Equipment Care & Repair

Ride-On Scraper Batteries: Charging, Watering, Replacing

Charging, alarms and cold-weather care for National ride-on batteries, plus watering and hydrometer checks if you run flooded cells.

Updated · 2 min read

Batteries are the most expensive wear part on a battery ride-on, and charging habits decide how long they last. The first step is knowing which kind you have. Current manuals for many National ride-ons list sealed batteries,[1][2] while some machines and aftermarket packs use flooded lead-acid cells that need watering.

Check your battery type first

Sealed batteries are never watered or opened; tampering with them can cause electrical shock.[1] The watering and hydrometer steps below apply only to flooded batteries. Always disconnect the battery before maintenance.

Charging (all battery types)

The 5700 and 5000 manuals give the same core rules.[1][2]

  • Fully recharge at least twice a week.
  • Charge time isn't one-for-one with run time. Charge longer than you ran.
  • Leaving the charger plugged in won't harm the battery.
  • Stop running the machine when the low-battery alarm sounds. On the 5700 the alarm is at 44V and the machine shuts off at 43.5V.[1]
  • Charge in a ventilated area away from sparks and flame.

Cold weather

A partly discharged battery can freeze, and extreme heat or cold affects performance.[1] Store machines fully charged, and indoors when you can.

Flooded batteries: watering

If your batteries have removable caps, follow standard flooded-battery maintenance.[3]

  1. Charge fully first, then add water.[3]
  2. Only add water before charging if the plates are exposed, and then just enough to cover them.
  3. Use distilled water.
  4. Fill to 1/8" below the bottom of the fill well. Don't overfill.[3]
  5. Clean terminals with a solution of about 1 cup of baking soda per gallon of water, then rinse and dry.[3]

Flooded batteries: testing

A hydrometer tells you each cell's state of charge.[3]

  • A fully charged cell reads about 1.277.
  • Below 1.235 means undercharged.
  • Correct for temperature: add 0.004 for every 10°F above 80°F.
  • A cell that reads well below the others after a full charge points to a failing battery.

Replacing

Don't replace only part of a battery set.[3] A new battery in an old string gets overworked and the pack fails early. Replace the set, and use the battery and charger configuration National approves for your machine.[1]

Common mistakes

These shorten battery life the most.

  • Running past the alarm.
  • Short top-up charges. Charge fully.
  • Watering before charging. The electrolyte expands and overflows.
  • Storing discharged in the cold.

Batteries and parts we carry

These are the packs, chargers and hardware we stock.

References

  1. National 5700 operating and service manual
  2. National 5000 operating manual
  3. Trojan Battery: Maintenance

Linked PDF documents are archived copies saved by PreFloor Tools so they stay available if the publisher moves or removes them. Check the publisher's website for the latest revision.

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