Update Marine Battery vs Regular Battery

I appreciated all the advice. Here's what I did and why: I bought a starting/marine battery. The main reason is because it was almost $50 cheaper.
Best decision? I dunno. So far it has started the tractor. I also installed a battery disconnect to make sure that somehow the tractor wasn't/isn't
draining the battery. As I was advised, try to get the (12 v) generator working. Someday I'll do that but for now I'm just gonna try to get by with
the battery I got. Thanks again, kelly

A marine starting battery or a dual purpose marine battery.

A marine starting battery is the same thing as a car battery it just has more plate support to take the constant pounding of a boat. It will not take being deeply discharged like a deep cycle trolling motor battery will.

A dual purpose battery; I have only seen them in marine cases with the extra support; will take a deep discharge better than a starting battery but not as good as a real deep cycle. It will also provide a quick burst of energy to start a motor but not as good as a true starting battery. Its a compromise between the two and why I suggested it in your application.

The $50 savings is the reduced warranty. Think of the extra cost on the car battery as an extended warranty policy. There are many that will spend a few extra dollars and put a car battery in a boat or tractor for the extra warranty and then expect the manufacturer to warranty the battery when they beat the snot out of it using them in the wrong application.

Great explanation, John. I'm sure his tractor won't care that it has a boat battery.

As long as his tractor does not start to think it is actually a boat and try to go on the pond!!!

(quoted from post at 00:32:15 12/04/23) There are many that will spend a few extra dollars and put a car battery in a boat or tractor for the extra warranty and then expect the manufacturer to warranty the battery when they beat the snot out of it using them in the wrong application.

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Realistically, how is the manufacturer going to know? If the marine battery can't tell it's not in a boat, and the tractor can't think it's a boat because there's a marine battery in it, a car battery is not going to tattle-tale to the manufacturer that it was used in a tractor. Maybe the manufacturer can tell somehow, but they're not going to check.

You walk into the store with a dead battery in hand, and it's under warranty, you're going to walk out with a new battery in hand, no questions asked.

Kelly - We have an old JD 50 that has some charging issues I have been running it for years (yes, years) with a standard car battery, with a cheap solar charger hooked up when not using. Starts fine. Perhaps someday Ill get around to fixing the charging system.

Never know one of them might decide it is not what it looks like and think it can float or maybe the battery will try to plow a field just can't tell these days.

Reminds me of the man who brought a marine battery to the farm. The farmer said. you can come in, but don't start anything.

Kelly, thanks for the update and CONGRATULATIONS as a battery that 1) Costs less but 2) Will still work for YOUR application is fine, good for you !!!!

That being said and just as an FYI should you need other batteries in the future as I posted below:

A Starting battery (often specified in Cold Cranking Amps CCA Capacity) is designed to deliver short term high current to power a starter motor,,,,, ,A Deep Cycle battery (often specified in Amp Hours energy storage capacity) is designed more for lower current longer term deeper discharge use such as a Golf Cart or in an RV,,,,, ,,,,An RV/Marine quasi Deep Cycle is typically (may be somewhat different) designed to Start (short term high current) a Marine Engine and then later used for example (if needed and used) to power a trolling motor (lower current longer term)......

OF COURSE the battery doesn't know or care if its connected to a tractor or boat etc SO YOU SHOULD BE FINE

If you need help troubleshooting your charging problem post back and let me know

Best wishes Kelly take care now

John T

$50 cheaper is good.
What about the warranty? 1 year or 5 years.

This clamp on meter will measure DC current used by an idiot light. It will save you from disconnecting the battery each time.


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(quoted from post at 09:17:33 12/04/23) Kelly - We have an old JD 50 that has some charging issues I have been running it for years (yes, years) with a standard car battery, with a cheap solar charger hooked up when not using. Starts fine. Perhaps someday Ill get around to fixing the charging system.

Click to expand...

Same for both our As and our B. The batteries are always cast-offs from my truck or another family vehicle, and, kept topped off with a maintainer, will last for years. Since the battery is already surplus, not much loss when it fails, and who knows/cares about eh warranty--it is long past that point. Even true for our '51 A w/the distributor ignition.

I have far more trouble with lawn mower batteries than those in our tractors. Those little money-suckers are an evil conspiracy. Dad went so far once as to build a battery rack for a real battery to hang off the back. Ugly, but it lasted forever and never failed to crank.

Good plan and a $70 one wire alternator would make it a better plan.

Before the old barn fell, our boat was parked next to the tractors. More than once, we pulled the deep cycle from the boat and ran it in a tractor days, weeks, sometimes all winter and never gave it a second thought. When the new barn was built, it had power. Dont fret over it.

Last I bought new they wanted the year, make and model of car or truck it
was going in so they could fill out the warenty. You either had to lie about
what it was going in or no warenty.

Using the wrong battery (car battery in a tractor or boat) is like putting a 4 foot cheater pipe on
a half inch ratchet and expecting snap on to give you a new ratchet when you strip out the gears.
Will snap on know you used a cheater pipe. No
Will the battery manufacture know you used a car battery in a boat. No

So I guess it comes down to some of us have a moral conscience.

On these old tractors with a magneto, do you need the battery hooked up for it to run or can you take batter right out?

No battery needed at all, The mag makes its own spark with a spinning magnet and coil/points. Jim

You can come up with all kinds of explanations on the difference between a marine and automotive starting battery and probably right are somewhat right.

The difference

Marine cranking amps (MCA) instead of the standard automotive "cold cranking amps" (CCA) are different. Boat batteries have their MCA capability tested right at the freezing point, rather than below it as for CCA, because it's rare that a pleasure boat will be out in frozen, icy waters.

Question does your tractor float : ) if not you picked the wrong battery.

You can come up with all kinds of explanations on the difference between a marine and automotive starting battery and probably right are somewhat right.

The difference

Marine cranking amps (MCA) instead of the standard automotive "cold cranking amps" (CCA) are different. Boat batteries have their MCA capability tested right at the freezing point, rather than below it as for CCA, because it's rare that a pleasure boat will be out in frozen, icy waters.

Question does your tractor float : ) if not you picked the wrong battery.

We all pretty well beat this horse to death as common for any electrical or legal topic so I will add only one last thing. Having owned boats, cars, trucks, tractors and RV's over 50 years AND BOUGHT TONS OF BATTERIES including Starting, RV, Golf Cart, Boats GRRRRRRRRR I found MOST Starting Batteries were labeled CCA for Cold Cranking Amps,,,,,,,,MOST (cant say all) Deep Cycle were labeled Amp Hours,,,,,,MOST (cant say all) labeled RV Marine were marked with CCA while a few had Amp Hours, SOME had only one of those but some had BOTH ! Goes to show different brands and different manufacturers labeled batteries different.... It is what it is lol and Im sure there are other brands with even different labels maybe more than one ??? PS I dont recall many batteries purchased at Marine dealers so I cant testify as to their labels AS THEIR PRICES WERE HIGHER THAN ELSEWHERE for the same battery grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Thanks for the update Kelly, now you know more than you ever wanted lol thanks to all the fine helpful gents here on TY Mag

John T Live in the RV near Watercolor Florida using my Lithium Iron Phosphate LiFePo4 batteries while in the past 50 years Ive used Starting,,,,Golf Cart,,,,Deep Cycle and RV Marine NOW NEVER GOING BACK yayyyyyyyyyyy