About Battery Charger for Riding Lawn Mower Lawn Mowers are essential if you love to have a beautiful lawn because it makes the grass-cutting chore easy.
But as you store it due to the cold climate of your area, the battery starts to self-discharge, which can be solved by buying a good battery charger.
In this article, we have incorporated all the knowledge you would need to understand the battery charging of the lawn mower, with suggestions for some best chargers in the market.
Caption: A simple lawn mower
Why should you charge the battery of the Lawn Mower before spring?
By keeping the battery charging full and away from heat, you can add years to your lawn mower’s life.
A lawn mower has the parts same as a car. It has an alternator, a 12V lead-acid battery, a combustion chamber, etc.
Moreover, if the riding lawn mover is small, it may have a 6V battery. The alternator is designed to keep the battery charged.
Hence, as the hours of long drive keeps the car battery recharged, a few hours of mowing will keep your lawn mover charged as well.
If you live in countries where there is snowfall in winter, then you will not need a lawn mower during that time at all.
That means the battery will discharge automatically without doing any work.
If these batteries are kept drained for longer, they lose their ability to hold a charge and weaken.
Using a Lithium-ion battery may also not be the solution since they drain when not used for a longer period.
Also, you cannot keep it on a full charge without using it for months, as it destroys the battery’s health.
Therefore, whether you use a lead-acid battery or a lithium-ion battery in your lawn mower, you should ideally charge it before using it, i.e., in January or February (before March), which will keep the battery’s health intact for years.
Getting Started Before Charging
You should look for these three questions to get a fully charged mower battery.
What is the voltage of your lawn mower battery?
Usually, the lawn mower comes with a 12V battery, but you should always check the rating given against your model number.
Also, see if the battery charger is compatible with the battery rating of your lawn mower so that it can easily recharge it.
Check the amp number on your lawn tractor as well. Most tractors come with a 10amps rating as standard, and less than that is also fine.
However, if the rating is higher, it may be a problem for the battery.
How often do you have to charge the battery?
Most lawn mower batteries can last a good time after full charging, so they don’t need frequent charges.
But, it will drain fast if you aren’t using the mower for a while or have left the ignition key as it is for hours.
Additionally, to keep the battery in good health while living in colder areas, it’s best to charge it as the spring starts.
How long does it take to charge a lawn mower battery?
The amp rating on the battery charger will decide how fast it will charge the battery. As we said earlier, the standard is 10-amp for most chargers.
With that, the battery can take an hour to fully charge the battery.
As the amp levels decrease, the time will also increase, so your 5-amp charger may take double the time of a 10-amp charger.
Charging with a Battery Charger for Lawn Mower
Here are the simple steps to follow when charging the mower battery with a charger.
- Wear protective gear like gloves, glasses, etc., to prevent electrical mishaps.
- Inspect the battery condition to see any abrasions on the battery case, frayed connections, or bulging battery.
- Take a 12V charger with a 10-amp rating to charge the battery. Ensure that the amp-hour rating is not more than 10. In the case of adjustable battery amps, never set the rating higher than 10 amps.
- Locate the battery underneath the seat or hood of the lawn mower. If you are unable to find it, use the manual.
- Take the charging wires and attach the red wire clamp to the positive side of your battery. After that, connect the black wire clamp to the negative side of the battery.
- Plug the charger into the wall socket and wait for one hour or until fully charged before unplugging the charger.
- If you use a lead-acid battery, wait for five minutes after unplugging and then remove the clamps. Remove the negative first from the battery and then the positive.
Jump-Starting a Lawn Mower Battery
Caption: Jumper cables
There may be occasions where jump-starting a battery is more convenient than charging the battery with a charger. For that, you can follow these instructions.
- Start by looking into the battery rating and the source rating you will use to power it up. It is since larger vehicles like trucks etc., may send current higher than 12V, which could be hazardous for the battery. Also, be aware of any shocks and sparks that may occur.
- Park the lawn mower and power source (any other vehicle, mostly car) next to each other. Set a parking brake on the lawn mower while turning off the ignition of the mower.
- Take the jumper cables and connect the positive one to the mower and car batteries. Check the connection is tight.
- Now, connect the negative jumper cable on one side to the car battery’s negative terminal. Connect the other side of the same cable to the metal frame of the lawn mower called the hitch.
- Start and run the car for five minutes before checking the lawn mower. Then start the lawn mower to see if it’s charging properly. However, if the mower doesn’t charge immediately, give it a few more minutes and try again.
- Disconnect the cable as the mower is fully charged. First, remove the negative cable from the metal frame of the mower, then remove the same cable from the car’s battery. Next, remove the positive clamps from the car and then the positive side of the mower.
Issues of an Old Battery Charger for Lawn Mower
Although the battery chargers are not a new invention, the old ones have some issues.
Among all, the main problem that arose with their use was their inability to stop the battery from overcharging.
They weren’t able to detect the full charge and thus they kept the battery connected to the power source.
As a result, toxic gases are released from the power source.
Features of Modern Battery Chargers for Lawn Mower
Other than the overcharge issue, modern battery chargers also have solved other problems as well.
Depending on the model, now you can get several great features in a charger, including;
- Different modes of charging (fast, slow, and jumpstart)
- Charging timer
- Automattic shutoff
- Fail-proof hookups to prevent loose connections
- Float mode to support optimal charge
- Clamps for multiple connection types
- Controlled amp rating
These are the common options that chargers have, but you cannot get all of them in one model.
So, invest in a charger that has most of the above features to extend your lawn mower life.
Caption: Red Tractor and lawn mower
3 Best Battery Chargers for Lawn Mower in the Market
Here are the three best chargers which impressed us the most with their features and value for money.
Black Decker 6/12V Battery Chargers plus Maintainer
Black Decker 6/12V battery charger can fully charge and maintain the battery without overcharging as it has an automatic voltage adjuster.
It comes with a circuit protection mechanism that can also save your battery from other mishaps like a short circuit, wrong voltage, etc.
It is fully automatic and requires no manual effort other than connecting the wires to the battery or plugging the system into a wall socket.
Moreover, it has 2 LED indicator lights, green for charge status and red to show faults if any.
Mounting it is also easy as it comes with a mounting bracket.
FOXSUR Automotive Battery Charger and Maintainer
This automotive battery charger and maintainer recharge and maintain the battery at the same time.
It is easy to use and has an LCD monitor display that can check the charging progress and health status of the battery.
Moreover, the charger comes with “Pulse charging” technology great for giving dead batteries a new life and recovering their health at the same time.
It has a durable charger case, which is water and fire-resistant with a one-year warranty.
DieHard Shelf Smart 71219 6/12V Smart Battery Charger
DieHard Smart battery charger is a fully automatic, microprocessor-controlled charger that charges the battery in five steps.
These steps ensure precision and prevent any harm. Also, in case you have attached the reverse clamps, the LED lights will flash and the charger won’t start charging at all.
It comes with a float mode that ensures the normal voltage of the battery.
Additionally, it can rejuvenate the sulfated batteries all thanks to its “Desulfation” mode. This charger has a 3-year warranty.
Conclusion
Choosing a lawn mower battery charger is simple if you know your battery specs. Also, be vigilant about the battery charging schedule.
If it is not followed properly, the charger won’t work as much as it is efficient or expensive.
Cloom is proud to give its customers valuable services that can benefit them with every electronic gadget they have.