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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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Farmall Super A ? change 6 to 12 volt

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Myron Schmidt

08-25-2004 22:02:43




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I just purchased a 1949 Super A and it needs some work like the starter does not work. It runs good when push started. It has a 6 volt system with positive ground some are recomending a 12 volt conversion. Any thoughts pro and con on this? Where can I get a hand crank it has access for one. I want to scrape a dirt lane with it but seller did not think it could handle the job. Can it? What would be the best implement? Thanks
Myron

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Myron

08-27-2004 19:44:11




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 Re: Farmall Super A ? change 6 to 12 volt in reply to Myron Schmidt, 08-25-2004 22:02:43  
Thanks for all your feedback. My gut was telling me to keep the 6 volt so I will now since hearing from all of you. Also I have more confidence in the machine researching it. It should do well maintaining my existing dirt lane as long as I am patient ( and find a scraper blade). Hey I can make a crank now if I need one which I probably will not. I am new to tractors but in love I think.
Myron

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Paul in Mich

08-26-2004 19:22:14




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 Re: Farmall Super A ? change 6 to 12 volt in reply to Myron Schmidt, 08-25-2004 22:02:43  
Myron, The biggest reason that most people have a hard time starting a tractor on a 6 volt system is that the cables have been replaced with undersized cables. If you use 0 or 00 gauge cable both positive and negative from the battery, you should have no problem at all starting your tractoreven in sub zero weather. If you do experience starting problem
s, it can usually be traced to another problem.

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RobertN

08-26-2004 16:39:36




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 Re: Farmall Super A ? change 6 to 12 volt in reply to Myron Schmidt, 08-25-2004 22:02:43  
You can find hand cranks and the retainer clips here in the "classified" section; put a want ad in there. Or, keep an eye on Ebay. Search on "Farmall". It is amazing what you will find there.



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Kendall

08-26-2004 14:19:46




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 Re: Farmall Super A ? change 6 to 12 volt in reply to Myron Schmidt, 08-25-2004 22:02:43  
as far as scraping dirt- Guy Fay"s book "IH Tractor Data Book" shows a picture of a Super A with a belly blade. I"ve seen other pictures of SA"s with belly blades. If this tractor cant scrape dirt, then IH would not have offered a belly blade. You may not be able to clean sweep you lane in one pass like a monster road grader but you should be albe to get the job done. Hey, the longer it takes, the more you get to ride your tractor which means you"re having more fun! Isn"t that the way it goes??

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Hugh MacKay

08-26-2004 12:50:59




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 Re: Farmall Super A ? change 6 to 12 volt in reply to Myron Schmidt, 08-25-2004 22:02:43  
Myron: Every 4 cylinder gas tractor built by IH between 1939 and 1957 will start anywhere south of the Artic circle, any month of the year, on 6 volt if properly maintained and tuned up. Most of the other guys gave you the reasons why and they were good reasons.

I have 3 of these tractors, cranks haven't been used for years, don't even carry them on the tractors anymore. Two of my tractors (130 and 140)are 12 volt and only because I operate attachments that have 12 volt motors. My best starting tractor in cold weather is my 6 volt Super A. I will garentee you that if 3 people went to my unheared shop at -20F. The guy who picks the Super A will have it going first.

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Kendall

08-26-2004 09:59:36




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 Re: Farmall Super A ? change 6 to 12 volt in reply to Myron Schmidt, 08-25-2004 22:02:43  
My SA was a 12v conversion when I bought it. Pros: no funky generator problems.
Only thing I keep an eye on is starter engage time. 12V spins the starter real fast. Napa has rebuild parts for your starter. Mine was not going very well and I took it apart, cleaned armature, new brushes and cha-ching! it now spins at about 1 billion rpm. If your 6V system is still charging and running ok, then I"d just let it go. As far as your crank, if you have a torch and drill, you can build one. Here is a link to a post that I made a long time ago about this. It was easy to do.

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Steve W (NY)

08-26-2004 06:17:18




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 Re: Farmall Super A ? change 6 to 12 volt in reply to Myron Schmidt, 08-25-2004 22:02:43  
My take on it is this. Tractor is what....40 years or more old? It got along this long on 6V, why change it? Here's what to check to make it work for another 40 years. 1 Guage Battery cables. These are often replaced with 12V skinny cables. You can usually find that during cranking, some part of the wrong cable will get hot. That's telling you that they need to be replaced.

Second thing is you need to make sure all the connections are "clean, bright and tight". After I clean everything, I always smear a little dielectric grease on the connections. Some people swear by vaseline. Either way, it will prevent corosion from setting in. If it doesn't charge, diagnosing is pretty easy, and it will be cheaper and easier to find the problem than replace it with a 12V system and rewire it.

Finally, this may not be true for everyone, but I like my stuff "factory". If I see a machine that's been modified, I always figure it's worth less. That goes for 12V conversions, no matter how well they are done.

One last thing. If you have a good battery and good cables, and you don't use your lights, you don't even need a working charging system. Get a "Battery Tender" brand battery charger. This isn't a trickle charger, it''s one that shuts itself off when the battery reaches full charge. You can run a Super A all day on a good battery, and just plug it in at night. Both my BN and Ford 2N I have purposely undercharging. I plug whichever one I used last into the charger, and the batteries never get overcharged, which is the leading reason for worn out batteries in these old tractors. The 2N's battery came with the tractor 5 years ago and is going strong. They will both start right up at -20 degrees Farenheit.

Take Care
Steve

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scotty

08-26-2004 04:32:16




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 Re: Farmall Super A ? change 6 to 12 volt in reply to Myron Schmidt, 08-25-2004 22:02:43  
Myron, If the 6 volt system is maintained properly, no need to switch to 12 volts. I own two of these tractors and both work well.

As far as the grader blade, I think it was designed more for maintaining unpaved driveways, like removing that center hump, than blazing in a new drive. If you are planning on trying that you will probablly want plenty of weight on your machine!

scotty



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little john

08-26-2004 03:23:12




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 Re: Farmall Super A ? change 6 to 12 volt in reply to Myron Schmidt, 08-25-2004 22:02:43  
You might enjoy reading about 12 volt conversion under "Articles" on the left of this page.



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