Best 6V battery

B

bdtutton

Senior Member
It has been a long time since I purchased a 6V battery and my car and tractor are both turning over kind of slow lately. I was wondering what battery brand people are most happy with. I am OK spending a little more to get something that lasts a long time. I have a 6V Die Hard gold in my 1940 Ford 9N that is 12 years old so I appreciate things that last for a while.

Any recommendations ???
 
I use a Napa 6v about $98-104.00 That batter can sit for a year and still start the A with no problems.
 
Before you invest in a new battery, clean ALL the connections.
As Wick says I'm also using a NAPA battery.
Paul in CT
 
I with 1931 flamingo, clean the starter and battery connections.
Inspect battery cables.
If not present, add an additional cable between the battery frame connection to the Bell Housing.
Load test your battery - https://www.harborfreight.com/100a-612v-battery-load-tester-61747.html
Check your battery electrolyte level, charge with a smart charger - https://no.co/genius5 or https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-G750-Advanced-Battery-Maintainer/dp/B004LX3AS6?tag=atomicindus08-20. teh 750 ma will work , just takes a lot longer.
 
I use Farm and Fleet batteries but take care of them, last me 4 or more years. Check the electrolyte levels every few months, put a NoCo 750MA smart charger/maintainer on them every month for few days in the Winter.


Have had good luck with the 5 amp NoCo above restoring a couple of my kids batteries - one where the battery hardly would crank the car, electrolyte level had dropped, and a motor cycle battery that had not been used for over 2 years. Brought them back to close to like new.
 
30 Closed Cab PU said:
I use Farm and Fleet batteries but take care of them, last me 4 or more years. Check the electrolyte levels every few months, put a NoCo 750MA smart charger/maintainer on them every month for few days in the Winter.


Have had good luck with the 5 amp NoCo above restoring a couple of my kids batteries - one where the battery hardly would crank the car, electrolyte level had dropped, and a motor cycle battery that had not been used for over 2 years. Brought them back to close to like new.
Click to expand...

I always prefered Delco six volt batteries when I could find them . I now mostly use twelve volt batteries that I can pick at Walmart . I don't have to answer any questions about what automobile that the battery is for . Usually if you admit that any part is for a model A Ford , the answer will be that they don't have one . I can pick the battery that I want off the shelf without problems at Walmart . A twelve volt conversion is very simple .
 
I couldn't agree more about Optima batteries. My cars often sit for months without tenders and when I check their voltage they are always at 6.2 or 6.3 volts. I don't need to top them off with water and they don't corrode anything. Two are laying on their sides. As for cost, my experience with them is that they last about 12 years so they save me a money.
 
Just replaced an Interstate that was 8 years old with a NAPA. That old Interstate replaced an 8 year old Exide. Those two old batteries were in a completely stock charging system, never sat on maintainers and only got jumped occasionally after long periods of sitting. I've since upgraded the generator with one of Tom Wessenbergs EVRs. I imagine that should gain me another year or two out of this new battery.


I guess what I'm getting at is that most conventional 6V batteries seem to be just as good as each other (hell, they probably all come out of the same factory with different labels).



Optima might be a good route but if you only get 12 years out of them I couldn't justify almost double the price for an extra 2-4 years of life.
 
I got 16 years out of optima, replaced it with another, was 120$ shipped, a friend has been using a optima that I found in the trunk of a junk car--- it's over 20 years old by the date code
 
I've been using Napa 7244 batteries for years - as previously stated - they last for a long time and perform very well.
 

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I'll add my vote for the Optima 6v.
I've got 6 years on mine with the occasional battery tender for a few days and I get 6.5v. or better readings...plenty of juice to kick it over.
You cannot ignore the easiest best practice of using proper 1 or 2 gage cables with clean contact surfaces.
> the added ground cable from frame mount to transmission top or flywheel housing bolt is also highly recommended.
 
I have two 6V Optima's that are currently in use and are both 10++ years old.

I have never seen a 6V Yellow Top Optima before. More cranking amps or ?
 
gz said:
I have never seen a 6V Yellow Top Optima before. More cranking amps or ?
Click to expand...


6V yellow is available in UK and Europe. The yellow CCA is a bit less at 765 but capacity is more at 55Ah compared to 50Ah for the red top. Wish they had a 6v blue top :confused:
 
When I took delivery of my CCPU, I found it had a red top Optima battery in it. Nice surprise!
I have no idea how old it is but from the time it was delivered to a friend in Arizona who sent it on to me to when I saw it, 18 months had passed. It started the engine without hesitation.
NICE!
 
Whatever battery you choose, make sure the tag on it has a fairly recent date on it. The older the battery is, the more likely there is something wrong with it for several reasons.
 
Replaced my optima this spring,it died after 5 years. went back to a conventional
battery and find it performs better.
 
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