Quote:
Originally Posted by Travis
How does the electric conversion compare to the original tractor, in terms of reliability and cost to operate?
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ET2 is not 1yr old yet, the main reason I did this conversion was to try to make a more useful tractor than my 1st one. Last winter it did all the snow plowing except for the first snow fall and it did just as good a job as the 67 MF12Hydra that I have. After I fixed the foot throttle wiring plug it has not failed or let me down, that being said I am still testing it with different attachments to see what it can and can't do. One problem that is still there is belt slippage, this can be seen in the power test Video I have of it, I think a stronger spring will go a long way to solve that problem. The slippage shows up under max power, heavy load in 4th gear only.
As far as cost to put it together, it's probably more than buying a good working used tractor just like it. Cost to operate, that depends on how long the batteries last, the ones I have are $100. or so each. I think if you take care of the batteries, keep them fully charged and not let them sit on a low charge you will get max life out of them.