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Hello,

My Craftsman T150 46 inch riding mower uses a U1R battery. I'm guessing the only thing that battery does is crank the mower. I'm guessing the stator keeps the battery charged.

I think I read these batteries are good for about 1000 cranks. We have 3 1/2 acres. The mower seat has switch that stops engine if you leave the seat. I often stop to move fallen limbs or trash.

The current battery will not hold a charge. Charged it one afternoon to just over 12 volts. The next morning it was 9 volts. I'm guessing I need to replace it. Not sure if it's one or two years old.

How long do these type batteries typically last?

Thank you for your time.

Lloyd

You've never read mower batteries offer 1000 cranks. If so it was a battery commercial.

Typically last from 3 minutes to roughly 3 years. Nothing set in stone.

Most people leave them outside in sub freezing weather over winter. No Battery Tender applied.

Best in the winter, pull the battery and take indoors. Hook at a Battery Tender. Come spring install in mower.

If under cranking the battery falls under 10.5 volts DC, she either needs charged or replaced. Assuming terminals/cables are clean and tight.

Load test the battery for free at any local auto parts store.

Yep, the battery is toast. When you put the new battery in check the charging system with a meter. At idle it will show a very low charge from the machine, but as you raise the throttle so should the charge voltage. If it is not charging, let us know because there is still a wiring connection or bad ignition switch issue happening.

Something that also helps:

A few years ago, I found out that if I attach a solar panel charger on my battery it keeps the electrolyte active at a very low charge rate. By doing this it prevents battery sulfation which is what kills battery cells when the battery is left sitting for long periods.

I started this "battery life experiment" with my large Generac 15KW standby/ portable generator and that battery is now 4 years old.... Believe me, No One wants a dead battery on a generator when a power outage occurs. I run my generator once a month for an hour and the battery shows no signs of losing cranking amperage since I added the solar charger.

Since then, I have added a solar panel maintainer for use with my rider mowers and other equipment that require batteries. It has saved me a lot of money on annual or seasonal battery replacements. Most of my equipment is outdoors year-round, so sunlight is not a problem.

For my motorcycle, I use a 2A battery tender during the winter months when it is stored inside.

TLloyd said:

Hello,

My Craftsman T150 46 inch riding mower uses a U1R battery. I'm guessing the only thing that battery does is crank the mower. I'm guessing the stator keeps the battery charged.

I think I read these batteries are good for about 1000 cranks. We have 3 1/2 acres. The mower seat has switch that stops engine if you leave the seat. I often stop to move fallen limbs or trash.

The current battery will not hold a charge. Charged it one afternoon to just over 12 volts. The next morning it was 9 volts. I'm guessing I need to replace it. Not sure if it's one or two years old.

How long do these type batteries typically last?

Thank you for your time.

Lloyd

Click to expand...

Because of vibration, and lack of sufficient charging, the average life cycle of a mower battery is three years. When you are running your mower for the short time each week during mowing season, that is the only time it is literally trickle charging. If you trickle charge battery throughout the year about once a month until it is full, you can roughly double the life of battery. Hardly anyone ever trickle charges their mower, car, or any other battery. We take batteries for granted for what they do. Buy a 300 or more, cold cranking battery for mower. Not the cheapo 230 CCA battery that will not last as long.

Buy a battery tender and keep it hooked up whenever the mower is not in use. Buy a 300 CCA battery.