<strong>What are the symptoms of bad battery?</strong>

Lawn mower battery care during the winter season 2024

Many people are excited to enjoy the winter season, enjoying rain and snow with a hot cup of coffee in their hands and reading books by their favorite authors. However, winter is a crucial time for people who are associated with the gardening profession or those who maintain a self-owned lawn in homes/ properties. The gardens need extra care in winter, and the lawnmower is the most essential machine used in gardening, nowadays, most people uses electric or battery-powered lawnmowers, and batteries of lawnmower an expensive item so people are curious about the battery life in the winter, and always try to safe battery life in winter. In this article, I highlight major points to care about your lawnmower battery in the winter season. Your battery is working perfectly in winter and you do not face any kind of problem during the winter season.

WHY IS BATTERY LIFE IMPORTANT FOR LAWN MOWERS IN WINTER?

The first question mostly homeowners ask and finding answers is why battery life is important for lawn mowers in winters. In winters there are several reasons to protect your battery. Most important reasons are:

Cold Makes Batteries Weak:

When it’s chilly, batteries lose power. If your mower’s battery isn’t strong enough, starting it can be a real struggle.

Effects on Performance:

A weak battery can mess with your mower’s performance. It might take longer to start, or it might lose power while you’re using it.

Keep it Healthy:

Regular checks and keeping the battery clean and charged can help it stay strong. That way, when you need your mower, it’s ready to go.

Avoid Hassles:

A good battery means less stress. Taking care of it can save you from the hassle of dealing with a dead mower when you’re ready to tidy up your lawn.

Save Money:

Looking after your battery means it lasts longer. That saves you money on having to buy a new one too soon.

Keeping an eye on your mower’s battery during winter means a smoother lawn mowing season without any unexpected breakdowns.

How to protect battery life in winter?

Batteries are of different types, ratings, shapes, weights, etc. These batteries are much more expensive and very essential to start your lawnmowers. In winter cold weather and moisture ruined the battery and as a result, your lawnmower won’t start due to battery problems. To address all these problems follow these steps:

STEP 1: DISCONNECT BATTERIES FROM THE LAWN MOWER

In the first step when winter starts you must disconnect/remove batteries from your lawnmower when you complete your work and store it in a dry safe place. Be careful to store the battery in a dry place where water cannot enter the batteries when it’s raining or snowing outside. By disconnecting your battery is safe from damage in winter.

STEP 2: CLEANING OF BATTERIES

In the second step, you clean the battery occasionally or weekly basis to avoid rust and corrosion in the terminals so when you connect it back to the lawnmower it works properly.

Use detergent to clean the terminals
Use a wire brush to clean the battery terminals thoroughly and carefully
Scrub the terminals
Wipe it using clean water at the end

By cleaning your battery life is extended and functions properly without any hindrance in all seasons and especially in winter.

STEP 3: AVOID BATTERIES FREEZING IN WINTER

Another step is to save the batteries’ liquid from freezing. In some areas where temperature decrease below 1 degree Celsius. The liquid of batteries might be frozen. So, in this situation, your battery is expired to avoid this problem try to save the battery liquid from freezing. To avoid this, always charge batteries fully. In fully charged batteries, the liquid is not easily frozen as compared to no charge or fewer charge batteries. So, always charge the batteries in winter, even if you are not using them in the lawn mower.

STEP 4: CHARGING AND DISCHARGING OF BATTERIES IN WINTER

Generally, people disconnect the lawn mower batteries for months and do not charge them. After months when install back into the lawn mower the battery stopped working because all the charging drained. To avoid this condition always charge the battery even if you disconnect it from the lawn mower and you are not using it.

How to charge the battery when it’s disconnected from the lawn mower?

To charge the disconnected battery there are several kinds of chargers available in the market that take home power and charge the battery and provide the required voltages. You can easily get the battery charger online or visit your near hardware store.

Step 1:

Connect the Charger terminal to the battery, carefully by connecting the positive wire to the positive terminal and the negative to the negative terminal Be careful about the polarity if you connect wrongly, your battery bursts and also causes serious injury.

Step 2:

Now connect the home electric power to the charger and see the red light in the charger it starts charging the battery.

Step 3:

Few chargers comprise indicating lights that indicate the battery is fully charged but most of the chargers have no sign to identify whether the battery is fully charged or not, you personally check and be careful about the charging time. Most batteries charge in 5 to 6 hours. If you are confused you may see the battery company manual the charging time is mentioned in the booklet.

HOW TO CHARGE YOUR LAWN MOWER BATTERY IN WINTER: DOS AND DON’TS

When you are charging your lawn mower battery always look into these DO’s and DON’Ts which are very important to save your battery from any damage.

Dos:

Keep it Warm: Charge the battery indoors or in a sheltered, heated area to prevent it from getting too cold.

Use a Trickle Charger: Opt for a trickle charger designed for small batteries. It helps maintain the charge without overcharging.

Regular Checkups: Check the battery regularly during winter to ensure it stays charged and doesn’t lose power.

Clean Terminals: Keep the battery terminals clean to ensure a good connection for charging.

Don’ts:

Avoid Overcharging: Don’t leave the battery connected to the charger for too long. Overcharging can damage it.

