OT: Automotive Battery Charger

[parris]

Oliver Our 560 went to a farmer that we rented land from for several years. It had several issues by the time he picked it up. To his credit he rebuilt the hydraulics and TA. He then did all the stuff to make it pretty and then used it as his big tractor. He told us at my dad's wake that the reason he bought it was because of all the years we did business with him that the 560 was to his mind my dad's "tractor". It made for a very nice memory.

The 2 cylinder John Deere tractors we had went into the utility and cultivating role as we got bigger and needed bigger iron. We had a couple of 50's, a 520, and 530. My brother now owns the 530.

Our big tractors were initially 3 4020's. 2 were open air and the newest had a cab with heat and a/c. THAT tractor saved my brothers life when a bridge he was going over collapsed dropping one of the main carrying beams across the cab/roll bar.

We were green until we got a bad 4430 which was a nightmare for my dad. It was bad to the point where we eventually went into the IH world with a 1466 and 1486. We kept the 4020 with the cab for several years until a deal too good for dad to pass up came around in the form of a Deutz DX 140. That became the tractor I operated most of the time until the farm shut down in the mid 80's.

[oliver1850]

Nice that your 560 went to someone who evidently appreciated it for its own qualities, and as a way to be reminded of your dad. I have several tractors that came from neighbors and using them keeps the former owners in mind.

It's interesting to think about how regional sales of some tractor models seem to have been. I've never seen a 50/520/530. In our area, the A/70/720/730 were the models that sold the most.

Must have been a pretty big farm to have had three 4020s. My dad bought a new 3010 gas in 1962 and it was our main tractor for a number of years. We had a mounted picker/sheller on it. Hard to imagine how slow it must have been, picking corn with that rig.. My Oliver 1800 came from a neighbor who bought it new in 1962. It was his big tractor until he bought a Case 1030 in 1966. Another neighbor told me that his dad tested a 4010 and liked it but found that he could buy two Minneapolis-Molines of roughly the same size for the cost of one 4010, so that's what he did.

I'm surprised that a 4430 was a bad experience. Dad bought a new one in 1973 and sold it 20 years later for more than he paid for it. Next door neighbor who is a die hard IH man told me that he considered the 4430 to be the tractor that killed IH.

[parris]

You're right about the regional difference. There were some 70-730 tractors but given the field sizes in our part of the state things like the 50-530 worked.

The 4430 in our case was just a lemon. It had transmission problems the entire time we owned it. The local dealer had us changing out filters every 10 hrs because it was shedding metal consistently.

I've heard that it was actually the 560 that started IH's downward spiral big time. When that tractor came out it had a great engine mated to an undersize final drive system. There was a big recall which cost market share that IH never regained. The New Generation Deere tractors and then later the Sound Guard tractors really put Deere well ahead of IH and several manufacturers for that matter.

[jds108]

Have you considered quick disconnects for the batteries? That should noticeably decrease the amount they discharge over time (but won't completely eliminate self-discharge).

They're only about $5: https://www.ebay.com/i/333161265703?...AaAoJFEALw_wcB

[fmradio516]

i havent read through the thread so idk if it was mentioned yet, but for ease of use, there is a way you can have your cigarette lighter be wired so that you can use a trickle charger that only needs to plug into that. So no popping the hood, easy to put it, take off. This may only work for old cars though. I know it worked on my 89 BMW and my grandpa's 87 Merc, but something to think about

[oliver1850]

Originally Posted by jds108

Have you considered quick disconnects for the batteries? That should noticeably decrease the amount they discharge over time (but won't completely eliminate self-discharge).

They're only about $5: https://www.ebay.com/i/333161265703?...AaAoJFEALw_wcB

Hadn't though about them but it's a good idea. I normally pull one cable off if I think the tractor will be sitting more than a week or two.

[oliver1850]

Originally Posted by fmradio516

i havent read through the thread so idk if it was mentioned yet, but for ease of use, there is a way you can have your cigarette lighter be wired so that you can use a trickle charger that only needs to plug into that. So no popping the hood, easy to put it, take off. This may only work for old cars though. I know it worked on my 89 BMW and my grandpa's 87 Merc, but something to think about

I really like the little solar panels that plug into the lighter socket. My tractors are normally under a roof though.

[oliver1850]

Originally Posted by parris

You're right about the regional difference. There were some 70-730 tractors but given the field sizes in our part of the state things like the 50-530 worked.

The 4430 in our case was just a lemon. It had transmission problems the entire time we owned it. The local dealer had us changing out filters every 10 hrs because it was shedding metal consistently.

I've heard that it was actually the 560 that started IH's downward spiral big time. When that tractor came out it had a great engine mated to an undersize final drive system. There was a big recall which cost market share that IH never regained. The New Generation Deere tractors and then later the Sound Guard tractors really put Deere well ahead of IH and several manufacturers for that matter.

Which transmission? The 4430 dad bought new had the Quad Range. The 2nd was purchased for a loader tractor and had the Powershift. I think the PS trans was considered pretty bulletproof as long as you didn't run it low on oil. We still have a QR 4440 and it's never given any trouble.

The 460/560/660 were definitely dinosaurs compared to the 10 series Deeres. The 560 was basically an overgrown MTA as far as technology goes. IH sold a ton of 66/56/26 series tractors though, and most of them are still running.