The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Need 6volt battry reconmendations

HI, I have searched in the Tech tips, but could not find much discussion on what type / brand / or specifications for a 6 volt battry for my 47 1.5 T with 216cid dump. Is a 6v battry a 6volt battry ? or are there differences ?

thanks
Loadmaster47

I'm sold on optima batteries.

I have used 6v Optima batteries for almost 5 years with no problems. They are relatively expensive but have proven to be cheaper per year compared to the 6v cheap batteries I used to buy.

I let my Optimas sit in the trucks all winter (in northern NY) and the engines turn right over and start up every Spring (with no charging).

Someone who supposedly used to sell Optimas has posted that they are unreliable. That is the opposite of my experiences (and the experiences of at least 5 other owners of 6v Chevy & GMC trucks).

Thanks so far, Is there a model type for the Optima ? or is there only one model? any chance you know the CCA's ??

Loadmaster47

I believe the 6v optima has around 1000 CCA. Mine has 800+ so they must have improved it since I bought mine. One word of caution is don't let it run down. I left my dome light on for more than a week. The battery wasn't completely dead but wouldn't turn fast enough to fire the engine. It was dead enough that when I charged it back up it kept trying to pull so many amps it kept tripping the circuit breaker on my 10 amp charger. I eventually got it charged but it was a bit of a hassle. If you have access to a high output commercial grade charger it might not be an issue.

Tiny,

I recently had the similar scary problem after I accidentally completely discharged a 5 year old 6v Optima. I do not know the details, by my cheap, new, and not very powerful chargers have some sort of feedback mechanism (probably to keep them from tripping-out). My friend with a very old and powerful non-electronic charger (his family own an old and successful used-parts yard) was easily able to put a charge back into the battery. It still rates-out as good as new.

I think the Optima 6V Battery is rated at 800 CCA and 1000 CCA (however, I often see it listed by sellers at 850 CCA).

Tim

I still use lead acid batteries and "generally" don't care what brand they are. Gel cells do have some fine print about charging and maintaining them also. Check into that.

One thing I do know about lead acid is that they need to be "fully" charged before you hook them up to the truck or any load. I would never hook them up in the vehicle and think that the truck will give it a full charge. Putting a load (like starting) on the battery before it is initially fully charged will result in "setting" the battery and the battery will never perform as well as it could have. I don't count on the store to tell me it is fully charged, nor do I let them put a load test on the battery before they let me take it out of the store. This will also set the battery.

I take it home and charge it myself (usually 10-24 hours) before placing it in my vehicle. Always check the acid level on the battery before placing it on a charger.

Builder

what do you mean when you stated.."Putting a load (like starting) on the battery before it is initially fully charged will result in "setting" the battery and the battery will never perform as well as it could have. I don't count on the store to tell me it is fully charged, nor do I let them put a load test on the battery before they let me take it out of the store. This will also set the battery"

what is "setting" ??
thanks
loadmaster47

From my limited (4 years) maintaining a submarine batter and other lead acid batteries.
1. Within budget and space you cannot have too large a battery - bigger the better.
2. I have no idea what "setting" a battery means except for on my toe.
3. They may mean cell reversal which you cannot reverse. This will happen on a discharge when cell voltage goes lower than 1.51. There may be a duration requiremtn for this to happen - I just oversize and avoid.
5. Proper operating generation installed should keep battery fully charged.
Dan Bentler

I like to use AGM batteries which are readily available at marine stores like West Marine or Boaters World. They will take a higher charge voltage than a gel cell will and you don't have to be concerned with adding water.

I have not used a gel-cell or an AGM battery, but discharging a lead-acid battery to its 'water' state, that is specific gravity in the range of 1.0xx, is not harmful if only done occasionally, and not allowed to remain in that state for more than a few days. Complete discharge to that state was a method used in the past to recover batteries that had become badly sulfated, but were otherwise believed to recoverable (unfortunately, you didn't know until you tried), but the process works best if the battery has not been standing for too long, or has not been dried out. 'Too long' is not well defined, but more than a month is getting into that category. It is normal for a battery in a low state of charge, below approximately 1.100 specific gravity, to have high resistance and low charging current for several minutes at the start of charging. In a 'normal' (not defective) battery, the current will increase considerably as charging progresses, and is a good sign. After charging for a time, the charging current will decrease, as the specific gravity increases, and the current will/should settle at around 3-4 amps, depending on the battery and the charger. A little more or less is not critical.

