[Brian]

Is there anything other than the red belt dressing that works well on the top post battery terminals to stop corrosion. After sitting over the winter with a battery tender, my 445 has some white powder around the positive side terminal. I cleaned it up last night since there was not much and I put a little baking soda and water, then rinsed.

I am out of the red stuff and wanted to coat it tonight, but I will not have time to run to the store. Anything else work that might be a household item?

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I've heard of people using vaseline....
On the farm we just used Dielectric grease, or sometimes even normal grease.

 

[Kennyd]

I have been using the red spray stuff from NAPA with great results. The grease or vaseline option is messy and just attracts dirt.

 

[dellwas]

A copper penny glued to the top of a battery near the post will prevent corrosion. It's an old trick I first learned when I started fooling with motorcycles (former pro mechanic).

Here are some more:

http://http://www.ehow.com/how_4506814_make-car-battery-last-longer.html

 

[mjncad]

I hadn't heard of the penny trick; but aren't modern pennies copper plated zinc? If so, the zinc would act as the sacrificial anode.

 

[eepete]

Napa red stuff, Deere has a red spray on battery product (although it takes forever to dry, so it gets a little dust on it). Vaseline and grease insulate, but are messy. If you don't have any red spray stuff, I'd clean it, mow "battery commando", then clean and spray when you've got the right stuff.

The goal is in insulate the terminal by coating them. The other battery maintenance item is to keep the surface of the battery clean and dry. Thin films of water and dirt conduct current that can corrode the terminals, especially the plus one. If both terminals are getting corosion, it's acid from the battery and something is very wrong. The baking soda clean will also tell you if it's acid from the battery. If it's bubbles it's acid. If it's just the plus terminal that has corrosion, there is a small current "help" process going on. I also am _guessing_ that the problem is worse for tractors kept outside. They tend to get more condensation on them due to weather changes than tractors that are inside, especially in insulated spaces.

Next time I go to clean a battery, I'll take a conductance measurement first just for grins...

I end up wiping down my battery, especially around the + post, every 3 months or so. They get cleaned and re-coated with spray as needed.

I'm still thinking on the copper penny one... I'll have to go dig up my galvanic table of metals first.

Pete

 

[RandyM]

Looks like you got some ideas to get you through. For a more permenant solution I like to use CRC products.

http://www.crcind.com.au/catalogue.nsf/web_brands/Battery+Terminal+Protector?openDocument

 

[dellwas]

I *think* ours here in Canuckland are still all copper. However, it doesn't seem to make much difference. Just did a Google advanced search and limited it to the last year with battery corrosion + penny and got quite a few hits on it. Seems to still work, but YMMV....

I hadn't heard of the penny trick; but aren't modern pennies copper plated zinc? If so, the zinc would act as the sacrificial anode.