CHEAP batteries for karts, etc

[jamyers]

So you go out one day and your car or pickup battery barely has enough oomph to crank the engine, so you head down to your local battery place, where they test it (either by load-test or capacitance tester), and while it has 12+ volts, it fails the test. That’s because automotive batteries fail a load test when their CCA falls below (or fails to return to within) something like 75-80% of their rated value. That means that the 650 CCA battery in your automobile will test as needing replacement when its CCA goes below 488. And around here they charge you $3 for disposing of the old “dead” battery (grr!)

BUT think about this: most atv, lawnmower, motorcycle, etc batteries are rated at 60-130 CCA when new, so that old car battery with “only” 400 CCA is still head-n-shoulders above a brand new $30-40 battery!
Plus in my experience, they tend to last a LOT longer than the tiny atv/motorcycle batteries - because they’re built far better, and they’re now living in a MUCH nicer environment than under a car hood.

So the next time your car battery lays down and dies, don't be in such a hurry to get rid of it - it may well be an awesome battery for your kart, mower, whatever!!!

Keep in mind that automotive batteries are larger and heavier, which just means you’ve got another opportunity for some great diy fun mounting it!

Of course, if it dies because of an internal short, broken terminal, or something like that, it's truly dead and should be sent off to battery heaven.

 

[oscaryu1]

Automotive batteries are designed with large surface area and capacity for large current draws (starters). They don't like to be deeply discharged; lead acid batteries like to sulfate when kept below IIRC 2.1V/cell.

Pukert's law defines your actual battery life, larger batteries will always be a better solution, depending on your project.

Most automotive batteries are open celled batteries, unlike sealed SLA's used on motorcycles and lawn equipment. Watch for splashing acid.

 

[jamyers]

Good points, I'd forgotten to mention that keeping them fully charged is a bit more of a concern, although any decent electric-start engines' charging system ought to be able to replace the current used for starting said engine in short order.

Also good point about keeping battery acid at bay. The battery on my John Deere lawn tractor is in a plastic battery box w/ lid, the one on the go-kart isn't, but it has its own vent tubes which I've got directed at the ground (I think it's a Group 78, but not sure).

 

[Doc Sprocket]

It is always good practise to contain the battery in a closed, vented box- be it plastic or metal. On my Red Rocket, I used a surplus military ammo can. Dense foam padding was used inside to make the battery a snug fit.

 

[gvfc2]

here they give you 5$ for bringing in old batteries.

 

[landuse]

here they give you 5$ for bringing in old batteries.

When we have our car batteries changed, the battery place charges for the disposal of the battery. It is compulsory, so you cannot even say "give me my old battery back".

 

[fowler]

that what iv done on my first buggy
it has a small trator battery mounted over the nose

it weighs a tonne but actually helps the handling alot
we also use half dead truck batterys on our augers (they run 24 hp hondas)
and old truck batterys can jump start a car

there are alot of uses for them including melting the lead down to fix a radiator (if anyone else has seen bush mechanics)

we pile all our completly dead batterys on a pallet outside the shed and buy new ones when it is required
then every few years we take the pallet into the town dump where they charge us a few hundred to dispose of them

we use to just leave them in our farm dump with the waste oils
but that started to effect the suronding trees so we decided to stop that before the effect spread
but when they are completly dead

the only problem with useing old batterys is they dont hold a charge for as long as a fully functioning battery and as for them being safer on a gokart
no way
in a car they are out of the way of dirt and flying debris, they stay mostly dry and free of sun
they are on a rubber mat in a fully suspended chassis and just drive around town

in a gokart they are fully in the elements driving on rough terrain in somtimes karts with no suspension or at best suspension thet prevents the driver getting shacken to bits

 

[OzFab]

When we have our car batteries changed, the battery place charges for the disposal of the battery. It is compulsory, so you cannot even say "give me my old battery back".

That's just a rort

we pile all our completly dead batterys on a pallet outside the shed and buy new ones when it is required
then every few years we take the pallet into the town dump where they charge us a few hundred to dispose of them

Really? Scrap metal places actually pay you for them here

 

[fowler]

we pile all our completly dead batterys on a pallet outside the shed and buy new ones when it is required
then every few years we take the pallet into the town dump where they charge us a few hundred to dispose of them

i wish
we would make a fortune

edit oh i see i read it wrong
thats pretty good
we dont really have a scrap metal dealer in the local town
the rubbish dump proberbly collect all the old batterys and send them up to perth to sell
then charge us the transport fee
meanwhile theres a killer christmas party for the shire staff on there scrap metal dealings

 

[souperman000]

Really? Scrap metal places actually pay you for them here

Apparently, near me batteries are worth some money if they are recycled. The car shop we go to said they got broken into once and the thieves took all the batteries from the cars. Something like $50 a pop or something...sounds a bit much to me.

 

[newrider3]

I took in a pallet stacked three high with mixed auto and cycle/mower batteries and got north of $400 for it...