Battery question

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   I have a 6 volt battery Allis Chalmers WD tractor. The guy at the local NAPA auto part store said I could put in a new 8 volt battery to give the tractor better starting power without having to do any conversions. I was thinking about doing a 12 volt conversion but if I can just use an 8 volt battery, then I could save a little money and not have to do the 12 volt conversion and still get a better starting power.
Does anyone have an opinion about doing this? Would it work?

Thanks for your help.

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OregonGus Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Bronze Level Joined: 29 Nov 2014 Location: Oregon Points: 18	Post Options Post Reply Quote OregonGus Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Battery question Posted: 31 Dec 2014 at 9:58pm
	I have a 6 volt battery Allis Chalmers WD tractor. The guy at the local NAPA auto part store said I could put in a new 8 volt battery to give the tractor better starting power without having to do any conversions. I was thinking about doing a 12 volt conversion but if I can just use an 8 volt battery, then I could save a little money and not have to do the 12 volt conversion and still get a better starting power. Does anyone have an opinion about doing this? Would it work? Thanks for your help.

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Unit3 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Orange Level Joined: 17 Oct 2009 Location: NC Iowa Points: 5576	Post Options Post Reply Quote Unit3 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 31 Dec 2014 at 10:05pm
	We did that for years in a WD45, but we finally got tired of messing with burned out lights. Made the switch to 12volt and glad of it.
	2-8070FWA PS/8050PS/7080/7045PS/200/D15-II/2-WD45/WD/3-WC/UC/C

OregonGus Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Bronze Level Joined: 29 Nov 2014 Location: Oregon Points: 18	Post Options Post Reply Quote OregonGus Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 31 Dec 2014 at 10:14pm
	Not concerned about the lights, just want a little better cranking power. Did the 8 volt battery help crank the battery better? Thanks.

Terry/EasternIa Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Bronze Level Joined: 27 Feb 2010 Location: Eastern Ia Points: 93	Post Options Post Reply Quote Terry/EasternIa Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 31 Dec 2014 at 11:45pm
	Use good heavy duty cable and six volt will work good. Use 0 size cable, it works good.

SteveM C/IL Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Orange Level Access Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Location: Shelbyville IL Points: 8526	Post Options Post Reply Quote SteveM C/IL Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 31 Dec 2014 at 11:59pm
	You have draggy starter,poor connections,too small cables,weak battery or a combination of some or all things mentioned.6V will crank a stock WD just fine.Not too bad with M&W higher compression pistons. The center bushing on armature worked out on my WD and let fields drag on armature.Worked much better when I got that fixed.

Steve in NJ Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Orange Level Access Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Location: Andover, NJ Points: 11950	Post Options Post Reply Quote Steve in NJ Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Jan 2015 at 12:00am
	As long as the Starter motor is in excellent shape, and you have the correct size cables, and a good 6V Battery, you shouldn't have any problems cranking the engine over. 8V Batteries are more of a PIA than anything else. You need a charger that will charge an 8V battery in case it gets low vs the 6V/12V charger. Always make sure the Battery has water in it, and is fully charged. A good investment is a Battery tender to keep the Battery active when not in use. This keeps the reserve high in the Battery and makes it ready when you need it. Also increases its life expectancy quite a bit. HTH Steve@B&B
	39'RC, 43'WC, 48'B, 49'G, 50'WF, 65 Big 10, 67'B-110, 75'716H, 2-620's, & a Motorhead wife

SHAMELESS Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Orange Level Joined: 13 Sep 2009 Location: EAST NE Points: 29486	Post Options Post Reply Quote SHAMELESS Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Jan 2015 at 12:12am
	I did it to a Farmall "H" sum 30 years ago, it helped in the winter time, never had any problems but the lights never worked anyways!

Gerald J. Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Orange Level Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Location: Hamilton Co, IA Points: 5636	Post Options Post Reply Quote Gerald J. Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Jan 2015 at 12:58am
	If the generator has just a cutout, it will charge the 8 volt battery OK. If it has a voltage regulator it won't. Mostly what an 8 volt battery does is give a little more room for neglecting to clean the charging circuit connections, especially the battery posts that in a 6 volt system need to be cleaned twice a year. Every couple years with a 12 volt battery. Battery cables from the wallyworld battery kiosk are small for a small imported car on 12 volts. The current at 6 volts to get the power demands fat cables, like 0 or 00, not 2 or 4 gauge and the low voltage makes voltage drop in the cables and connections more critical hence the need for cleaning and for fat cables. 6 volt lamps on 8 volts have short lives. They don't make 8 volt system lamps nor 8 volt regulators. The 8 volt battery is kind of like kicking a hungry horse when it would be better to just feed the horse by cleaning the connections. Gerald J.