The battery on our mower is practicaly deads after sitting for the winter and our old battery charger is no longer working. How bad an idea is it to jump start the mower off of a car?
Car- 3L V6, 540CCA
Mower .75L V twin, 23 HP The mower battery was stored inside for the winter. Also has no labling with voltage, CCA, or usefull info
should be fine as long as its 12 volts, which I'd bet the farm it is.
I'd do it.
I've used the car in the past, and had no issues.. Just a straight forward connection battery to battery, start the lawn tractor, disconnect cables... Can also jump straight to the tractor starter motor...ground to the frame, positive to starter...
GWGarrard
I have done it many times. Nary a problem
time to cross my fingers
So long as it's 12V, should be no problem. The bigger battery won't "force" extra amps through the electrical system.
J
12v is 12v. Go for it.
Seems like motorcycle batteries and lawn equipment batteries are of similar construction (the electrical equivalent of faberge eggs, I believe) and I've heard motorcycle guys say it's a bad idea to jumpstart a bike off a car. I've also read instructions for new motorcycle and lawnmower batteries that specify a charge rate of like 1 amp or something.
Therefore, my advice to you is to give it a go jumpstarting off the car WITHOUT the car running. You won't overcharge the little battery that way (that's my personal educated guess) and it'll probably start the mower.
Or...disconnect the mower battery (remove it from the circuit) and start the mower directly from the car battery (as mentioned above...from the starter)
But like everyone else says, you'll probably be fine. Because anyway...that battery is likely toast. Batteries don't like to sit without charge and they don't often bounce back from zero. [Edit: You said it's 'practically dead' so hopefully it's not completely shot and just needs a little freshen up for another season of use...hopefully.]
Clem
I always jumpstart vehicles with the "donor" vehicle off. The way I look at it, if the dead vehicle's load is put on the donor vehicle's electrical system with it running, that's like a dead short showing up to the charging circuit, and I'd just as soon avoid that. On a rare occasion where the dead vehicle's battery is so far gone that it needs a little charge to get it up to where it will turn over, I hook the two together and let the donor charge up the battery for a few minutes, then turn the motor off and try to start it.
Jumping a bike or mower like that is no problem. Did it 2 weeks ago to a 8 HP generator.
neon4891 wrote: The battery on our mower is practicaly deads after sitting for the winter and our old battery charger is no longer working. How bad an idea is it to jump start the mower off of a car? Car- 3L V6, 540CCA Mower .75L V twin, 23 HP The mower battery was stored inside for the winter. Also has no labling with voltage, CCA, or usefull info
So. Using my deductive reasoning skills, I'm guessing you're married, have a house, and a big-ass yard (there's a great joke that goes along with this, but I digress.)
You have to take opportunities like this to buy new toys (or at least that's the way it works in my house.)
Go buy a damned jumper box. While you're at it, you may as well buy an AC inverter too, as it WILL make you a hero at some point down the road.
Come home, charge the box, jump the lawnmower, cut the grass, and you're a hero with a new toy.
You could also buy a new $18 battery at O'Reilley's.
poopshovel wrote: So. Using my deductive reasoning skills, I'm guessing you're married, have a house, and a big-ass yard (there's a great joke that goes along with this, but I digress.)
He didn't mention having a dog
The tougher trick is using the lawn mower to start the car.
Remove your batteries after fall and put them in the basement on a low amp trickle charger attached to a light minder set to charge 3 hours per day.
Wally wrote:poopshovel wrote: So. Using my deductive reasoning skills, I'm guessing you're married, have a house, and a big-ass yard (there's a great joke that goes along with this, but I digress.)He didn't mention having a dog The tougher trick is using the lawn mower to start the car.
You might think that. But when I was like 14, my dad, a neighbor, and I were flying R/C planes at a local airfield that was about a mile away from anything. The one day that my dad forgot his mobile phone (a big ol' Motorola "flip phone), the battery in the GMC Jimmy exploded. We ended up hooking up the little battery that we used to run the little starter motor for the airplanes (which I think was a medium-to-large-tractor battery) to the Jimmy and drove it home.
Poopshovel forgot to offer that instead of a jumper box and AC invertor as new toys...
what about a new lawn tractor???...(the old one won't start...time to replace...)
GWGarrard
The joke (one of my faves:)
An Appalachian American decides to get an education so he and his friend drive to the community college.
Appalachian American walks in : “I wants me some ed-u-cay-shin. What you recommend?”
Man behind counter: “How about a course in Logic?”
Appalachian American: “Logic??! Whats that?!”
Man: “Well, let me show you an example. Lets see…. Sir, do you own a lawn mower?”
Appalachian American replies, “Why Yes, sir. I do.”
Man: “Then, through logic, I can conclude that you probably own your own home!”
Appalachian American: “By golly, I sure doo!”
Man : “Then, through logic, if you have your own house, you are probably married!”
Appalachian American in amazement, replies, “I certainly am!”
Man says: “And if you’re married, you’re probably a heterosexual!”
Appalachian American: “I most definitely sure am! Wow, sign me up for that course in logic!”
Appalachian American returns to the truck where his friend is waiting: “I signed up for Logic!”
Friend: “What’s Logic?”
Appalachian American: “…alright.. do you own a lawn mower?”
Friend: “No…”
Appalachian American looks around perplexed and confused… "GET OUTTA MY TRUCK, FA%&OT!"
Hmm..."Get out of my car?"
I thought hillbillies only drove trucks like a '76 F250 4x4 with two antennae, a gun rack, and rebel flags.
No offense to anyone who own's such a vehicle and is not a hillbilly (or is offended by being called a hillbilly)...I don't necessarily use the same logic that the hillbilly in the joke did...
Clem
Better? I'm about as close to a hillbilly as anyone I know, and I drive a civic, FWIW. The guys around here with two antennae, rebel flags, KC's, etc., are usually high school kids who are totally unaware that their great great so and so actually fought for the UNION.
Back to the thread topic: I have jumped motorcycle, lawnmower etc batteries from cars just fine. I also used to have to replace my riding mower battery every spring until I bought a handful of those Harbor Freight battery minders. In 5 years of use I have not had to replace a mower battery. The Abomination and Casper both live connected as well.
I've jumped many a motorcycle (okay, just one, several times) off a car. Jump it without the car running and you're golden.
confuZion3 wrote:Wally wrote:You might think that. But when I was like 14, my dad, a neighbor, and I were flying R/C planes at a local airfield that was about a mile away from anything. The one day that my dad forgot his mobile phone (a big ol' Motorola "flip phone), the battery in the GMC Jimmy exploded. We ended up hooking up the little battery that we used to run the little starter motor for the airplanes (which I think was a medium-to-large-tractor battery) to the Jimmy and drove it home.poopshovel wrote: So. Using my deductive reasoning skills, I'm guessing you're married, have a house, and a big-ass yard (there's a great joke that goes along with this, but I digress.)He didn't mention having a dog The tougher trick is using the lawn mower to start the car.
ooops, didn't come out right. I meant the better trick would be to jump the car with the lawn mower, of course lawn mowers really aren't fast enough to jump anything.
You hooked a battery up to your Jimmy?
On my mower the battery is under the seat so to hook up the jumper cables the seat has to be tilted forward - this of course requires me to over ride the safety interlock that is supposed to stop the engine if I am no longer in the seat. If you have something similar don't forget to outsmart the safety device.
On my mower (07 Cub Cadet) if you set the parking brake the engine will run with the seat tipped up.
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