Farmall Cub

Last night at 18*F, it took a bunch of pulls on the starter handle to get the Cub going, even with an oil pan heater on. I expect the same today with still some 8 to 10" of snow on the ground. My battery is old, a NAPA one. 6 volt. Wondering about newer batteries (no water, gel filled, etc.), as well as preferred specs for the battery for cold weather starting. The old battery turns the sluggish oil, but just not speedily and I think spunk and power in a new battery might increase starting chances. Thanks for comments.

I use several of these:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-SpeedCharge-Battery-Maintainer-and-Charger/13005742

A new battery will help. All my cubs are 12 volt, and have no starting issues as far as turning speed.

By "bunch of pulls" do you mean the tractor would start and die or maybe fire but not start? A cub carb is quite simple. Don't discount fuel problems at that temperature. If it would fire there may be more than cranking speed. This is where I like a mag engine. The snap of a mag gives a good hot spark. If you do decide a new battery is in order check the cold cranking amps. I'm old enough to remember when there wasn't such a thing as 12 volt. Tractors, cars, trucks all used 6 and started. Connections need to be clean. You need twice the ampreage at 6 volts to crank as you do with 12 volts. This is why a 6 volt cable is larger than a 12 volt battery cable. You can even hook two batteries in parallel but that is costly if you don't have a second battery. Vern

Conduct a voltage drop test to check battery condition. Fully charged battery. Volt meter connected to battery terminals. Read voltage. Ignition off - take voltage reading while cranking over engine. Battery should hold 4.5 or a bit more volts while cranking engine.

Batteries do get old and weak.

Before I spent money on a new battery, I'd check the electrolyte level in the existing one and put a charger or maintainer on it, as Dave suggests. May not be the final solution, but it's a quicker and cheaper first step.

DickB,

If you decide to purchase a new 6v battery, I suggest you consider an Exhide COM-1H-P with 625 CCA. I recently replaced an older NAPA 5019L (440 CCA) with the Exhide and have been very satisfied. Tractor Supply Company carries Exhide and they are less expensive than the NAPA model.

Dick:

As Bill V said, if you get a new battery (after you do a load test on your current one) get one with the highest CCA's you can find. I am not a fan of NAPA batteries, or other house brands - for some reason haven't had good luck with them. I would try the Exide battery as BIll mentioned.

However, as Dave stated, I use a Schumacher battery maintainer on all my batteries over the winter. Helps the batteries, they last longer because they do not get too low, they are always at full charge which is good for the electrolyte and the plates. I took a clip of Ellie starting with SAE30wt oil and within seconds she was up to operating pressure even in the cold weather - below freezing. Mostly because the Cubs are sheltered - that helps a lot as well.

One of the keys to good starting to to make sure that the electrical system (between battery and starter) grounds are clean and bright as well as the starter switch itself. A little moisture and some corrosion will make a big difference surprisingly.

Just a little tidbit about NAPA vs Exide batteries...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 702AAID4mt

I am going to watch what happens as others hopefully will share their experience with the new NAPA batteries. I only have one NAPA battery left and I am going to need a new one soon to replace it. So I googled Who Makes Deka Batteries and found that East Pen actually manufactures the Deka. Then I googled Who Makes Batteries for NAPA in Canada. So I was surprised to see that Deka is the supplier.

We have a large Interstate dealer/distributor here. Haven't heard a lot of good about them either. So I googled Who Makes Interestate Batteries and I kinda got a surprise - Johnson Controls.

Kept reading and I discovered who makes the battery in our new Honda

Might have to check out my local Interstate dealer.

Interesting that NAPA USA and NAPA Canada apparently have different suppliers.

Yes a good well charged battery is a must for cold weather starting yet poor or corroded connections cut the amperage to the starter severely and make for poor starting too. Clean and grease to slow down oxidation. Not lets start the old dielectric grease thing again. Any grease will help prevent future poor connections.

I am a big believer in having GOOD battery connections, or any electrical connections. My favorite way of grounding the battery is using a long braided cable to the base of the battery box. It can also work to keep the battery in place.

Buzzard Wing wrote:My favorite way of grounding the battery is using a long braided cable to the base of the battery box.

I moved the battery ground cable end location from the battery box to the transmission cover. In my instance the relocation greatly improved the starter's cranking ability.

Eugene wrote:I moved the battery ground cable end location from the battery box to the transmission cover.