It works out great for me. I only cut the yellow area maybe once every other week. Its in the full sun and grows slowly. The red area is more heavily shaded and it grows much faster so I cut it about once a week.

With snow FINALLY on the way, I took last night to winterize the tractor. First, I took off the mowing deck and attached the snow blower attachment and then I put chains on the wheels. I got one shot at blowing super wet snow last year and the mower slipped like crazy without chains.

So, I'm going to see how things go. As of right now, I have nothing covered up. That means snow can get anywhere. I'll keep an eye on things as I go about blowing for the first time and see where the snow tends to build up, and then I'll make some covers to keep the snow at bay.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/ecorider129.JPG


http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/ecorider130.JPG


http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/ecorider131.JPG

Is it just the camera lens, or has the rear battery rack actually bowed under the weight of those monsters??

I'll have to double check, but I'm pretty sure its just the camera.

Chains - when the weight of four Group 31 Lead-Acid Batteries just ISN'T enough!


Sure wish I had a snowthrower on my tractor. If anyone has an ElecTrak snow-blower just kicking around, let me know!

Yeah, I think part of the problem is the old tires too. They're pretty hard rubber and don't bend well let alone bend well in cold! I even tried letting most of the pressure out last year to get more traction, it didn't help at all.

Looks pretty good there.
The 2 batteries at the rear will help balance out the tractor with the blower on it.
You will find night and day difference with the chains on and you got the good 2 link chains on there.

Good Stuff.

I got to use the blower over the weekend! It worked really good, but the conditions were pretty ideal too. We had about 5" of powdery snow. The chains worked very well. I never had an issue with traction, at least not with the rear wheels. I did find out that I can't turn while the blower is down. There simply isn't any pressure on the front wheels and they'll just plow through the snow. I think chains on the front might fix this, thoughts? In any case, its not too hard to lift up a little on the blower when I need to turn. Overall time to blow is drastically reduced compared to my walk behind blower (7hp 26" cut 2-stage John Deere), and its quite a bit more fun. And, best of all, its really quiet! This thing would never wake up the neighbors.

I am going to need to make a cover for the box where I house the chargers, contactor, etc. When I was done I had about 1/8" of snow on the batteries themselves. I don't think thats a problem at all. But, there was ~1/16" of snow on the stuff inside the box. Thats on the chargers. I didn't plug it in right away because the heat from the chargers would surely melt the snow. The chargers that are in the back of the mower (under the seat) were completely clear of snow and those were the ones I was more worried about initially.

I also ran into a problem with the tractor itself. When I got it from the previous owner, he said it had transmission issues. I never had any problems with it, until now. As of now its stuck in gear. I can shift, but it doesn't get me out of gear. So, until I get that fixed the tractor is parked.

I have pictures and even a video that I'll post up soon.

Moon Disks! Wow, you EcoModders never rest! ;)

Tim

What exactly do you have for a tractor, the gas version? Simplicity 728?
Do you know what transmission you have in it?