Lawn mower battery

[Rich'sToys]

I've read several times here about folks using a lawn mower battery when converting a tractor from 6 volt to 12 volt, so as to make it a little easier on the 6 volt starter. I'm thinking about doing that to my John Deere B this spring.

My question is--what kind of ends did you use on the battery cables to attach them to the battery? I can think of 3 possible options:

1. Attach these to the battery and keep the regular ends on the cables.


2. Use connectors designed for side terminal batteries.


3. Use the same kind of fitting that is on the other end of the cable.

Just wondering what you guys have done. Any pros or cons of any of the above options?
Thanks in advance!

 

[47fivewindow]

3 -cheapest is bestest

 

[Brian G. NY]

I don't know about the starter in your John Deere but I converted my Allis WD and Allis WD-45 to 12 volt years ago and the original 6 volt starters are still working just fine.
The WD which I've used for moving snow for many years will start every time no matter how cold the weather.
I'm not sure the little garden tractor battery would be up to the task.

 

[wh]

converted several here thru the years. Just bought whatever size 12 battery that fit the box. Never had a problem with the starters. I dont think a lawn battery would last or have enough ummph to turn some over.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I've read several times here about folks using a lawn mower battery when converting a tractor from 6 volt to 12 volt, so as to make it a little easier on the 6 volt starter. I'm thinking about doing that to my John Deere B this spring.

My question is--what kind of ends did you use on the battery cables to attach them to the battery? I can think of 3 possible options:

1. Attach these to the battery and keep the regular ends on the cables.
View attachment 106092

2. Use connectors designed for side terminal batteries.
View attachment 106095

3. Use the same kind of fitting that is on the other end of the cable.
View attachment 106096
Just wondering what you guys have done. Any pros or cons of any of the above options?
Thanks in advance!

You could use the same cable used on a riding mower.
I make 10g copper cable and crimped on ends. I started out using an old mower battery. Worked fine on my Farmall C.
A 6v starter on a 20 hp Farmall C tractor will work fine using a 12v mower battery.
I stopped damaging the starter drive and chipping teeth off the starter ring.
I use 340 amp sealed mower battery.
Take the battery out of your mower and see if it works.
What tractor are you planning to use a mower battery on?
I would' not use a mower battery on my L3560 Kubota.

 

[da.bees]

No,no,no.
How many times do I have to tell you, "I Herd and Tha Said" are two biggest liars in the country.
Knowing full well the usual suspects will find ways to dive deeper into this than necessary, here's the truth on the matter.
Starters,lights and ignition only pull as much power from battery they need while leaving remainder for later use.

On the other hand, if battery is too small or not amply charged lights don't reach full brightness but aren't harmed by it. If power isn't sufficient for starter it will overheat and suffer damage. As someone already mentioned, use a car/truck battery.

 

[NDIHC]

I've had 3 Farmall Ms for years. The first one was bought in about 1977 or so. All 3 are on 12 volt car batteries. In at least 48 years of use on 1, about 30+ on the second and just a few years on the 3rd I have put in exactly 2 starter springs. And the ones I put in were from used old starters. I don't buy that a car battery has too much amperage for the tractor starter. The starter will only draw what it needs. It will, however, spin up to speed faster than with a 6 volt battery.

 

[560Dennis]

Fix the problem with the 6 volt , you be fine ! Make sure the cables are 0-2 gauge .

 

[rustred]

a person would need a small battery like in the honda cars like 500 cca or less, to soften the engagement blow.those lawn mower battery's would not worth the hassel. thinking it would act like them battery power booster packs, if it dont start right off the bat your done.

 

[KLPinNC]

I changed my 420 JD to 12 volt, I put a 6 year old lawnmower battery in with cables with eyes on both ends. It starts right up and I don’t have to change spark plugs every 6 months. It is a 300 amp battery.

 

[muleboss]

I changed my 420 JD to 12 volt, I put a 6 year old lawnmower battery in with cables with eyes on both ends. It starts right up and I don’t have to change spark plugs every 6 months. It is a 300 amp battery.

connection between battery size and spark plugs????

 

[wore out]

.

 

[wh]

connection between battery size and spark plugs????

Of course. It probably even burns less gas now.

 

[olddavid]

300 to 340 amp lawn mower battery is a pretty big battery. It might work. Smaller might not. A car battery would have more reserve but you might be more likely to overheat the starter if it doesn't start right away.

 

[Mcrafty1]

300 to 340 amp lawn mower battery is a pretty big battery. It might work. Smaller might not. A car battery would have more reserve but you might be more likely to overheat the starter if it doesn't start right away.

If it doesn't start right away with a lawn tractor battery you'll need to jump it with something, why not just get a standard auto 12 volt battery and don't grind the starter till it smokes.

