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Old 10-17-08, 01:44 PM   #1
cmittle
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Default DIY electric lawnmower

I currently have two push lawn mowers. One I picked up on the curb during spring cleaning and got a few years use out of at my last place, and the other is quite a bit newer and was sitting in my moms barn for awhile not being used since she got a rider.

I came across some places on the internet awhile ago that have pretty good walk throughs on how to convert them to cordless electric.
These are the three that I've found usefull;
1. This site does a very good job of presenting the information in a step by step format.
2. This site does a good job of doing that as well but has all of the information on one page.
3. This site has very similar information but not quite as easy to follow from step to step. (I also envy them for being able to find that motor)
All three of these sites have a lot of valuable information.

I hope to do this by early spring of next year. I've already pulled the motor off of the older one and welded up a couple of spots that needed repair. I also ground most of the outside surface down and spray painted it as most of it had a light coat of rust. I will be getting the wheels and hardware put back on it this weekend, and will keep my eyes open on ebay for awhile for some 12VDC motors. I plan on purchasing a motor from grainger or mcmaster if I don't have one by ~Feb-March next year.

Initially I will probably charge the battery(ies) with a charger plugged into an outlet, but after I get it working I would also like to purchase some small solar panels that would be capable of charging it within 3 or 4 days. By the end of next summer my plan is to have my lawn mowing operation carbon free.

I just wanted to post this to share the links to the 3 build sites that I've found with others. Hopefully someone will find them useful.

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Old 10-17-08, 01:54 PM   #2
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Great! I look forward to seeing progress on this. Be sure to keep us updated.
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Old 10-17-08, 04:20 PM   #3
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Super excited about this project, been wanting to do one like it for a while now,

Keep us updated!
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Old 10-18-08, 05:04 PM   #4
cmittle
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I'll post a couple pictures of my progress so far. Does anybody know where I might be able to purchase one of those adjustable wheel mechanisms? When I picked up the lawnmower it had a bolt through the fourth wheel.


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Old 10-28-08, 09:54 AM   #5
Doofus McFancypants
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Excellent ! i just was thinking about a simuar thing.

I shall be watching

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Old 11-10-11, 03:56 PM   #6
wogga
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highly recommend you pursue reviving the many dead and dying rechargeable mowers available on craigslist or short money before you do this conversion. Ouch - lots of money and time to convert and you still end up buying a new 28 amp hour battery!

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