Rider Mower battery question

[SamB]

When in question take the battery to a local battery store like AutoZone and have it tested.

Most bad simply will not either take a charge or hold a charge. As long you don't connect it up backwards most batteries that complete dead will simply not charge but can damage some the el cheapo chargers.

And have save badly deleted batteries by using my 12V 60W solar panel.

Don't forget,StarTech, that running a mower with a bad battery can and does melt the stator ring under the flywheel, due to the heavy demand put on the charging circuit., trying to charge a bad battery.

 

[d2wing]

I would charge it overnight on a smart charger if it doesn't start. My mower lives in an unheated shed all winter. I use non-oxy gas ( no alcohol) and put stabile in it. I also leave it on a smart trickle charger all winter. No need to disconnect. It starts good every spring for a decade. I also have a car in cold storage with no power for a charger. I disconnect the positive lead and it always starts in the spring. I also have a small jumper pack if needed. My battery tester requires the battery to be charged before testing. Winters get to sub-zero temps here in Minnesota.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

i like to disconnect the negative lead first so there isn't as much chance of me screwing up .

 

[Zedo]

I would also buy a load tester , a battery can show 12-13 volts, which doesnt mean your battery is good, you need the cranking amps to turn over the equipment. A load tester will tell you right away if the battery is good or bad. Just my 2 cents. Harbor Freights and Amazon has them for 20 bucks and under.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

My 2 year old truck battery read 12.4 V but didn't have enough power to unlock the door with the key fob .

 

[Craiger]

You ask many good questions and several folks have given fairly good answers. I've been working on all my cars and yard equipment for 60 years. I have a 20" rotary push mower that's well over 50 years old still going strong. I maintain my equipment and it serves me well. My Sears lawn tractor was purchased in 1982 and mows like new. I bought Oregon "Gator" high lift mulching blades for both mowers which do a great job, much better than original blades. I sharpen then annually with an angle grinder and a cone type balancer carefully adjusted to make sure blades are centered. Take them off and put them back on to get a repeat check as many times as you think necessary. Others have said blade balance is important and they are correct. Be fussy about this.

Battery chargers have come a long way from old fashioned "dumb" chargers. Left hooked up indefinitely they will overcharge a battery and "boil" the electrolyte away. When that happens the battery is toast. It doesn't matter if it's a "trickle charger" which are typically 1 amp or less or a much higher amp charger, never leave connected past full charge if you use a dumb charger. Do yourself and all of your batteries (I assume you have one or more cars/trucks) a favor and get yourself a smart charger. There are several really good brands. I've had a CTEK MXS 5.0 for years and it has brought several car and lawn tractor batteries back from "the dead". It has a desulfate and a recondition mode which can salvage a sulfated battery. It can't save all batteries but it's always worth a try. I have been using the recondition mode of my CTEK on my cars annually and two of those batteries are now ten years old where I live in a harsh winter climate in upstate NY. Most people around here only get 3 to 5 years from a car battery. They don't know enough to use a smart charger. I paid about $85 for mine and it's paid for itself over and over again. Both of those car batteries still take a charge properly and measure about 12.9 volts when fully charged. Good brands besides CTEK are Noco, Battery Tender, DeWalt, Schumacher. I'm sure there are others. You can pay anywhere from $30 to well over $100, that's up to you but I strongly encourage you to get a smart charger. Read and understand the manual to get the most from your charger.

You say you leave your lawn mower battery not on a charger over the winter. That's not a good idea. As one reply said at least charge it up several times during the winter. It doesn't matter if it's in the cold garage on in your basement, just keep it charged. One of the worst things you can do to a battery is let it discharge because that will sulfate the plates which diminish the battery charge and make it more difficult to accept a charge. A much cheaper option would be to use a Harbor Freight battery maintainer, they have them on sale periodically for well under ten bucks. Just connect it and leave it on all winter. A smart charger can do the same thing, it can be left on indefinitely without over charging. Never let your battery voltage drop below about 12.3 volts or it will sulfate.

I agree with one post who advised running your equipment out of gas before seasonal storage. If you don't want to bother with that, at a bare minimum use gas with stabilizer at the recommended dilution. I also use good name brand synthetic oil in all my yard equipment, it lubricates much better than regular oil. It's no more expensive because you don't need to change it as frequently.

 

[Air4Dave]

I keep my mower in garage where it is around 50 degrees and I keep battery in mower and just unplug negative cable when storing. That is all I mainly do. You said if I charge battery in mower to make sure I charge it with cables unhooked, just curious why they need to be unhooked. Does it hurt mower when charging when their hooked up? Also if I test a battery with a multimeter,will it give a false reading if it's completely dead? If I hook a battery that can't be revived to a charger, will it blow up or it just won't charge? Thanks

Disconnecting the negative is ok, but not really necessary on a mower that doesn't have anything electronic on it! I've left my rider outside with the battery installed, no cables disconnected, and temps that get down in the lower teens. Although not ideal, by any stretch, my battery still survives but... I WILL start bringing it into my comparatively "warmer" shop for next winter. I said all that to show that these batteries are pretty tough, however, my battery is under 3 years old and that's important. Batteries are generally good for 3-4 years before needing replacement or they start to have charging problems.
I have a

NOCO GENIUS2, 2A Smart Car Battery Charger, 6V and 12V Automotive Charger, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, Float Charger and Desulfator for Motorcycle, ATV, Lithium and Deep Cycle Batteries - Amazon​

that I will be using that is "smart" in that it will sense the battery condition, NOT charge it if there is a bad cell, and will charge at a variable rate based on what the battery needs. It works great! I would invest in this.

Lastly, you don't need to disconnect a battery to charge it, and no, a multi-meter will not give you a false reading. It is designed to just show you what the value is on an item. Also, a dead battery won't blow up if you hook a charger to it...it simply won't take a charge.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

I see some have never heard of a battery exploding in someone's face . Please disconnect the negative first and reconnect it last .

 

[1madmouse]

You only need 1 time having one blow up in your face to make a believer out of you. I was trying to jump a friends car , 1 spark and kaboom. 2 guys picked me up and ran me into the kitchen to rinse under water, lucky I didn't get blinded and only lost a set of clothes. I was 17 at the time, that was 54 years ago never did that again. Negative first and stand back.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

That's what happened to a fellow at work when he as removing one from a metal box that cranked a Wisconsin engine . He didn't cover either post . They have to be taken to water .