But I guess since that's not what you asked, I'd go with option #3

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

I know it's not what you asked but a lawn mower battery won't have enough reserve to crank your B. A Walmart Value group 26 or 35 would be a much better choice, and no worries about cable ends.

For something small like an IH Cub, a lawn mower battery is plenty, but you're trying to crank over almost 200 cubic inches on a John Deere B.

Frankly, most people who think 12V is hard on their 6V starter, are imagining things. They claim the starter "slams" into the flywheel. You WANT it to slam so the starter pinion engages with the ring gear on the flywheel fully. On 6V the starter just kind of mushes the pinion into the flywheel, and only engages the tip of the gear. That's how you end up with chewed up ring gears.

But I guess since that's not what you asked, I went with option #3 on my Cub.

 

[Dave BN]

Do you have petcocks on your B engine? Opening them or not will change how hard it turns over. Some guys just use a smaller size battery cable to lessen the amps to the starter.
Dave

 

[bob p mn]

To answer your question I would also go with option 3. That being said I have converted many tractors to 12 volt and like most of the others just bought the 12 volt battery that will fit your battery box. Maybe I've been lucky but I do believe that I have replaced more starter drives on tractors that were originally 12 volt than on conversions I have done. I also don't think a lawnmower battery in a B is going to be enough if you use it in the winter month's in Mn.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I got tired of replacing the starter drives on my Jubilee and Farmall C.
I replaced the 6v starter with a 12v starter on my Jubilee and no more replacing the starter drive and chipping the starter ring.
I couldn't buy a 12v starter for my Farmall C so I experimented with a mower battery.
That has worked for about 15 years now.
If you have a starter drive problem, what will it hurt to take the mower battery out of your lawnmower and see if it will work?
It won't cost you anything to experiment.
It is your money. Buy what you want.
My Farmall C was built with a Mag. Back then you could start tractors without a battery, hand cranking.
The mower battery works just fine on my Farmall C, about 20 hp, and both Terramites which only have a 20 hp air cooled mower engines.
My Jubilee is about 30 HP. I never tried using a mower battery on it because I have no way to secure the battery where the normal battery goes.
In conclusion, I use a mower battery in my Farmall to end starter drive issues. Mission accomplished.
I use a total of 11 (340) amp mower batteries. Mostly in riding mowers, portable generator, Kaw mule, 2 terramites, and Farmall C.
I don't use a mower battery in my Jubilee, L3560, Truck or car.
Every spring RK and Menards has a sale on mower batteries. I will buy 2 replacement batteries and they will stay on a charger until I need them.
I will not buy the cheapest mower batteries that are rated at about 200 amps.


When in Florida this winter, My sister's 40 HP mercury needed a battery.
Her on board battery charger needed repaired.
She was using a $100 trolling battery, one year warranty, on her 40 hp engine.
I replaced the battery with a car battery, 5 year warranty, for about $30 less.
For $8 bought adapter terminals to use the old cables.

My 10K dump trailer came with a marine battery that had a short life. I was lucky to get 2 years out of them.
The pump uses 135 amps for 90 seconds when dumping and 130 amps for 70 seconds to lower the bed.
I replaced the one year warranty battery with the biggest 12v truck battery, 5 year warranty,
130 amps for 90 seconds needs a starter battery, not a marine like battery.

One could make the argument that mower batteries only have 1 year warranty so buy a regular battery. I get 5 to 7 years out of my mower batteries.
It's your money, buy what you want. It costs NOTHING to take the battery out of a lawnmower.
Please post your results.
FVP Menards battery
That is all I have to say about that, FG

 

[kencombs]

You could use the same cable used on a riding mower.
I make 10g copper cable and crimped on ends. I started out using an old mower battery. Worked fine on my Farmall C.
A 6v starter on a 20 hp Farmall C tractor will work fine using a 12v mower battery.
I stopped damaging the starter drive and chipping teeth off the starter ring.
I use 340 amp sealed mower battery.
Take the battery out of your mower and see if it works.
What tractor are you planning to use a mower battery on?
I would' not use a mower battery on my L3560 Kubota.View attachment 106112

I have a theory. First of all a good lawn battery provides enough omph to crank a lot of small displacement engines, especially those with low compression ratios.

Back to my theory, I suspect your fix for the slamming starter drive is not so much the battery, but the 10ga cable limiting the inrush current and thus starter power for an instant. What do you think? If it were here, I'd be tempted to try a bigger cable to see if that is correct.

edit to add: I have a JD 455 garden tractor/mower. It has a 22hp Yanmar diesel. The same chassis is sold as a 425 and 445 in the US and 415 in Europe. Those are gas engines and have the typical lawn/garden battery. The diesel has a group 51 car battery, the largest that they could squeeze between the frame and flywheel in front of the diesel.