E27N 6v Battery set up

[Stevo]

Hi Everyone,
Does anyone out there have an idea of the type or stock number for the six volt batteries used on E27N's. I have seen some 6v Batteries but all look to short for the carrier, I want to do away with the single 12v setup and return Milton to original. I also have a parts list picture for the battery carrier top covers but would love to see a couple of close up photos of an original to aid in reproducing them.

Regards,
Stevo

[Aussie Frank]

Hi Stevo,

I have been on the exide web site and they have some larger 6 volt batteries. http://www.exide.com.au/products/specifications.php Battery code 26B looks like it is the right size, but I can't say for sure as I would have to drag my battery carier out of the shed to measure it.

Regards, Frank.

[Stevo]

Hi Frank,
Thanks mate, I'll give them ago. How's Marion progressing?

Regards,

Steve

[BarryM]

Stevo,

The correct size for a 6 volt P6 battery is:-

Length 360mm. Width 121mm. Height 318mm.
6 Volt 21 Plate 174 Amps.

Both Batteries weren't the same, there was a Left Hand & Right Hand battery. The reason given for the odd shape, is that they were originally submarine batteries. Obviously after WW2, there were alot of these batteries still in their dry state.

Marshall Batteries made a pair to suit the P6, they were called 'Piers' (LH Battery) & 'Pylon' (RH Battery). These also sat in a steel case. The other alternative is use the battery carriers from a Perkins L4 Conversion. These were wider and took a standard battery.

[Aussie Frank]

Hi Barry,

So it looks like Marshall batteries are the go then. I probably got tricked because I thought the P6 and L4 battery cariers were the same. I will need some batteries for my P6 crawler some time in the future so it is good to know what size to get. My P6 is a bitsa and she has a standard 12 volt battery in the normal petrol kero carier, an extra dash panel with the oil pressure gauge, stop cable and heater switch bolted underneath. I have no intention of trying to pretend that she was ever a factory or real conversion as I know the history of the tractor and she still has some work to do before I put her into retirement.

Stevo,

Marion (my P6 E27N bitsa) is doing great. She was a mongrel to start last weekend. Must have been because she hasn't had any work for a couple of months since I dug up the back yard and pulled out the fig tree. The cheap Chinese back hoe doesn't load her up enough for a decent work out, but she loved pulling out the tree. I am currently going for my heavy vehicle licence so that I can take her to all the places that need a tractor to do some work. The list is growing every day. We could use a truck at work and we have spent enough money on truck hire in the last 12 months to buy one so I figure maybe since I am one of the directors we could buy one and I could borrow it on the weekend for a bit of tractor transport. Well nice in theory but I suspect I will be the one buying the truck. I don't mind either way, I still enjoy getting out and firing the old girl up and doing a days work on the tractor more than anything. It must be the country boy in me.

Regards, Frank.

[Stevo]

Hi Barry,
Submarine Battery's I guess that explains why Milton cruised through a flooded creek I drove through a couple of months ago It'll be interesting to see if Marshall can still supply these. Do you know if the steel case had a bottom? or just sat around the batteries secured with the top covers. I've never see a P6 with the complete set up. I've gone to great pains with originality so I'll try for that look. Its taken Literally years to acquire all the bits and pieces particulary in regard to Tacho, Headlights, instrument buttons, Temp guage, tail light etc.etc. Apart from a horn (which come up fairly regularly on ebay) and the correct generator to suite the Tacho, I think I've just about got it by the short and curley's. Thanks for the info.
Regards,
Steve


Hi Frank,
Glad Marions going well, know what you mean with lack of work, Miltons the same, very smokey, hasn't done anything but idle and short runs in the last six years. I find it a bit annoying that I've done all this work but can't take him to any shows as I also don't have Transport, (you need to reinforce to the board the desperate need for a Company Truck) however once I get a new rear tyre I intend getting concessional rego and driving him to the closer events. We also have a Tractor trek up here annually which leaves Ipswich and you spend the day following the old Cobb and Co stage coach road through the bush, I haven't been to one yet but I'm told theres lots of rare vintage tractors and everyone has a pretty good day.

