best practices for battery maintenance on lawn mower?

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I'm told back in the early days of car batteries (20s-30s) the battery cases weren't very good (no plastic then) so it was were the tale came from.
I have had "bad" batteries weap a bit, if left on concrete it will chew up the slab some.
That would be a good reason to not leave your battery on the garage floor, I'm thinking.:cool:
 
Called MTD and they were of little help. Customer Service rep did 5 minutes of research while I was on hold and was happy to tell me that "your mower needs a 12V battery" . Thanks!

The current battery is this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Group-Size-U1-7-Lawn-and-Garden-Battery/21984263
Is any U1-size battery OK to use, or is there something specific about a "U1-7"?

Here is the charger-maintainer I have. Is this good enough, or do I need to buy a "Battery Tender" brand?
I believe U1 is the physical size of the battery so any should fit but, the additional codes refer to polarity and terminal types iirc. With the terminals on the opposite side of the battery or facing away from you, UI-7 is positive in the top right terminal, U1R-7 is neg top right and U1P-7 is a few more cranking amps and positive top right. The U1P-7 likely has an extra pair of plates in each cell allowing for more amps but slightly less plate life because all of it's plates are a little thinner in order to fit.
 
U1 is the most common for yard tractors. Also is U1R which is just the terminals reversed.

IMO just buy the cheap one, I've not really seen any one brand that is "good" or any cheapo that is "bad". I service many dozen tractors each spring and fall so not just on my own stuff. Walmart usually put them on sale for $35 or so around this time in prep for mowing season in a month or so.
 
U1 is the most common for yard tractors. Also is U1R which is just the terminals reversed.

IMO just buy the cheap one, I've not really seen any one brand that is "good" or any cheapo that is "bad". I service many dozen tractors each spring and fall so not just on my own stuff. Walmart usually put them on sale for $35 or so around this time in prep for mowing season in a month or so.
Boy, you guys do get charged a big chunk extra at the northern latitudes. U1's are $20 down my way.
 
Wives tale. Local battery re-manufacturer assures me that if that were true, 25% of their batteries would be junk. (Bottom row sits on concrete floor). I thought the same as you for years and always set em on a board instead of the floor. Regularly get 4-6 years out of Interstate mower batteries kept on a float charger Dec-Mar.

Pretty sure the OP has a size or two too small a battery for the engine he's cranking. I run a 300 cca on a 25 hp Kawasaki.
Well if they ain't fully charged in the winter they can freeze and that sure ain't good for them. That's what the battery warehouse owner around here told me.
 
I'm confused didn't you say Autozone tested the battery and said it's fine? You have another issue that should be plenty of battery for 13hp. Battery cables, bad connections, starter relay, starter is where I would be looking if the battery tested fine. I've replaced the cables twice on my 96 JD 18hp lawn mower and the battery 3 times (guess I'm lucky 21yrs, 3 batteries and never use trickle charger/maintainer in the winter). Probably the first place I'd be looking is the battery cables and connectors.
 
Just spent about 10 mins on a ZTR yesterday. Owner did "shotgun troubleshooting". Put new battery, new relay, new starter, couldn't figure it out. Ground wire was bad. Made a new one, and he was back for his mower before he had even left town. He about thought I could walk on water!
 
I never could understand why lawnmowers don't have space for or are fitted for a small full size car battery. I have put them on lawnmowers where there is space. Like my old original pipe frame yazoo and my studebaker Gravelys
I've maintained batteries on stuff in the barn with an old boat battery maintainer/charger that I happened upon.
 
I would check the valve clearances before going through the electrical system. If the valve clearances are loose the decompressor wont work so it will be hard to wind over. While you have the valve cover off you should check check the movement of the valves as you wind the motor over to see if the decompressor is actually working.
 
I bought a new battery and attached it. I hear a single click, but the starter doesn't turn. What's the next thing to check ? Ignition? The headlights turn on in that position, does that mean my ground is good?
 
I bought a new battery and attached it. I hear a single click, but the starter doesn't turn. What's the next thing to check ? Ignition? The headlights turn on in that position, does that mean my ground is good?
Check the starter, use a jumper cable to connect straight to the starter from the battery bypassing the relay, if the starter engages you have a bad connection or bad relay.
 
Ok I connected the battery positive to the starter motor with a jumper cable. The starter spun up the engine, but the engine didn't turn over. I'm going to get a replacement solenoid and go from there
 
Ok I connected the battery positive to the starter motor with a jumper cable. The starter spun up the engine, but the engine didn't turn over. I'm going to get a replacement solenoid and go from there
What do you mean it cranks but wont fire or the starter makes noise but don't crank the motor?
 
What do you mean it cranks but wont fire or the starter makes noise but don't crank the motor?

The former. The starter spins the motor round and round, but the engine doesn't fire. When I jump that part of the electoral system, am I also bypassing the spark/ignition system ?
 
The former. The starter spins the motor round and round, but the engine doesn't fire. When I jump that part of the electoral system, am I also bypassing the spark/ignition system ?
No it don't by pass. Pull the plug and lay it on the head and see if it sparks, usually these problems like you are having is no fuel delivery, but eliminate the spark as a problem first then pull the carb and clean it .
 
No it don't by pass. Pull the plug and lay it on the head and see if it sparks, usually these problems like you are having is no fuel delivery, but eliminate the spark as a problem first then pull the carb and clean it .
If it's a fuel problem, you can test by taking off the air cleaner and squirting starter fluid in the carb and turning the motor over, if it fires you have a fuel delivery problem.
 
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