Don’t Charge in Extreme Cold: Charging a battery in freezing temperatures can cause issues. Aim to charge it in a moderately warm environment.

Skip Quick Chargers: Avoid using quick chargers or high-power chargers. They can damage the battery if not designed for it.

Following these dos and don’ts can help maintain your lawn mower battery’s health during winter, ensuring it’s ready to go when you need it most.

HOW TO COMPARE DIFFERENT BRANDS AND TYPES OF LAWN MOWER BATTERIES FOR WINTER USE

When comparing lawn mower batteries for winter use, consider following points

Brand Comparison:

Reputation: Look at reviews and experiences with different brands. Reliable brands often have better quality batteries.

Durability: Check for warranties and durability claims. Some brands might offer longer-lasting batteries.

Compatibility: Ensure the battery fits your mower model. Not all batteries fit all mowers, so compatibility is important.

Types of Batteries:

Cold Cranking Amps (CCA): Higher CCA means better cold-weather performance. Look for batteries with higher CCA ratings for winter use.

AGM vs. Lead-Acid: AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) batteries tend to perform better in cold weather and have longer lifespans compared to traditional lead-acid batteries.

Maintenance: Some batteries require regular maintenance, while others are maintenance-free. Consider your preference and convenience.

Factors to Weigh:

Price vs. Quality: Balance between cost and quality. Sometimes higher-priced batteries offer better performance and long life.

Specific Winter Features: Some batteries are explicitly designed for cold weather, with technologies to withstand freezing temperatures.

SAFETY TIPS

Charging a battery is very dangerous and may cause death or serious injury if you are not careful during this procedure. The mandatory checklist before charging a battery is mentioned below:

Always connect the correct polarity (positive to positive and negative to negative).
Check that the wires are not loose. Loose wire after heating may be responsible for short circuits, damage to equipment, and even igniting the fire.
if you have kids in your be careful no kid will touch the battery or charger and always use a safe place. If possible charge the battery in another place besides your house. In the garage or lawn store room so in case of any incident, your house is safe.
Ala look into the charging time don’t overcharge the battery.

STARTING A LAWNMOWER AFTER THE WINTER SEASON

In winter, most of the states experience heavy rain and snowfall during the whole season. Lawn mowing in the winter is less possible or not possible. Generally, people store their lawnmowers in a safe place during the whole winter season. After winter, turning on their mower generates different faults, and sometimes it’s not even started.

I shared my personal tips, which I must do before mowing my lawn after the winter season. If you want your mower to start without any trouble, you may follow these useful tips.

Tip 1: Check the Oil

The first thing to start your mower after winter is to check the oil level using an oil gauge. If the oil level is low, refill it to the appropriate level.

Tip 2: Check Air / Oil Filter

Check the air and oil filter. If found dirty, replace the filters.

Tip 3: Cleaning of Lawnmower

Clean the lawnmower thoroughly, clean and inspect the blades if found Corrosion, and remove it. Also, remove the grass clippings which are stuck around the blade and inside the deck.

Tip 4: Clean the Spark Plug

The spark plug is very important to check before starting your lawnmower after the winter season. Remove the spark plug and check for carbon and rust. If not cleaned, clean it properly and refit into the mower prior to starting mowing work.

Tip 5: Changing fuel

Empty the old fuel and refill it with fresh new fuel.

Tip 6: Battery Checking

The most important thing to check is the battery of your lawnmower. Check the battery voltage, recharge it using an external charger, and install it back into the mower.

By following these Tips, your lawnmower starts easily after a long break during the winter, and you do not face any kind of issues. Be careful while serving your mower, and use the proper tools to avoid injury.

FREQUENTLY ASK QUESTIONS (FAQs):

There are a few common symptoms of batter failure these are:

A. Unable to start your lawnmower engine (This means when you Turn ON the key switch and try to turn it ON your lawnmower won’t start which means that your battery might not work properly).

B. Surging (Sometimes your lawnmower starts and then turns OFF, you turn it ON again and when starts working it loses power, in some cases your battery is working but not generating the full voltages so you face problems. In this condition, you check the liquid level in your battery.

C. Corrosion (If there is corrosion, carbon, and dirt on your battery surfaces it means your battery does not work properly and you might face problems to avoid this problem you clean your battery after some time as I mentioned cleaning method above paragraphs).

D. Not holding the charge ( Lot of user face problems with their batteries that do not hold the charge, the battery is fully charged but when used it drained too early and not working every for a short time. That means your battery is completely defective you may change the plates of your battery or buy a new battery.

These are the major symptoms of a defective battery. Most of the people are complaining about the battery and told these symptoms.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, this article is very useful as the winter season is about to start, and in many countries, it’s already started, so people are worried about their electric appliances and especially gardening machines. In this article, I write down the practical steps which one can easily follow in their home and avoid losing battery this winter.

About Naveed A Hashmi

In my childhood, I used to see my parents while working in the land, for these reasons today I have been serving the same as our own tradition and culture. I thus love to stay in it, because I want to learn something advanced and new so that I may improve my farm’s contour and help others with my experience.

Lawn mower battery care during the winter season