LocostUSA.com

Heading out to buy a new lawn tractor battery soon.....

The first one died after leaving the trickle charger on a little too long. Turned out to be less "trickle" and more "charger."

The second one died after two years. I charged it when I stored it in the basement for the winter. Won't hold a charge.

Are there any ~really~ good utility batteries out there that can last more than a year or two, or am I getting out of them what one can expect??

(Throttle Position Sensor #7 seems to be working really well. Never thought I'd say this, but "Yay GM!")

G

_________________
The Lethal Locost
The Lethal Locost 2 - Even More Lethalerer

Delco electronics always seem to be pretty solid. I modified my Evo to run a stock GM boost controller because the OE Mitsu part wasn't performing up to my needs.

_________________
.. in the world

Original Suzuki GSX-R TPS was horrifically "twitchy."
$93 Replacement TPS was exactly the same.
Toyota one could not be adapted - moved the wrong way (I tried, really, I tried).
First (used) Ford TPS was very twitchy anywhere off idle.
Second (used) Ford TPS had a big hole at cruise.
Third (used) Ford TPS has a wee hole at exactly cruise.
- Jobber Ford TPS never came in (waited six weeks)
- Dealer Ford TPS would have been $265, but 5 days.
Used GM 3.1 V6 TPS turned the right way, and was very smooth. Had to re-fabricate a TPS adapter - I'm getting good at it now.

_________________
The Lethal Locost
The Lethal Locost 2 - Even More Lethalerer

May cost a little more but I would go for a dry cell/deep cycle battery. Odessey makes a half size model that I will probably go with for my locost. Deep cycles can be completly depleted and charged back up again.

http://www.odysseybatteries.net/battery ... ttery.html

_________________
+442 - Miata

I'm averaging over 5 years per battery in the lawn mower. They seem to hold a charge over winter with no problem. Just quit using them in the fall, fire up in the spring. In a car application they might need some help on the initial spring start, but they seem to be pretty hot.

On second thought, the problem may be one of capacity. Your engine may require top lawn mower battery performance in order to start, while the lawn mower engine may only require 75%.

Bill

Yo, Skinny-
It ain't 'zackly low cost, but I have had good luck with an Optima dry cell in the race car. I try to crank it up every couple of weeks, but I sometimes forget for a month at a time. No trickle charger, never had to jump start the old girl.

My .02, YMMV, etc.


JD

_________________
JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

Also heat shortens a batteries life, does yours get enough cool air in that location.
Al

_________________
Super Seven 3.4

I have one of these batteries, the ones with the damp fiberglass cloth for the electrolyte. I bought it in the late 80's and it's still working in the race car. I charge it every 5 years when I'm not using the car... They work really well.

_________________
Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

It's called AGM battery, Absorbed Glass Mat.
Mazda put AGM batteries in the old miatas that seem to live for a long long time.
The battery in my late 94 production date miata has never been replaced until I parted the car out in 2007 and I currently have a battery with a 2000 production date that I use every now and then to power stuff and it still holds charge just fine.

Moti

_________________
Moti

My R1 powered Locost build log

Visit the Blackbird Fabworx Facebook Page!

Definitely not Locost but.....
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Braille-N ... 37175.html

_________________
TSuppa
"Alimony is like buying Hay for a dead horse"
'86 Alfa Spider Quad
'79 Alfa Spider Veloce
http://tomsuppa.blogspot.com/

As far as I can tell, all lawnmower (and motorcycle batteries most likely) are crap. I finally got tired of my lawnmower battery crapping out after a year and shoe horned in a small car battery. That was maybe three years ago and still working. If you race, the weight is certainly a factor, but the convenience is great.

John

Odyssey PC680 is a really good choice for anything smaller than a V8.

_________________
Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

Well, I picked up a Miata battery for less than twice the price of another garden tractor battery. It has a two year replacement warranty, and 72-month pro-rated. Should do ok.

_________________
The Lethal Locost
The Lethal Locost 2 - Even More Lethalerer

I read something interesting online. If a battery dies totally, sometimes the charger won't try if there is no flow. The suggestion is hook a booster battery to it to give it something to respond to the charger circuit with and it will charge. If there is a need, I can dig it out of favorites and post here.

I can add some anecdotal evidence here. In December, the battery in the Slotus went dead, totally. Wouldn't even light up the indicator bulbs on the switch panel. I hooked it to my charger, which went to full on charge, then shut off. A second or two later, it went back to full on and shut off. It cycled like that for about five minutes until I unplugged it.

I hooked up jumper cables to a (running) truck battery, charged the one in the Slotus and ran all day with it. When I got home, I tried hooking up the charger again and it worked just fine. Tried it on two or three other batteries, worked fine. Still using the same charger to this day. (And the same battery, an Optima dry cell!)

I think the battery was too dead to take a charge from the plug-in charger, but it seemed to charge up just fine with jumpers!

Curiouser and Curiouser, said Alice...

JDK

_________________
JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom