EcoRider - riding lawn mower electric conversion - Page 12

beem0 · 09-24-09, 07:36 AM

Any more progress on your tractor? The grass isn't growing much now, but I have a plow I'm going to put on for fall/winter task. I think it will work great, but we will see how the bats perform in the cooler weather.....

Daox · 09-24-09, 08:18 AM

Not much lately. I've just been calling around to get prices on batteries.

Christ · 09-24-09, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

Not much lately. I've just been calling around to get prices on batteries.

I've been wondering about the colder weather thing, as well... My father has a few spare tractors and we've got 3-5 HP 110AC motors that we could use for a conversion, I just wonder how the batteries would fare in the cold weather, and if we'd need to store it indoors.

I just assumed that it wouldn't need to be stored indoors as long as it was left on a trickle (1 amp motor cycle charger) while not in use.

Daox · 09-24-09, 01:34 PM

Well, I just ordered the batteries! I ended up going with three 150Ah group 31 size 12V. This should give me a fair amount of capacity and were pretty reasonably priced at $94 each.

beem0 · 10-04-09, 07:58 PM

Wow, 150Ah! You should get some good run time! Which brand? I'd be interested in knowing more about them.

Daox · 10-05-09, 08:38 AM

Thats exactly what I thought when his secretary said 150Ah. I had to speak with him directly to verify. This weekend I talked with one of the more battery wise members of the local EV club and he explained things to me. What happens is they can use more plates in the battery to get the amp hours up. However, this means that the plates must be made thinner. This effectively shortens the overall battery life (how many cycles you get out of them). He suggested that since I went with these batteries that I really try hard to not bring them down below 50% DOD to maintain long battery life. He had suggested Trojan T1275s to begin with since they use a much thicker plate and they can hold up to more cycles. However, those batteries cost upwards of $180 and I wasn't willing to dump $540 in batteries on my first EV project.

I also haven't heard anything from the battery supplier. I'll be giving them a call today to see what the status of the batteries is. I returned Ben Nelson's gel cells this weekend, so I have nothing to run the mower with at the moment. I'd really love to get the battery racks made and get everything bolted down so I can finish up this project.

davidbr13 · 10-12-09, 06:31 PM

Yes!!! Been a while since I posted, but I had to brag on this...

Took my restored E15 Elec-Trak for its first drive, today! Took a couple laps around the back yard before parking it in the trailer. I couldn't believe how little current it used. D1 only used 20-30 amps at max. throttle depending on terrain, and D2 only used 30-40. Now kicking in the field weakening really caused a surge (up to 100 amps) briefly, and a HUGE surge in speed! Good thing it is a smooth adjustable resistance. I don't think I'll be using it that much - D2 at full throttle is just fine (about the same as 4th gear on my old Dynamark)!

Don't know how much total energy it will use, I bet it takes more than 2.5 cents per mow, but it still WAY better than the old ICE mower.

I was impressed that it stopped well even without using the brake, and maintained a nice steady speed even going downhill. It behaves a lot like the ICE tractor did in this manner. Guess that's typical for a shunt wound motor.

Now I have the space in the garage to work on the caster arrangments for the deck, which is all that is left to do before I can mow...WITHOUT hearing protection! The biggest adjustment is going to be the front mounted deck. When I sat on the tractor it finally hit home how much bigger this is than the old ICE mower. To top it off, the deck will be about 6 feet in front of me.

I put together an online restoration diary to document all this, since it might help somebody. The address is:

http://www.davesevs.com/E15restoration/E15 home page.htm

It isn't linked from my main EV page or home page yet, so if you go there, you have to use the back button to get back to it. And it isn't complete, but it is done up to installation of the hood, and that was only a week ago. I'll get the rest up in a few days.

(...and this time it is in regular HTML format )

Daox · 10-20-09, 02:52 PM

The batteries finally came in. Apparently they're not a common item this time of year or something. Anyway, my wife picked them up yesterday morning and they are sitting in the garage now. I would really love to get them hooked up, but I don't really see that happening with the work that needs to be done before the in laws get here this weekend to do work on the garage. We'll see though. I would love to make the last cut of the lawn this year with the mower!

Daox · 10-21-09, 06:45 PM

As stated, I'm not going to get to work on the mower until sometime next week. So, I figured I'd at least get a shot of the batteries for ya. They are monsters.

Daox · 10-30-09, 07:45 AM

I took a little time this morning and made an EValbum page for the mower.