Take Care,
Steve

[Aussie Frank]

Hi Stevo,

I managed to pass the heavy vehicle driving test, so just a fiendly warning if you are going any where near Lightning Ridge in the next month or so take care, you might meet me in a truck Not a super hard thing to pass, but the stress levels were through the roof because I left everything to the last minute. A sane man would make sure that he was able to pick up a crawler that is nearly 1400 km away before he bought it. Not me though. Lucky my wife is overseas with her sisters at the moment. She never did have a high opinion of truck drivers. Perfect timing though, she will be in a great mood after being with her sisters and she always knew I was mad anyway. That gives me 5 days to buy the truck. Well not realy as she knows all about it anyway, but it is very exciting for me to be finally able to do some of those jobs I have wanted to. Pitty you are not closer to me, I would be more than happy to throw both Milton and Marion on the back of a truck to take them to a show or two. You never know you might end up with yet another crawler

Regards, Frank.

[Stevo]

hi Frank,
Congrats on obtaining your License, mine cost me a six pack about 20 yrs ago when I was in the Army, very handy to have. Nice timing though with the Minister for War and Finance away I don't think I would have given a thought to getting it home either, especially a crawler (I'm jealous as hell), come to think of it when I bought Milton along with another P6 for parts it was a rush trying to find someone with a tilt tray willing to go out into the Bush and collect them for me as the seller wanted them gone asap:oops: On the 18 July I'm of to Biloela for the annual Old Wheels in motion Rally. I don't know what condition your Crawler is in but if you'd like some specific photos of any areas I'm sure there will be one there (there was last year) I'd be happy to take some close ups of any bits and email them on if you'd like. Yes It would be great to take them both to a show, it would be interesting to put a P6 up against the always present MF set in a tractor pull, I'm sure that would shut them and thier toys up for a while .
Take Care
Steve

[Aussie Frank]

Hi Stevo,

My crawler is missing the engine. It has the radiator and fuel tank, not attached of course and it was originally a P6. So I guess some photos of the front would be useful especially any bits that hold the front of the tracks to the engine if there are any. One of my driving instructers also has a good collection of Fordsons, even a P6 half track conversion. He even has a spare engine he might let go so someone must be smiling on me.

Funny thing about the tractor pulls down this way is there is usually only one MF around and that is the little grey one with the grader blade on it to level the track. The P6s usually put up a good show but most times it is the KL Bulldogs that win in the end of the day. Thats in the lower Hp class anyway. The Chamberlains always eat up the rest of the competition in the high Hp class. The first tractor pull I went to I saw a P6 do a full pull with seven tons and it made it look so easy. I can't remember but I think he finally got beaten by a KL Bulldog, but it was close.

Have fun at the show, I wish I had more free time to go to some of the shows that have been on down this way, I only seem to manage one a year.

Regards, Frank.

[Eric Schulz]

Getting new batties for your P6 would be impossible. There were no other products that used these odd-sized batteries. As Barry M said, Marshall did make them - emphasis on “did”. As there are only a few eccentrics like use using these funny old tractors, no one is going to produce batteries for them in such small numbers.

Aussie Frank, you must be very young if you don’t know what P6 batteries look like!!

About the only way I have worked out for getting an authentic replacement is to make it yourself. Either find - shouldn’t be hard! - P6 battery cases or make your own. As far I can see, it should be possible to fit Optima batteries in such a narrow case. These are expensive, but then again, P6 batteries always were. Look at www.optimabatteries.com.au

Eric

[Stevo]

Hi Eric,
Thanks for your input, you've obviously done this excersize. I don't suppose you know where I could locate cases? or would you email me a photo of them? These are certainly interesting Machines what with headlight lens from search lights and submarine batteries, what ever next?

Regards,
Stevo

PS - Don't start calling Frank young I'm sure the grin on his face from obtaing his Crawler is big enough as it is

[Aussie Frank]

Hi Eric,

OK I am younger than my tractor but not by that much. We had lots of Petrol Kero E27Ns around but not many P6s when I was young. When I was working on the farm, the thought of batteries on a Fordson, my father would have said, "what do you want that for? You have a strong right arm don't you!" The only tractor that had batteries was that nasty MF thing, and I suppose my father had a point, the batteries were always going flat at the most inconvenient time. it was then that the Fordson was started to pull start the Fergy. I should have never rebuilt the motor in the Fergy, it was only after my father realised that he didn't need the Fordson to tow start the Fergy that he sold it on me. As for nowadays all the P6s I have seen since have had all sorts of weird and wonderfull batteries on various planks and other things wired, strapped or roped on. So you are right I have never seen a real P6 battery pack. Even the one owner original that I saw in Horsham had no batteries on it. I realy would like to see a real set now given their unusual size etc.. Sounds almost like they were made out of three 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" cells wired together in a metal box.

Regards, Frank.

Hey Stevo, I don't mind being called young, and you are right I do have a grin from ear to ear. Don't worry the young bit won't be permanent my two grand sons will soon sort that out, but I am sure the grin will stay.