How long did your RTV-X Battery Last?

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Ohio_Pawpaw_Grower

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Had a great Father's Day weekend with all my kids in attendance and the RTV got a good workout. On the last ride, my Son in law was putting it away so we could pack up and it wouldn't turn over. When you would turn on the key, I saw an ERR1 and an ERR2 on the information display. Assuming it was a low battery condition, I used my jump pack and she fired right off.

Due to an approaching storm, I decided to just yank out the battery and bring it home to test/charge. The little green eye on the battery is still shining but I am told that only reads one cell's condition.

The battery appears to be fully charged, according to my charger. So I am betting one or more cells are shot. All the connections to the battery were right and tight.

It is the original battery and is seven years old this month. While I got freakishly long service out of the tractor battery (14 years,) I wondered what my fellow owners got out of their RTV batteries so far?

I will get it tested this week and advise. It the battery tests good, I will test the alternator and for any other possible connection problems. I bet my Wife lunch that it is the battery.
 
7 years is about right IMHO. I've gotten 10 years on a few batteries but that's on lightly used equipment and there's normally a battery tender on it all the time it's not in use.
 
Well, my RTV is just going on 2 years so it's still good, but the battery in my 2013 B2620 went like that 2 years ago. The green eye was still shining but it would barely turn the tractor over.
I put it on my big charger and ran a restore/desulfate cycle but it was still weak, so I replaced before it failed on me.
 
My 2014 RTV-X900 still has it’s original Kubtota battery and it does just fine. We drive the RTV about two or three times a week.
 
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Holy crap, those are some seriously awesome batteries! My BX is a 2017, and yeah the battery is still great, but I thought perhaps, I may need to swap it out this winter. After reading this, I'm even more confident about that battery now!! Bx is used weekly in the summer and at least twice a month the rest of the year. RTV is only a 2020 so that battery will be good for quite sometime. RTV is parked inside unheated garage and I try to run it a couple times a month. FWIW
 
I just had to replace my battety on my new to me 2005 RTV 900. Itbwas a dekar battery with the code M5 which I think means November and a year that ends in a 5 so with 2005 or 2015. I am thinking orginal battery since it would have been crazy odds to be a 2015 battery.
 
If you haven't already bought a replacement, look for one manufactured by East Penn Manufacturing. They are consistently heavier and longer lasting than any I've seen. They were the manufacturers of the legendary Dekka batteries. Now if you call the dealer today for oem replacement, it will probably be an Interstate.
 
vince1230 said:
I just had to replace my battety on my new to me 2005 RTV 900. Itbwas a dekar battery with the code M5 which I think means November and a year that ends in a 5 so with 2005 or 2015. I am thinking orginal battery since it would have been crazy odds to be a 2015 battery.
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Deka battery? If so, that's probably from 2015 since Kubota OEM wasn't a Deka.
Deka/East Penn is pretty much all I use for lead acid batteries. They're normally good for 10 years.
BTW, anyone notice the huge price increase in batteries lately? I've been paying $150-200 for vehicle sized batteries lately (Deka/East Penn). Yea, I could buy cheap batteries but IMHO, they're 70% of the cost and only last 50% as long.
 
John deere and caterpillar batteries are excellent long lasting batteries with great warranty. I have had similar results with napa premium batteries.
 
bczoom said:
Deka battery? If so, that's probably from 2015 since Kubota OEM wasn't a Deka.
Deka/East Penn is pretty much all I use for lead acid batteries. They're normally good for 10 years.
BTW, anyone notice the huge price increase in batteries lately? I've been paying $150-200 for vehicle sized batteries lately (Deka/East Penn). Yea, I could buy cheap batteries but IMHO, they're 70% of the cost and only last 50% as long.
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Cheap batteries aren't worth it to me. I did find East Penn manufactured batteries in an unusual place. Batteries Plus stores have them under the Duracell brand name which I would not normally buy. But clearly stamped on the battery is made by East Penn. We have a business account which saves some money but I believe the last on we got was $142 all in.
 
Interesting about Duracell. Didn't know that. Looks like East Penn makes the AGM batteries for Duracell. Thanks for the heads-up.

East Penn Releases New Duracell Automotive Batteries - East Penn Manufacturing

East Penn Manufacturing has signed an exclusive agreement with Duracell (part of the Procter & Gamble Company [NYSE:PG]) to release batteries branded under the Duracell name. East Penn’s over 60-year tradition of producing the world’s highest quality lead-acid batteries is...Continue reading
www.eastpennmanufacturing.com

I hate cheap batteries.
I'm looking around and see I have over 20 batteries to keep track of.
 
geohorn said:
My 2014 RTV-X900 still has it’s original Kubtota battery and it does just fine. We drive the RTV about two or three times a week.
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It finally died after almost ten years. Replaced with a WalMart Everstart of equal rating.
 
I bragged on mine in an earlier thread (2015 RTV 1100c w/ original battery)
We took a little vacation earlier this month. Was away for 9 days. The RTV started after our trip but turned over slow. Then we had the artic cold snap and I didn't drive it for a couple days. When I went to start the RTV the battery turned but not enough to start it, then it wouldn't even turn the engine. Since I had to dig out my battery charger from the pole barn I left it until things warmed up earlier this week. I had my doubts but was pleasantly surprised the battery came back to life. I've been running it three or so days since and it fires up strong each time. Very impressed with this original battery. :D

Edit to add:
Side note:
I had manually lifted the dump bed before but never needed it to stay up. To charge the battery I needed the dump bed raised. I looked for an arm on the bed to pull down and hold it (I thought these beds had that) but could not find one. Looked for scraps of wood that might fit to hold it up. Nothing the right size.
Then, finally, I thought, what if I take it out of float mode, will that hold the bed up? Sure nuff it did. No problem. I was worried about hydraulic bleed off so I still put something under the bed so it would not come all the way down on the battery charger, but that was not an issue. the bed held up for a bit over 24 hours. I charged until evening, then unplugged the charger, I didn't want it on while we slept just in case. Plugged it back in the next day. by afternoon battery showed as fully charged.
 
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Doc said:
I looked for an arm on the bed to pull down and hold it (I thought these beds had that) but could not find one.
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Can't speak for your year/model, but on mine, it's a square channel that's on the left side frame (under the bed). There's a short cable on it. Just slide it off the frame and over the hyd cylinder.
 
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bczoom said:
Can't speak for your year/model, but on mine, it's a square channel that's on the left side frame (under the bed). There's a short cable on it. Just slide it off the frame and over the hyd cylinder.
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I'll look again, it probably is there. It was hard to look close while holding the bed up.
I posted that in case someone else might need the hydraulics to hold it up. I had never considered that option before but it worked like a charm.
 
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