It’s Important To Know The CCA Of Your Lawn Mower Battery

With many communities looking to phase out gas-powered lawn mowers, companies that trade in battery-powered tools and devices are actively expanding their presence in the lawn care market. While there are plenty of plusses that come with making the shift from gas to electric, many who have taken the battery-powered plunge for their riding lawn mower have found themselves subjected to a veritable crash course in battery longevity and maintenance.

There are, of course, different types of batteries for lawn mowers these days. While more and more mowers and yard care devices are powered by rechargeable lithium-ion battery technology, quite a few riding models are still pushing old school lead-acid power. If you’re running a riding lawn mower on one of those batteries, there are matters to consider other than those you’d encounter with lithium-ion, including its CCA rating.

If you’re unfamiliar with that acronym, CCA stands for cold cranking amps. It is an important factor when it comes to batteries, as it measures their ability to start an engine in colder weather. More specifically, the rating measures whether a battery can provide a minimum of 7.2 volts to an engine for 30 seconds at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. The CCA standard was established more than five decades ago and remains a vital stat for lead acid batteries. Here are a few other things you should know about cold cranking amps.

Cold cranking amps are primarily associated with lead-acid batteries. It is an important measurement to consider on a good car battery, as well as smaller vehicles like ATVs and side-by-sides. The primary reason for that is that such vehicles are utilized far more often when temperatures reach 32 degrees or below. The fact of the matter is that lawn mowers are not often operated in such temperatures, since many grasses tend to be dormant during the winter months.

Nonetheless, folks who live in colder climates and regularly mow their lawns into the fall season would be wise to seek out a battery with a suitable CCA rating. But what exactly does that mean? In the simplest terms, the rule of thumb is that the higher the CCA rating, the better your lawn mower battery should perform in cold weather. For riding lawn mowers and small yard tractors, the numbers generally range between 150 CCA and 300 CCA, though they can fluctuate higher or lower based on the needs of the machine’s engine.

The quality of the battery may also affect its CCA abilities, as high performance models may still deliver solid cold cranking starts even if they have a lower rating. If you’re looking to purchase a battery for your lawn mower and want to upgrade its cold cranking amp abilities, you can often find the rating listed directly on the battery’s label. If you can’t find the number there, consult its product description or an in-store sales associate for help.