John Deere Maintenance Monday: Extending battery life
Living the Country Life Radio Program with Betsy Freese
Radio interview source: Dick Parish, professor of agricultural engineering, Louisiana State University Ag Center
In this edition of Maintenance Monday, we're talking about batteries. Jim from Minnesota wants tips for extending the life of the battery on his utility tractor.
The average battery life is six months to 48 months, depending on usage. Yet less than a third of all batteries actually reach the 48-month mark.
Dennis Buckmaster, an ag engineer at Purdue University, says to extend battery life, there are two things that will help. First of all, routinely check the connections in the electrical system. If they're corroded, the voltage drops, and functions such as starting the engine get a lot tougher. Fortunately, it's easy to clean off the corrosion.
"Take the battery cable off, use a mixture of baking soda right out of the kitchen cupboard and water," Buckmaster says. "Stir it up in some kind of a tin can or jar, use an abandoned toothbrush, and just brush lightly around the battery area where the terminal connection goes and also do the cables."
It's important to leave the battery cap on, because you don't want the baking soda solution getting into the battery.
Check the battery fluid levels, too. If you need to add water to the battery, Buckmaster says only use distilled water, and do this after the battery is charged.
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