what batteries for M37?

[maddawg308]

Interested in seeing what you all do for batteries for your M37s, what brands and amperages?

 

[zout]

MD - I put TWO 4HN in the 43. These individually 24 v each and I cabled them in Parralel (sorry for the spelling) otherwise they call for 2 - 2HN's - 12 v cabled in series for the 24v like the deuce.

Check out the pics on the 43 build and you will see how awesome these are - so If I need a 24 battery to jump something off I could yank one and use it. That is of course without having slave available.


Watch the dimensions on these if you just pick up 12 v.

 

[vtdeucedriver]

Autoparts store. 1993 honda del sol. Need 2. This also works for M151. Walmart specials are PN 56N. But let me confirm that

 

[Ferroequinologist]

I got two optima's shoehorned in Angie's right now.

 

[Oldfart]

It depends on how "stock" you want to be. Because the stock batteries were insanely expensive and very difficult to find when I first got my M37 I opted to go as cheaply as possible with a pair of group 24 chevy style batteries. The hold downs do not fit, but the 24 batteries will fit in the box tray. My next set (for some insane reason I thought it would be nice to have more reserve) I installed a set of group 27's. They set on top of the battery tray and it took some cut boards to make for a smooth bottom support. It is more difficult to fabricate hold downs for group 27's. After that I went back to batteries that would fit in the tray. The next time around I think I will look for stock batteries or something close to those dimensions.

 

[zout]

OleFart - that is exactly what I was prepared to do with 27's - but I was able to get my hands on the 4HN's. I gave the set of 27's to PB as a peace treaty for telling him I burned down the 43 a while back.

 

[Oldfart]

Ghostdriver sent me for some cheap batteries for her M43 when she decided to start her restoration. I went to our local Interstate Battery warehouse where we have an account, and discovered they had a raging sale on some group 27's. They were the cheapest batterys available. Those 24 volt look interesting, but it would preclude tapping off 12 volts for something light like a cell phone charger. But that would be an excuse to get a nice 24/12 DC converter.

 

[98taco3]

Have 2 group 31s in mine i picked up for free. They obviously dont fit in the tray but do fit in the box quite nicely.

 

[vtdeucedriver]

Autoparts store. 1993 honda del sol. Need 2. This also works for M151. Walmart specials are PN 56N. But let me confirm that

Guys....................The 93 del sol battery is the same dimension as the stock battery.

 

[Oldfart]

Vermont Deuce Driver
Thanks for the application! That will make it a snap to redo my M37 when I bring it back out of the weeds again.

98Taco3
The group 31's are slightly larger than 27's but they usually taper at the bottom so they will normally fit in the same tray. We find 8D's fit nicely where two 6TL's once resided as well.

 

[maddawg308]

Guys....................The 93 del sol battery is the same dimension as the stock battery.

vt - are you sure this is the best fit and model? I just priced this battery, the low priced one from AutoZone and Advance, and they come in at $100 EACH. And I need two. ???

Just find it hard to believe that batteries are going this much for so small a battery. I bought two batteries for the deuce in May, and they are much bigger and have more CCAs than the Honda ones, and they cost $80 each.

 

[zout]

Here ya go Mike
22NF-420 $76.29 at Battery Giant

 

[Oldfart]

Maddawg,
Like I said, the stock batteries are insanely expensive. The "close fit" sizes are also less demand batteries so they tend to cost more as well. The military 6TL's and 6U's are also expensive. Rather than use four 6TL batteries, we use two 8D's in our deuces and 5 tons. They fit and the cost is less than half. I know it's not stock, but we actually have more cranking power for less cost.
If you are not concerned about an "as originial" restoration, but just need to have starting batteries, the old standard Chevy batteries (Group 24) will fit in the battery tray. These used to be the least expensive battery because there were so many of them around. What does not fit is the battery hold down, but it is not too difficult to fabricate some thing to tie the batteries in place.
I just had to replace a couple of batteries in our John Deere Gators (different battery in each machine) and those little things cost more than the batteries for my Ford diesel pickup.

 

[nattieleather]

Find what fits and stick them in. Like Old F. said.