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Daox · 08-26-09, 09:28 PM

I did another round of testing tonight with the new batteries.

The first test was just with two of them, so another 24V test. This confirmed the ~50A draw while mowing. It also confirmed that 24V is just not enough power to mow the lawn. The mower slowed way down and also the blades weren't spinning fast enough to cut the grass very well.

Here is the 24V setup. The new batteries are quite a bit larger (and heavier!) than my starting batteries. I used quite a bit of strapping to keep them in place just to be safe. I think Ben said they each weigh around 70 lbs.

Here you can see the size of these batteries compared to the multimeter.

After the 24V test assured me that it wasn't enough voltage, I strapped another battery to the front to do the 36V test. Yeah, the 2x4s make it look funky, but I needed to get them up so they'd clear a linkage for the mowing deck. I also kinda like the cool bayonet styling it has going on.

This test was much more successful. At first I had the mowing deck belt slip on me (mmm, burning rubber smell), but with a quick adjustment of the linkage that was fixed. The pulleys are still oversized for 36V, so this will still need to be fixed. However, at 36V the mower happily chugged along at a good speed in 1st gear mowing the grass. It was pulling 50-60A from what I could guess. The needle bounces around quite a bit unfortunately. Perhaps a digital gauge would be a better idea.

Here is the setup.

08-26-09, 09:28 PM	#84
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	I did another round of testing tonight with the new batteries. The first test was just with two of them, so another 24V test. This confirmed the ~50A draw while mowing. It also confirmed that 24V is just not enough power to mow the lawn. The mower slowed way down and also the blades weren't spinning fast enough to cut the grass very well. Here is the 24V setup. The new batteries are quite a bit larger (and heavier!) than my starting batteries. I used quite a bit of strapping to keep them in place just to be safe. I think Ben said they each weigh around 70 lbs. Here you can see the size of these batteries compared to the multimeter. After the 24V test assured me that it wasn't enough voltage, I strapped another battery to the front to do the 36V test. Yeah, the 2x4s make it look funky, but I needed to get them up so they'd clear a linkage for the mowing deck. I also kinda like the cool bayonet styling it has going on. This test was much more successful. At first I had the mowing deck belt slip on me (mmm, burning rubber smell), but with a quick adjustment of the linkage that was fixed. The pulleys are still oversized for 36V, so this will still need to be fixed. However, at 36V the mower happily chugged along at a good speed in 1st gear mowing the grass. It was pulling 50-60A from what I could guess. The needle bounces around quite a bit unfortunately. Perhaps a digital gauge would be a better idea. Here is the setup.