnight. In the new TM electrical system I have placed a 300 amp battery disconnect switch. When I shut down the machine for the day I just turn a switch and the TM is no longer connected to the electrical system of the van. The tech support people at Kohler (new engine is a 36 hp Kohler) advised me not to leave the system connected all the time, especially when the truck is running and charging it's own battery with the alternator. They said it had something to do with having two charging systems on one circuit. Even though the truck and TM do not charge at the same time the stator or charging system of the TM engine could cause an electrical draw if the engined stopped with the stator and flywheel in the correct position. Very hard to duplicate and must be aligned at specific points to cause this.
I know from working at a lawnmower shop during the summer when I was in high school that the typical tractor battery only last about 12 to 18 months. My employer had sold five or six different brands of tractor battery and never had better results with any one brand.
I know from working at a lawnmower shop during the summer when I was in high school that the typical tractor battery only last about 12 to 18 months. My employer had sold five or six different brands of tractor battery and never had better results with any one brand.
Shawn Forsythe
RIP
The size, not the physical size, but the CCA and the Amp Hour rating is something that should be carefully determined depending on the individual situation.
Most of the time bigger is better, but not always.
Bigger should not completely compensate for a undersized charging system or a high running load. Deep Cycle batteries are not the best choice for starting applications, nor is every TM setup a "starting" battery situation.
First determine these:
1. Cold Cranking Amps required for starting in the most adverse conditions that will be encountered.
2. The typical running load.
3. The maximum running load, with Auto Pump unit and/or electric hose reel running.
4. Will the charging system handle the max load during running? In other words, will the charging system handle the Auto Pumpout running, along with the other needs, including charging the battery?
Ordinarily a size 24, with a fairly medium size AH and CCA rating will suffice. However, you may find that you are radically treating your existing battery very poorly compared with the charge/discharge paradigm it was designed for.
Sometimes it proves to be a wise choice to choose a battery designed for starting, but with dual purpose deep cycle capability.
Deep Cycle batteries have thicker lead plates than starting batteries. Ordinarily though, they do not make the best choice for starting applications, because shallow cycling has a tendency to have a detrimental effect on longevity. They do make batteries though that work a happy medium.
Gel Batteries or Absorbed Glass Mat(AGM) usually have a much better plate support system for the plates and are more physically durable. The captive electrolyte has better control over chemical reactions, so the longevity is much better, and they don't require maintenance. They are sealed, and the electrolyte level is maintained such that the plates are never exposed to corrosive conditions. Definitely worth looking at.
The bottom line is that battery selection is pretty individual, what doesn't work is usually the result of wrong selection of amp hours mixed with the high amp loading that some setups have. Rarely is it a simple question of cold cranking amps.
Most of the time bigger is better, but not always.
Bigger should not completely compensate for a undersized charging system or a high running load. Deep Cycle batteries are not the best choice for starting applications, nor is every TM setup a "starting" battery situation.
First determine these:
1. Cold Cranking Amps required for starting in the most adverse conditions that will be encountered.
2. The typical running load.
3. The maximum running load, with Auto Pump unit and/or electric hose reel running.
4. Will the charging system handle the max load during running? In other words, will the charging system handle the Auto Pumpout running, along with the other needs, including charging the battery?
Ordinarily a size 24, with a fairly medium size AH and CCA rating will suffice. However, you may find that you are radically treating your existing battery very poorly compared with the charge/discharge paradigm it was designed for.
Sometimes it proves to be a wise choice to choose a battery designed for starting, but with dual purpose deep cycle capability.
Deep Cycle batteries have thicker lead plates than starting batteries. Ordinarily though, they do not make the best choice for starting applications, because shallow cycling has a tendency to have a detrimental effect on longevity. They do make batteries though that work a happy medium.
Gel Batteries or Absorbed Glass Mat(AGM) usually have a much better plate support system for the plates and are more physically durable. The captive electrolyte has better control over chemical reactions, so the longevity is much better, and they don't require maintenance. They are sealed, and the electrolyte level is maintained such that the plates are never exposed to corrosive conditions. Definitely worth looking at.
The bottom line is that battery selection is pretty individual, what doesn't work is usually the result of wrong selection of amp hours mixed with the high amp loading that some setups have. Rarely is it a simple question of cold cranking amps.
Dolly Llama
Number 5
I agree with Ricardo.
It may not be the battery and is a charging system fault.
Never the less, every TM I've owned had a "real" battery in it.
It's not like they cost a whole lot more than a lawn mower battery.
Go down to Autozone and buy a small car battery.
Anything with over 300 cold cranking amps will be fine
If it's the charging system that's bad, the deep cycle marine battery will eventually peter out too.
Just take a little longer is all
..L.T.A.
It may not be the battery and is a charging system fault.
Never the less, every TM I've owned had a "real" battery in it.
It's not like they cost a whole lot more than a lawn mower battery.
Go down to Autozone and buy a small car battery.
Anything with over 300 cold cranking amps will be fine
If it's the charging system that's bad, the deep cycle marine battery will eventually peter out too.
Just take a little longer is all
..L.T.A.
Desk Jockey
Member
I bet it's the Stator that Kevin mentioned!
Dolly Llama
Number 5
Richard Chavez said:
Is it an Onan motor?
They're notorious for bad stators.
and the price to replace one :shock:
..L.T.A.
Shawn Forsythe
RIP
Actually, Voltage regulators outsell stators 5:1.
There is no reason to even guess. The tests for all the charging system components are very definitive and methodical. You test AC output of the stator at a given RPM, and the voltage should be a prescribed figure. Then the resistance is checked. If those outputs/test are within spec, and the output of the Voltage regulator is not, it is deduced that it is the Voltage regulator. But, yes, you test the stator first.
If the Stator output is low, but the resistance reading is correct then it is the flywheel. It is relatively rare, but some flywheels either physically throw magnets, or become less magnetic, and subsequently ruin output.
There is no reason to even guess. The tests for all the charging system components are very definitive and methodical. You test AC output of the stator at a given RPM, and the voltage should be a prescribed figure. Then the resistance is checked. If those outputs/test are within spec, and the output of the Voltage regulator is not, it is deduced that it is the Voltage regulator. But, yes, you test the stator first.
If the Stator output is low, but the resistance reading is correct then it is the flywheel. It is relatively rare, but some flywheels either physically throw magnets, or become less magnetic, and subsequently ruin output.
RichardnTn
Member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2006
- Messages
- 447
The motor has a bridge rectifier on it...the engines generates AC voltage and the rectifier changes it to DC voltage. If the battery runs down continually, that is probably it unless you have an alternator. If you have an alternator, check the voltage at the + post, it should be 13- 14 vdc....If it isn't, problem may be there.... possibly brushes then...Hope ya get it fixed...
BTW. If you have to change out the rectifier, get a larger on..larger equates not to more voltage but to more amperage.(Doesn't matter what the parts guy tells you, get it)... A lot of manufactors only use 10 amps and that is not enough.... Richard R
BTW. If you have to change out the rectifier, get a larger on..larger equates not to more voltage but to more amperage.(Doesn't matter what the parts guy tells you, get it)... A lot of manufactors only use 10 amps and that is not enough.... Richard R
