MTFCA Forum

I know there has been a lot of discussion about battery. I could use some advice on a battery that will used for a distributor, led headlights and led tail light. The magneto has been removed, and there is no generator or alternator
Thanks
Fitz

Ralph,
What year and body style of car?

I am working on a model T speedster

No starter?

No starter

I would use a 12 volt unless your equipment is 6 volt.
12 volt Marine battery. 6 volt golf cart battery

Art Mirtes

Art is correct to suggest a deep cycle battery like a marine or golf cart battery. These are designed for repeated charging and a battery maintainer. Since no starter so the specifications for CCA, cold cranking amps, & CC Cranking amps don't apply. The specification to look for is Ah, ampere hours. The distributor coil (12 or 6v) doesn't take much amperage & your the total for your lights etc I suspect would be under 6 amps. So your expected drive time would also dictate the battery. There are various small batteries with good Ah values, advertised as Motorcycle, trailer, winch, trolling motor etc.
Ampere-hour (Ah) is a unit of measurement that indicates the amount of charge in a battery or how much current a battery can supply over a period of time. BUT don't expect to get all of that. Crude math 100Ah/6 amps * 90% = 15hrs

Hi Ralph,
My set up is somewhat different than yours because I lowered my speedster so much that the front axle blocks the starter crank so I have to
run a starter. I also have a electric fuel pump, single point ignition & incandescent lights. I went to a updraft Marvel-Schibler carburetor so the generator doesn't fit anymore. I went to 12 volt & installed a second battery carrier opposite of the original carrier to hold a second battery.
Installed two heavy duty battery disconnects on the ground side so they can be used separately or together in parallel ( 12 volts not 24 volts)
I would think with no more load than you will have you could use two small batteries maybe even riding mower batteries ( especially if you are
not using the Ford carrier ) that way you have a backup that you can switch to so you don't run them down enough to damage them & would be
much lighter than a deep-cycle battery & you can buy them @ Walmart or most any parts store. I have only run down a battery once because
the headlights where on high beam all day
Craig.

I have two non-electric cars which run on battery power. The 1912 van with True-fire ignition has a 14Amp hour 12 volt sealed motorcycle battery. This will give me a day and a half of city driving. On my 1917 shooting brake which has electric headlights with incandescent bulbs I went for a bigger battery, 18 amp hours if I remember correctly. These are put on a maintainer when the vehicles are parked I would suggest you fit the biggest battery you can find a spot for.
Allan from down under.

Thanks everyone for there knowledges. I will probably go with a small deep cycle agm battery.

You need amp-hours. Personally, I'd want reserve capacity.

Batteries usually under-perform, and they all age. No battery likes to be deep-discharged, and a larger battery helps avoid that. With no backup source of power on board and battery ignition, you'll be depending on the battery. Another issue with a small battery might be poor ignition performance as the battery depletes, especially if other loads are on line. There are some very small, deer feeder type batteries that could power the ignition for at least several hours. They are non-spill, inexpensive, lightweight, and very compact. One of these could serve as a backup to a larger, main battery.

I'm with Pat. Reserve power is a very good idea. Think of it as insurance against forgetting to put the thing on the charger some time. This is one case where bigger is better.

Allan from down under.