6 volt Battery

Todd Heck · Nov 1, 2011

General question. I have a Farmall bn still on the 6volt. I keep it in a unheated barn it the winter. I us it to plow snow in the driveway, and would like to know what is the best thing I can do for the battery? Do I take it out when I am nit using it, cover it, for get on of those heating elements for it?

Thanks for your input

Paul from MI · Nov 1, 2011

If you have electricity in the barn I would look at a battery heater. A little warmth really peps up a battery. Of course you could look into a block heater too. Actually a BN isn't a very big engine and should start fine on 6 volts unless it's really cold, way below zero. As others have said, with 6 volts the condition of all connections and having large enough cables is critical.

gene bender · Nov 1, 2011

If you have a good battery and good 1 ga cables your tractor will start down to 20 below easy as my B ive had for 40yrs starts great its my snow pushing device so will your BN. But is your starter and cables in shape. I would clean both ends of the cables to make sure then it never hurts to check battery cells with a hydrometer lets you know batterys condition quick. They only cost around 6-7 at Car Quest.

GordoSD · Nov 1, 2011

And fill it with 5-20w oil.

BillB52 · Nov 1, 2011

All very good suggestions from Paul in MI. On my tractor that also stays in an unheated barn, I use a very low amperage electronic battery charger/maintainer. It keeps the battery fully charged,and then switches to a maintenance mode. Mine is called a Battery Tender, and made by Deltran. There are others on the market. It works well for me.

Tom Fleming · Nov 1, 2011

And in my neck of the woods we call 'em trickle chargers. I have 5 of them, and that is what I do for my tractor batteries over the winter. 2 of my batteries are 6 years old. I am sure I will have to replace them at some point, but they are working fine for now.

Brian2 · Nov 1, 2011

I have a super A which I also use for plowing, and being from Toronto Canada, I think we get cold as much as the rest.... anyway, I've never had an issue starting in the winter. I do have the option to use my charger if needed, but I don't recall having too. Main issue is lack of seat cover, butt can get PRETTY COLD on that steel !

Todd Heck · Nov 1, 2011

k battery is ok but if it goes dead what is the best way to charge it.? Since positive ground no clue the best way. Thanks

Tom Fleming · Nov 1, 2011

Positive ground has no bearing on the charge process. Hook positive to positive (+) and negative to negative (-). Don't over analyze this. polarity from the battery charger to the battery matters. Doesn't matter what pole is connected to ground........

Faster346 · Nov 1, 2011

Todd, I sell a 6v battery charger/maintainer at work (NAPA) if you want me to get you a price on one tomorrow shoot me a text and let me know. I think they're around 30-40 bucks.

Jim Becker · Nov 1, 2011

Walmart has some small 6/12 volt charger/maintainers for about $20. I have several, some with a manual 6/12 switch others that detect automatically. Both seem to work fine. They are made by Schumacher.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumache...Maintainer-and-Charger/13005742#ProductDetail

mike paulson · Nov 2, 2011

there is a differance between a trickle charger and a battery maintainer/tender. you keep a tender hooked up all the time and it charges as needed.

mkirsch · Nov 2, 2011

Keep a battery maintainer (aka "float charger") connected to the battery, and it won't go dead.

You don't want to let the battery go dead. The only way to fix a dead battery is with a new battery, and those are expensive.

You can try to charge it, but it may not take a charge, and probably won't hold the charge for long.

If you lucked out and caught it before it got too low, you can nurse it along for a while but it will never be as good as it was before it went dead.

Russ from MN · Nov 2, 2011

Some kind of a heater on the engine would really help. I installed a tank heater on our A 35 years ago and it really helped, mounted it next to the carburetor so that was warmed too.

6 volt Battery

Todd Heck

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Paul from MI

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gene bender

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GordoSD

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BillB52

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Tom Fleming

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Brian2

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Todd Heck

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Tom Fleming

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Faster346

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Jim Becker

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mike paulson

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mkirsch

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Russ from MN

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