How are vehicle batteries measured?

[Char]

Silly question probably - but, is there not a label on the battery somewhere telling you the make, amperage, etc.?

[ajm]

Oops, sorry, I must try to be better at reading between lines. I was under the impression that the battery had failed after 10 years. But an unreliable battery is a new one for me, my experience is that it works or it is flat (low voltage). Reliability lies in the connections, AVR and the alternator. My post was meant to help in that it could save you a journey. Here is my advice, the dimensions given online are the overall dimensions, now you can go with that or wait for someone to do the search for you to prove it is so.

I agree. "Had its day" to me means dead.

[L Austin France]

Oops, sorry, I must try to be better at reading between lines. I was under the impression that the battery had failed after 10 years. But an unreliable battery is a new one for me, my experience is that it works or it is flat (low voltage). Reliability lies in the connections, AVR and the alternator. My post was meant to help in that it could save you a journey. Here is my advice, the dimensions given online are the overall dimensions, now you can go with that or wait for someone to do the search for you to prove it is so.

I agree. "Had its day" to me means dead.

Wrong again ! You've almost certainly had your day but ain't dead yet
It still starts the tractor if I put it on charge but won't hold a charge for long as the plates are sulphated up.
Your MO seems to be starting petty arguments over semantics but I'm not playing your stupid games so go & play somewhere else.
I asked a reasonable question in my OP & nowhere did i say it was dead.

[L Austin France]

Silly question probably - but, is there not a label on the battery somewhere telling you the make, amperage, etc.?

Can't find a label anywhere but an old review of the tractor I found online says the original is 100Ah.
No worries though as I've just come back from Espace Emeraude & have measured several batteries.
They have one 'on the shelf' with the exact plan body size mentioned in my OP & ratings in excess of that above.
The only problem is that the guy in charge of the Ag.dept. is not there today so I'll return tomorrow to buy it having hopefully negotiated a discount

Thanks to all who posted helpfull advice.

[Polarengineer]

I hope for you the discount is more than the cost of your time and fuel. (Are you Dutch too?)

[DominicBest]

I had a little journey online and was surprised to find how little the physical dimensions of vehicle batteries are mentioned. It does seem that in the USA however batteries do have labels that would have all the information required. Not that that is a lot of use.
About five years ago my lawnmower which has a much smaller battery of course had problems. The battery had had it. It would start with jump leads but the battery itself couldn’t even be charged as my modern battery chargers automatically search for the battery voltage then charge at 6v or 12 v as required. The voltage was so low they all insisted that no battery was connected. Amongst these was the Optimate charger/conditioner that I keep attached to one of my cars. It too refused to charge. More by luck than judgement I discovered that if I attached the Optimate to the battery while it was attached to an old 12v battery with jump leads it did operate. The result was some sort of black magic. The Optimate went through its cycle and later indicated that the battery was OK. It was certainly holding enough charge to start the mower without jump leads so I did. I then reattached the Optimate and it went through that cycle again. The battery is still alive. I do make sure it is always well charged through the winter but for all practical purposes it seems as good as new when five years ago it seemed destined for disposal.

[L Austin France]

New battery bought, installed & on top up charge. Perfect fit.
Battery size written on its sticker showed height plus measurements over flange which wouldn't have helped me if I hadn't physicaly measured it's base.

[Hotrodder]

There is quite a lot of science to correct battery charging and maintenance. Some of the better chargers (not necessarily mega expensive) are very sophisticated. Some even have a stage that has the potential to restore a heavily sulphated battery to a more usable condition. It literally pumps a higher voltage than normal in an attempt to drive off the sulphates that have built up on the plates. There is usually a sensor the keeps track of the temperature and lowers the voltage if it rises to a dangerous level. Having said this, the OP's battery having delivered ten years of service represents pretty good lifespan/value for money.

[L Austin France]

There is quite a lot of science to correct battery charging and maintenance. Some of the better chargers (not necessarily mega expensive) are very sophisticated. Some even have a stage that has the potential to restore a heavily sulphated battery to a more usable condition. It literally pumps a higher voltage than normal in an attempt to drive off the sulphates that have built up on the plates. There is usually a sensor the keeps track of the temperature and lowers the voltage if it rises to a dangerous level. Having said this, the OP's battery having delivered ten years of service represents pretty good lifespan/value for money.

Very good value. Could well be more than ten years as I've had the tractor for about 17 years & I'm sure I bought the battery not long after I acquired it.
From memory I paid about €180 with a bit of discount & have just paid €210 for this new'un with no discount as my usual man wasn't on duty & I couldn't be arsed to try too hard with his temporary replacement.
The new'un turns over the almost 4 litre old school diesel very rapidly with a start after about 2-3 turns so result
I've a GYS TCB 120 charger for the 'big stuff' but it's only rated up to a 120 Ah battery whereas the new'un is rated at 140Ah. This charger can be left connected according to the manual. Any reason why it shouldn't be used. (usual argumentative suspects need not reply )

[DominicBest]

I cant see any reason why that charger can’t be left attached. 140 Ah is a pretty impressive beast.