If the charging current remains low for several hours, the battery has high resistance, most often the result of sulfation, but plate shedding also will cause it. No charging current after a couple of hours probably indicates an open cell, but in that condition, you wouldn't have any current out, either. You might measure normal terminal voltage with an open cell, but the battery will not supply any current.

Normal or slightly high steady-state charging current and specific gravity that does not rise in one cell typically indicates a shorted cell. Terminal voltage during charging will usually be 'normal' in that situation, but the terminal voltage will drop quickly under a small load.

Also, there is nothing wrong with load-testing, or otherwise loading, a battery that is not fully charged; a load test followed by a charge test is used routinely for testing batteries. Battery testers and the test cycle vary among manufacturers, but the best devices use a load test followed by a charging test, with both current and voltage monitored during both parts of the testing cycle. The current and voltage levels at various points during the test cycle then determine the condition of the battery.

I don't know if this answers any questions, or creates more, but here it is.

Harvester

I disagree with the claim that it is OK to load a battery before fully charged "for the first time". The life of a battery will also be greatest if the first charge is started off gently and the maximum current is limited. If the current is too high the result will be excess heating within the battery which is wasteful and could lead to buckling of the plates and destruction of the battery.

The same goes for placing a load on the battery before it is fully charged the "first time". Heating the plates with a load can lead to buckling of the plates and setting the capacity lower than originally intended.

The battery will also perform better and better after several discharges (probably no more than 50%) and recharges.

When filling that battery with acid for the first time, it should also be allowed to sit for 1/2 to 1 hour so the plates can absorb the acid. Not doing this can also set the battery to a lower than intended capability.

AND The caps should "always" be in place when charging a lead acid battery.

In 50+ years of doing battery maintenance and fixing charging systems, I've never heard of "setting" a battery at less than its full output.

One thing that will drastically reduce the current capacity is letting a discharged battery sit around without recharging it. The soft, spongy lead sulfate formed on the surface of the plates that is a normal byproduct of discharging will form hard, stable crystals that are nearly impossible to re-dissolve by recharging. The part of the cell plates covered with sulfate crystals cannot enter into the chemical reaction between the plates and the acid, and the cranking capacity and reserve drop to nearly nothing. Once a battery gets sulfated, the only cure is repeated slow charging and total discharging, possibly 10 cycles or more. Even then, some batteries never recover from a severe sulfation condition.
Jerry

You got me by 20 years Jerry. That's what I was told at the Harley-Davidson Factory back in the 80's when I went there for training. One of my early mechanic mentors was a stickler for it too. I always figured they knew more about it than I did, so I took their word for it. I've practiced that since and will choose to practice it in the future to err on the safe side. Just telling you what I "think" I know. That doesn't mean I know $h!+ though.

I bought a O'Riley's 6V 650CCA Battery, and a battery maintainer. I haven't been using it long enough to know, but supposedly it'll make your battery last a long time. Claims that it can de-sulfate your battery, or at least keep it from sulfating...we'll see. I figured it would be a good investment because I plan on keeping the system 6V with the generator. I just hook it up whenever I pull it into the garage.

Anyone else had good luck with a maintainer?

Yes, I regularly used to use a 6v maintainer with batteries I took off the truck over the winter hibernation period. I do not do this since I've been using 6v Optima batteries (for the last 4 years).

Tim

I use battery maintainers all the time.

thanks all,

I am looking at my rats nest of old and new wires under the hood, and mostly old wires under the dash, and I'M trying to figure out what voltage it was when it was parked. It looks like the original fuse block under the hood on the drivers side, I'll get pictures and post them. there are alot of old wires with exposed wire and some that are just broke or cut... just another challenge to overcome :>).. I'll be looking at the charging system and accessories next.. My bet it is still a 6v...
thanks for the suggestions on battries. I will deffinatly look in to a battry tender ( maybe even one for my Valk..)