I’m surprised as well. I have been using large frame ETs since 1980 and my average for a set is about 7 years using the stock charger with a Landis controller. My last two sets were Duracell Ultra SLIGC125 (235AH). The ones in the E15 (snow blower tractor) are on their 8th year and getting weak. The ones in my E16 (3 season tractor) are 4 years and are loosing some capacity but I think that is due to extra recharge cycles over the last 2-3 years. I typically mow every 5 days but about 3 years ago I also started mowing a 2 acre vineyard about once a week. The extra charge cycles may be taking their toll.
Regards,
Dean A. Stuckmann
5432 County Road U
Newton, WI 53063
On Jun 3, 2019, at 10:55 AM, Graham Allan < gta umn edu> wrote:
I'm surprised you are getting so little life out of these batteries. My last set of cheap 6v batteries (Exide brand) from Sam's Club lasted from 2003-2018, using the onboard GE charger. They were quite feeble near the end but could still get my light mowing tasks done. Of course your use pattern is probably completely different from mine, but maybe the float charger is doing something counterproductive? On 6/2/2019 11:02 PM, David Tiefenbrunn wrote: I've been running a large frame Elec Trak for years now.
I used to be able to get used golf cart batteries for about 1/3 the cost of new ones, and they would work well enough for a few years, so pretty good deal. I used a simple analog float charger to keep them at full charge, and used the stock built in charger for the main charging. A few years back, I got a fancy 36V modern charger, but found that it was horribly power hungry in idle / float mode, and the float set point was too high, boiling water away too fast, and NO adjustment!
The last set of batteries I bought new Duracells from Sam's or BJ's. They are showing low capacity already, only been a year or so. I've been using 3 smart energy efficient 12V chargers to keep them at proper float voltage. Even if I got the expected 5 years under ideal conditions for flooded cell lead acid batteries, that's about 6x90= $540 every 5 years. Yikes! And right now, that's not even close to what I got.. [I have to go gather data to determine if I have one dead battery / cell / or the whole set is low output]
Contemplating looking at other battery types, or an inverter generator with a big power supply [which I have the parts to build laying around] to power the Elec Trak.
Dave
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