battery

I recently purchased a bolens g14 without a battery it had the big ends like for a car battery.does anyone know what battery it takes?

Your tractor takes a standard lawn and garden style battery that is available at Walmart, NAPA or just about anywhere that sells vehicle batteries. A previous owner changed the cables or the cable ends. Just change them back.

I found a parts diagram.

http://www.members.shaw.ca/rock.farmer/pdf/1453%20G14.pdf

It says that your tractor uses a 1718027 battery.

A search on that number shows a site that suggests that the current MTD (who now owns the Bolens name) number is 925-04514.

https://www.m-and-d.com/MTD-1718027.html

As best I can tell, this is (or is similar to) a group 26 battery.
?

Yea it looks like a group 26, just bought one today at Walmart $49.00 installed in in a Simplicity 7790, BOY that site you linked sure proud of there battery $191.61 no thanks
GB in MN

I use a Group 75 in my Wards tractor that has side battery connections so it clears the hood. I get them from Walmart. They last a long time. Hal

If it has a starter-generator like the one in the picture below it may need a bigger battery. I have a friend that has an old cub with a Kohler with that setup and he has to use a big battery. Also it depends if it has a decompression and if it's working.

Hundreds of thousands of garden tractors powered by Kohler K engines used the standard lawn and garden tractor battery that were rated for 250 CCA and they started 12 months of the year if they were serviced and tuned up in accordance with the Operator's Manual. Any tractor that "needs" a car battery to get going has an engine with problems. Throwing in a car battery is nothing more than a band-aid solution to a problem that needs attention. ACR or Automatic Compression Release was standard issue on Kohler engines that produced 10 or more HP. Not servicing the engine, which includes setting the valve lash, is the most common cause for the ACR to not work.

The 2nd problem can often be found inside the starter/generator. Bad bushings, weak brush springs, worn commutator, worn brushes, excess dirt build-up are due to NEGLECT.

Yes, I don't think my friends decompression was working.

I've had that Wards tractor since 1970 and I've used car batteries and it starts easily and the engine has never been rebuilt. I use 30wt oil. Hal

What's your point, Hal? I am not saying that car batteries do not work. I am simply stating the fact that most GT's and LT's were equipped with the smaller lawn and garden tractor battery and they worked just fine on the engines normally found in those tractors. A car battery is essentially overkill. The electrical systems did not require a battery with 500 and up CCA because all you had was an ignition coil and pair of headlamps that were often rated at about 55 watts.

I had a Bolens 1050 with a starter/ generator. It was made to use a group 26 battery, which is what it came with. Bigger than most garden tractor batteries, smaller than most car batteries.

This is one of those threads just does not want to die.

So OK.... let's look at the facts.

According to the INTERSTATE website....(see the link below) they make 3 Group 26 batteries but the important information is the CCA or Cold Cranking Amperage....which is 525. But the most important information is that the MSRP ranges from $129.95 to $139.95. It has a 2 year guarantee and a 5 year life expectancy.

BY COMPARISON: Interstate offers their SP35 Lawn and Garden Tractor battery with a CCA of 300, a 6 month guarantee and has a MSRP ranging from $60.00 to $68.00. Many owners get at least 3 years out of such batteries and up to 5 years on occasion. That all depends on how well the battery is looked after.

If your tractor does not start with a 300 CCA battery before making that battery go dead, then the problem is not with the battery....It is with YOU.

You can buy TWO SP35 batteries for LESS than the price of ONE Group 26. Your money.....your choice.

Now if I was restoring that Bolens for show, then I would choose the Group 26 in order to make it CORRECT. But if I was just going to put the Bolens back to work, then my choice would be the SP35 and I would roll the dice to see how many years I got out of it.
Interstate