This weekend I'm hoping to be able to make the battery racks for it. The in laws took back the push mower of theirs we were using for the past year when they came down to do the garage work. I still need to get the grass cut at least once more this year because it is looooooong.

09-24-09, 08:18 AM	#112
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Not much lately. I've just been calling around to get prices on batteries. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

09-24-09, 01:34 PM	#114
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Well, I just ordered the batteries! I ended up going with three 150Ah group 31 size 12V. This should give me a fair amount of capacity and were pretty reasonably priced at $94 each. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by Daox; 09-24-09 at 01:38 PM..

10-05-09, 08:38 AM	#116
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Thats exactly what I thought when his secretary said 150Ah. I had to speak with him directly to verify. This weekend I talked with one of the more battery wise members of the local EV club and he explained things to me. What happens is they can use more plates in the battery to get the amp hours up. However, this means that the plates must be made thinner. This effectively shortens the overall battery life (how many cycles you get out of them). He suggested that since I went with these batteries that I really try hard to not bring them down below 50% DOD to maintain long battery life. He had suggested Trojan T1275s to begin with since they use a much thicker plate and they can hold up to more cycles. However, those batteries cost upwards of $180 and I wasn't willing to dump $540 in batteries on my first EV project. I also haven't heard anything from the battery supplier. I'll be giving them a call today to see what the status of the batteries is. I returned Ben Nelson's gel cells this weekend, so I have nothing to run the mower with at the moment. I'd really love to get the battery racks made and get everything bolted down so I can finish up this project. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by Daox; 10-05-09 at 08:41 AM..

10-20-09, 02:52 PM	#118
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	The batteries finally came in. Apparently they're not a common item this time of year or something. Anyway, my wife picked them up yesterday morning and they are sitting in the garage now. I would really love to get them hooked up, but I don't really see that happening with the work that needs to be done before the in laws get here this weekend to do work on the garage. We'll see though. I would love to make the last cut of the lawn this year with the mower! __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-21-09, 06:45 PM	#119
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	As stated, I'm not going to get to work on the mower until sometime next week. So, I figured I'd at least get a shot of the batteries for ya. They are monsters. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

09-24-09, 07:36 AM	#111
beem0 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Any more progress on your tractor? The grass isn't growing much now, but I have a plow I'm going to put on for fall/winter task. I think it will work great, but we will see how the bats perform in the cooler weather.....

10-04-09, 07:58 PM	#115
beem0 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Wow, 150Ah! You should get some good run time! Which brand? I'd be interested in knowing more about them.

10-12-09, 06:31 PM	#117
davidbr13 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Yes!!! Been a while since I posted, but I had to brag on this... Took my restored E15 Elec-Trak for its first drive, today! Took a couple laps around the back yard before parking it in the trailer. I couldn't believe how little current it used. D1 only used 20-30 amps at max. throttle depending on terrain, and D2 only used 30-40. Now kicking in the field weakening really caused a surge (up to 100 amps) briefly, and a HUGE surge in speed! Good thing it is a smooth adjustable resistance. I don't think I'll be using it that much - D2 at full throttle is just fine (about the same as 4th gear on my old Dynamark)! Don't know how much total energy it will use, I bet it takes more than 2.5 cents per mow, but it still WAY better than the old ICE mower. I was impressed that it stopped well even without using the brake, and maintained a nice steady speed even going downhill. It behaves a lot like the ICE tractor did in this manner. Guess that's typical for a shunt wound motor. Now I have the space in the garage to work on the caster arrangments for the deck, which is all that is left to do before I can mow...WITHOUT hearing protection! The biggest adjustment is going to be the front mounted deck. When I sat on the tractor it finally hit home how much bigger this is than the old ICE mower. To top it off, the deck will be about 6 feet in front of me. I put together an online restoration diary to document all this, since it might help somebody. The address is: http://www.davesevs.com/E15restoration/E15 home page.htm It isn't linked from my main EV page or home page yet, so if you go there, you have to use the back button to get back to it. And it isn't complete, but it is done up to installation of the hood, and that was only a week ago. I'll get the rest up in a few days. (...and this time it is in regular HTML format )

10-30-09, 07:45 AM	#120
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	I took a little time this morning and made an EValbum page for the mower. This weekend I'm hoping to be able to make the battery racks for it. The in laws took back the push mower of theirs we were using for the past year when they came down to do the garage work. I still need to get the grass cut at least once more this year because it is looooooong. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by Daox; 10-31-09 at 06:45 PM..