Greetings,

I have a 15 gallon tank sprayer mounted on my Recon. Last week I used it for about 4 hours, shutting it off only for refilling the tank. The battery seemed weakened by the experience and when I took the Recon in for routine service this week they declared it dead (one dead cell, wouldn't take a charge). The battery was only about 2 months old. So the question is -- are these sprayers and the like pulling too much current for a stock battery? If I continue to use the sprayer on the Recon should I anticipate a steady stream of dead batteries? Does anyone else out there use their ATV for this and do you have problems?

 

Defective battery. Sounds like 2 plates shorted out in a cell. I doubt it will happen because of a sprayer, winches draw alot more then they do.

 

bad cells do not happen from normal use. bad cells usually happened cuz the guy putting the battery together at the factory got lazy. The plates heat up from discharge/recharge, and they warp slightly. the plates may have beed installed slightly crooked and the normal warping caused them to short inside the battery.

just to be sure though, i would put a volt-meter on your battery while you are doing your thing. As long as the voltage is staying above 13 volts (12.6 volt MINIMUM), you're ok, and the battery should not be affected, in theory. It should be your alternator that should poop out while your'e working, cust its supplying the current AND trying to keep the battery charged. Also, keep the machine running and revved in the mid-rpm range, helps the alternator work better.