12HP petrol Lawn Tractor conversion to 36VDC electric

[jackpreacher]

..a shorter grass cutting season is a blessing to some [ahem...] but I think you're right Jim, feed prices are going to stay high, as my farmer neighbour reminds me. He had a tough job with excessively boggy fields right up to the middle of May to such an extent he had to dig new drainage trench/pipes just to get mobile on them.......mind you, when the sun comes out there'll be summat else to have a whinge at

[jackpreacher]

I have just bought me a Westwood t1600 I think it's a good mower!

It's an excellent mower - and pretty good on fuel. How do you load it on your Transit?

[Wee Jim]

It's an excellent mower - and pretty good on fuel. How do you load it on your Transit?

I pull it on my flatbed ifor Williams trailer. I just drive it up ramps. Same way I move the digger too!

[jackpreacher]

...still waiting for the pulley to come back from the machinists.....



I'm not usually this slow....honest.........

[Wee Jim]

I stand corrected mine is a T1800 mower!

[jackpreacher]

..that's 200 more than mine....

...must be faster...

[Wee Jim]

..that's 200 more than mine....

...must be faster...

its a 42 inch cut but the collector is no bigger than my last one mower which was a 36 inch cut!!

[jackpreacher]

Got a call from the machine shop this am.........the pulley and electric motor are now mates- pick 'em up on Thursday, which means I can get on with the conversion..

[jackpreacher]

The Bill

Ok......the cost of the new pulley..............bear in mind it is completely bespoke and includes a machine set-up fee to machine out an internal keyway..



...ready for this....?


£480 including FAT......




Yeah......me too.......in shock......

The estimate was closer to half that.


After crying for an hour we figured the fuel savings for a year should pay for the over price....fuel has gone up tremendously in the UK/Eire...'tis crippling. What it must be like for plant/transport professionals I have no idea...


Anyway, the electric tractor should be a reality by next weekend.....and thank God for that as the petrol Westwood mower was playing up last Friday.

TBC

[Wazza]

Wow , you could have bought an old lathe and knocked one up yourself cheaper ..

[jackpreacher]

Wow , you could have bought an old lathe and knocked one up yourself cheaper ..

I know...I know.......

[jackpreacher]

Halfway through fitting out

Cutting out the chassis to make way for the batteries.jpg
Firstly, making 4 large deep cycle batteries fit onto a small chassis involves open brain surgery on the ex-fuel compartment. 2 batteries just about squeeze into where the fuel tank used to be..


Two 12V deep cycle Trojan Batteries should fit here.jpg
...the steering rod slips in between the batteries but the smaller gear linkage is offset from the centre line so that pushes the battery forward by 3".

The motor is bolted to the chassis.jpg
The motor was simple to bolt to the chassis as there were 4 threaded holes on the motor housing that were used to bolt the motor to the forklift truck where it was previously resident.

The costly pulley attached to the motor shaft.jpg
This is the underside of the mower showing the shiny new pulley that was fabricated to mate with the motor...at vast expense.

The 48V contactor bolted underneath the battery tray.jpg
The 48V contactor simply bolts to the chassis underneath the battery tray.


TBC NEXT MONDAY

[jackpreacher]

All batteries, contactor, cables and battery charger arrived this week.
Total so far: £1012.28
I will start engineering the motor bracket next week.

TBC

Total so far: £1500.
There was no motor bracket required after all - that must have saved a tenner...

Any one any idea how much a production electric mower costs? I know they're availabubble in the US but in the UK I haven't found any.......maybe it's all in the searching...............STOCK........???

[B4D2USA]

Total so far: £1500.
There was no motor bracket required after all - that must have saved a tenner...

Any one any idea how much a production electric mower costs? I know they're availabubble in the US but in the UK I haven't found any.......maybe it's all in the searching...............STOCK........???

Here you go mate. http://www.amazon.com/Recharge-G2-RM...ng++lawn+mower I'm betting the shipping and handling would be a deal breaker from the USA to you.

[jackpreacher]

Here you go mate. http://www.amazon.com/Recharge-G2-RM...ng++lawn+mower I'm betting the shipping and handling would be a deal breaker from the USA to you.

Thanks Bruce....and yeah, I agree, the shipping would be astronomical, unless I flew over there and drove it back.............what?

Looking at a new Apple Mac Mini today and the US price is $600.00 for the base model. In the UK it's £500.00. Are things just generally cheaper over there?