Decent U1 replacement

[hanz63]

Things are constantly changing I guess. East Penn is on the list now for building Deka. I remember seeing that at least nationally, there were only a few manufacturers. I tried a smaller battery source years back which did Ok, then poof.

[Skywatcher]

Greetings All

The batteries I sell (U1 and U1-R) come from Canadian Energy, formerly known as Battery Direct and are advertised as being Canada Proof. In general service, they seem to last about 5 years and will last up to 10 years if the equipment owner is fussy. Fussy meaning he or she will take the battery out in the fall, bring it into the house and trickle charge it once a month throughout the winter. They're not the cheapest battery on the market, but if you consider the dollar cost average per year, they work out to one of the most economical.

The folk at the local UFA (United Farmers of Alberta) farm store didn't believe there was such a thing as a U1-R battery. I ended up replacing lots of voltage regulators and installing U1-R batteries on Sears tractors that had UFA U1 batteries installed by farmers. It took almost 3 years to convince the UFA store to actually check their supplier and their suppliers supplier and start carrying U1-R batteries. It took another year for them to start telling their customers to make sure they were buying the correct battery for their tractors. All the best,

Sky

[KE4AVB]

Sky, I wonder why they didn't think about the right hand positive batteries. I see both versions here and try to stock the 300 CCA version of both. Matter of fact the way some mower battery cables are setup only the right config will work as the cables are too short otherwise.

Besides the U1 and U1R there is a U2 version out there which is slight shorter in length and height. But there is a link on the U1 where you can find a U1 up to 525 CCA. It is also to note that the industry is phasing out the old wet cell version in favor of the AGM (Adsorbed Glass Mat) and Gel-Cell versions along the Lithium version. Now the AGM and Gel-Cell version do have a slightly different re-charge rates as my current battery charger is setup to do (ie lower voltage).

Personally I have found most AGM batteries are higher in cost as it newer technology. Most my current experience with the AGM batteries is the ATV/UTV vehicles but some of it is from the electronics industry too. Many are smaller in size then the U1 size and still pack a lot storage. What we got to pay attention to is the 20 hour aH ratings along with CCA ratings.

[Matt]

Ive had pretty good luck with the costco U1 batteries, i'm getting almost 4 seasons out of one, mind you its been a fairly mild winter and i have a cheapo battery tender on it. The warranty is pretty good with them but ive yet to have to do a return, they're lasting me long enough for the money. Only thing is you need a membership or someone you know that has one to get one for you. Batteries these days are not what they used to be