Get a pair of 7 or 8 ah AGM batteries commonly used in alarm systems,
emergency lighting systems, computer UPS, and other rechargeable
devices. Should cost about 25-30 each - possibly as much as 35
depending where you buy them. Put the pigtail from the old battery on
and GO!

On Mon, 6 Oct 2008 19:25:56 -0800, "SteveB" toquerville@zionvistas
wrote:


"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 5 Oct 2008 14:00:04 -0800, "SteveB" toquerville@zionvistas
wrote:

My grandkids have this ATV. It's plastic, and runs on a 12v 8AH battery
that won't charge any more. I haven't priced them, but they're probably
proprietary and spendy. Would a common lawnmower/motorcycle battery from
Checker work? They're close to the same size. Or would it have too much
amperage and burn up the motor?

It needs to be a Deep Cycle style battery for the usage. Most
Sealed Lead Acid "Gel Cell" batteries are, most motorcycle and car
batteries are not.

And a wet style trolling motor battery can leak battery acid all
over the kids if they turn the toy car over during play, and we
obviously don't want that.

Too much amperage or amp-hour capacity is not a problem, most of
these cars have a simple two- or three-stage controller that has one
or two big series speed regulation resistors, then straight through
12V to the motor.

The best battery is a generic 12V 8AH to 12AH Gel Cell battery that
will fit in the battery space under the "hood" - all you have to add
is an inline fuse holder to equal the "built-in" fuseholder in the
purpose built battery. And be sure to secure it in place with a clamp
or strap somewhat like the original.

If you feel like spending a lot of money ($100 - $150) on the battery
and doing some plastic body modifications to mount it, there's no
reason you can't go WAY bigger with the battery. The Optima Spiracell
starved-electrolyte cell (yellow or blue top for deep cycle) will work
fine and let the kids run around most of the day on one charge.

WARNING: The Optima batteries are very low internal resistance and
can dump a hellacious amount of current into a dead short, several
thousand amperes. This is good for some uses, bad for yours.
Therefore, you MUST take proper precautions.

Have a robust inline fuse that is rated to interrupt that level of
current - cheap ATO and AGC automotive fuses are NOT rated for this,
they could arc across. And you MUST protect the battery terminals from
any accidental short circuit contact. Bolting the hood closed with
tamper-resistant fasteners (Tamper Torx) to keep kiddie fingers out
would be a prudent idea. If it stops working, call Daddy.

-- Bruce --

This whole thing is just a kids toy. The battery is about half the size of
a motorcycle battery. There is a squeeze/pull terminal that Ray Charles
couldn't get wrong. I have tipped the battery upside down, and although it
says lead/acid, nothing came out. I have had it on the charger now for 12+
hours, and it doesn't work except to turn the wheels slowly. So, I guess
I'll just go get another battery. One of the first posters posted a link to
a very similar looking battery for $20, at Battery Depot, IIRC. Probably
could get one locally. Plus, inside the cowling, it says you can put two
batteries together to double riding time.

Those who suggested deep cycle RV and golf cart batteries were simply
overthinking this. The actual battery is about six inches high, eight
inches long, and 2.5 inches thick. We're talking PlayHouse toys here. The
ATV would stand on its nose if I put one of those big honkers in there.

Steve


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