What size 12V battery fits a '55 850 Ford tractor?

[WILL1E]

So my tractor is 2hrs away, hence the reason i'm asking here. I'm pretty sure my battery is toast so i pulled it before i left my place last time i was there. The tractor was converted to 12V and the battery that was in there was a Northern 26-675.

I do know that the battery was kinda loose within the tray, so it felt like maybe the group size 26 was not the correct size for the tractor. So just wondering what size battery i should be looking for? I want to make sure she has enough umph to fire up on a cold winter day in northern WI!

 

[nlastovi]

(quoted from post at 06:36:50 11/17/21) So my tractor is 2hrs away, hence the reason i'm asking here. I'm pretty sure my battery is toast so i pulled it before i left my place last time i was there. The tractor was converted to 12V and the battery that was in there was a Northern 26-675.

I do know that the battery was kinda loose within the tray, so it felt like maybe the group size 26 was not the correct size for the tractor. So just wondering what size battery i should be looking for? I want to make sure she has enough umph to fire up on a cold winter day in northern WI!

I did an internet search for "1955 ford 850 tractor battery" and right away came up with this thread : https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=ford&th=650111

including the statements:
- Original 6V was BCI group 1
- BCI group 26 is the same width and length as a 1 just a little shorter
- BCI group 22F batteries for 12v conversions of 4 cylinder prior Fords
- Group 25 or 35 12 volt are the awful close in size as a group 1 6 volt

https://www.jegs.com/Sizecharts/bcigroup.html is a reasonable comparison of nominal physical dimensions for various batteries.

 

[Jim L WA]

For what it's worth, I have a note that says a group 24 and 34 both fit a group 1 battery box. Group 34 has a bit more CCA.

 

[nlastovi]

I believe that 12V battery sizes suggested include 22, 24, 25, 26, 34, and 35 to be able to replace a group 1 6V. All of them are a bit narrower width (~175mm vs ~181mm is ~6mm = ~.25 inch). All are shorter (group 1 is 238mm tall while the others are 200mm to 225mm). The length of the 6V is 232mm while group 25/35 is 230mm.

If a goal is close-as-possible to the original size, a group 25 or 35 would seem to be pretty good based on which ever is less expensive and/or high CCA.


Group L W H L W H
1 232 181 238 9 1/8 7 1/8 9 3/8
22F 241 175 211 9 1/2 6 7/8 8 5/16
22R 229 175 211 9 6 7/8 8 5/16
24 260 173 225 10 1/4 6 13/16 8 7/8
25 230 175 225 9 1/16 6 7/8 8 7/8
26 208 173 197 8 3/16 6 13/16 7 3/4
34 260 173 200 10 1/4 6 13/16 7 7/8
35 230 175 225 9 1/16 6 7/8 8 7/8

 

[grandpa Love]

All mine have the cheapest Walmart
battery available. 550ish cold cranking.
Around 55 bucks. Zero issues in a toasty
Alabama. Never dealt with terrible cold