EcoRider - riding lawn mower electric conversion - Page 24

Daox · 02-06-11, 08:13 AM

Welcome to the site Ewok.

The mower pulls about 60-100 amps while cutting depending on the thickness of the grass. Its normally around 70A though.

Sounds like you have the right stuff to start a project.

Daox · 03-06-11, 07:27 PM

Its done! Just in time for the end of winter.

I'm sure we'll still get a snow or two in. I hope to get to test it out yet this year, haha.

I did spin it up in the garage just to test it out. The blower attachment is quite noisy and spins quite a bit faster than I thought it would.

RobertSmalls · 03-06-11, 07:47 PM

Haha, that is one sweet looking ride. I hope it snows on you so we can hear how well it works.

03-06-11, 08:44 PM

How much quieter is it than a gas powered snow blower?

Daox · 03-07-11, 08:07 AM

We'll have to wait and see. I really need to grease the blower. Who knows how long its been since that was done last. Also, I don't think it'll be very loud at all once its loaded with snow in the chute. I'll try to get video if I can when it snows and perhaps just of it running idle so you guys can get an idea of how loud it is.

Its very exciting being done with the project functionality wise. Now all thats left is to take care of a few issues (leaky front tire), clean it up, and hopefully make it look a bit prettier.

Daox · 03-09-11, 03:22 PM

Good news this morning. I woke up to roughly 3" of thick heavy/wet snow. This'll be a good test to see what the blower can do! Hopefully it hasn't melted too much by the time I get home tonight.

This is by far the most excited I've ever been to actually go clean up the driveway...

Daox · 03-09-11, 06:21 PM

Well, it didn't work out so great for a couple reasons. First off, slush is slippery! I definitely am going to need to get some chains because I was slipping and getting stuck like crazy. Second, it kept pushing the snow until it finally gave and pushed a huge clump of packed snow into the blower which then plugged it up. Again due to the wet snow. So, like most blowers it doesn't like the slushy snow. However, if I had chains, I would have at least been able to blow in 1st gear. However, without being in a higher gear I couldn't keep up momentum and would get stuck. So, I best find some chains.

Daox · 04-28-11, 09:14 AM

Well, summer is rolling around as is Earth Day and I told Ben Nelson that I would show off the EcoRider at his alternative vehicles show in his town that he is putting together. This means working on the tractor sooner than I thought. So, last night I started pulling it apart in efforts to clean it up. It could use some paint (the racks are still bare metal), I need to put the mowing deck back on, and the wiring needs to be cleaned up/tied down properly.

I'm open to suggestions on paint. I'm currently thinking I'll probably do the battery racks in black or orange, maybe white. That matches the mower's current paint scheme and I'm not about to repaint the entire thing at this point in time.

Daox · 04-30-11, 10:08 PM

Well, the marathon of work is done! The show is tomorrow morning and the mower is ready to be shown off. I put in probably 12 hours just today working on it, but some of this work was done during the week too.

First, I got the battery racks painted up.

I mounted the two chargers for the rear batteries to the sides of the racks under the seat. This gets them out of the front box and cleans things up a lot. At first I didn't like the idea because I want to be able to see the status of the chargers (theres an LED on them), but I like it now and its easy enough to poke your head down there to see. The chargers are held on with zip ties and I put some of that rubber grip mat between them and the rack to dampen vibration.

I mounted the two remaining chargers in the box. I also mounted the contactor and shunt. Previously, they were just sitting in there. And, to clean things up and make it easier to view, I color coded the wires, green is the contactor power, red is the gauges, and the big cable is power for the motor.

To finish things off, I soldered all the charger wires together and ran them to a nice plug in.

I also had to fix my front right tire as it leaked air and would be flat in a couple hours. I just put an inner tube in it and wow was that a pain! I'm not sure if its because the tire is so old and semi-dry rotted or what, but it would not work with me at all.

Its now sitting for the night on the chargers. Too bad I didn't finish a bit earlier today or I would have cut some grass, its starting to get long enough to cut.

rhino 660 · 05-01-11, 11:23 AM

neat project i would like to do this ill start gathering parts what was the build cost with the parts that are now on it

02-06-11, 08:13 AM	#231
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Welcome to the site Ewok. The mower pulls about 60-100 amps while cutting depending on the thickness of the grass. Its normally around 70A though. Sounds like you have the right stuff to start a 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.

03-06-11, 07:27 PM	#232
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Its done! Just in time for the end of winter. I'm sure we'll still get a snow or two in. I hope to get to test it out yet this year, haha. I did spin it up in the garage just to test it out. The blower attachment is quite noisy and spins quite a bit faster than I thought it would. __________________ 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.

03-07-11, 08:07 AM	#235
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	We'll have to wait and see. I really need to grease the blower. Who knows how long its been since that was done last. Also, I don't think it'll be very loud at all once its loaded with snow in the chute. I'll try to get video if I can when it snows and perhaps just of it running idle so you guys can get an idea of how loud it is. Its very exciting being done with the project functionality wise. Now all thats left is to take care of a few issues (leaky front tire), clean it up, and hopefully make it look a bit prettier. __________________ 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.

03-09-11, 03:22 PM	#236
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Good news this morning. I woke up to roughly 3" of thick heavy/wet snow. This'll be a good test to see what the blower can do! Hopefully it hasn't melted too much by the time I get home tonight. This is by far the most excited I've ever been to actually go clean up the driveway... __________________ 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.

03-09-11, 06:21 PM	#237
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Well, it didn't work out so great for a couple reasons. First off, slush is slippery! I definitely am going to need to get some chains because I was slipping and getting stuck like crazy. Second, it kept pushing the snow until it finally gave and pushed a huge clump of packed snow into the blower which then plugged it up. Again due to the wet snow. So, like most blowers it doesn't like the slushy snow. However, if I had chains, I would have at least been able to blow in 1st gear. However, without being in a higher gear I couldn't keep up momentum and would get stuck. So, I best find some chains. __________________ 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.

03-06-11, 07:47 PM	#233
RobertSmalls Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 344 Thanks: 3 Thanked 17 Times in 15 Posts	Haha, that is one sweet looking ride. I hope it snows on you so we can hear how well it works.

03-06-11, 08:44 PM	#234
Angmaar Guest Posts: n/a	How much quieter is it than a gas powered snow blower?

04-28-11, 09:14 AM	#238
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Well, summer is rolling around as is Earth Day and I told Ben Nelson that I would show off the EcoRider at his alternative vehicles show in his town that he is putting together. This means working on the tractor sooner than I thought. So, last night I started pulling it apart in efforts to clean it up. It could use some paint (the racks are still bare metal), I need to put the mowing deck back on, and the wiring needs to be cleaned up/tied down properly. I'm open to suggestions on paint. I'm currently thinking I'll probably do the battery racks in black or orange, maybe white. That matches the mower's current paint scheme and I'm not about to repaint the entire thing at this point in time. __________________ 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.

04-30-11, 10:08 PM	#239
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Well, the marathon of work is done! The show is tomorrow morning and the mower is ready to be shown off. I put in probably 12 hours just today working on it, but some of this work was done during the week too. First, I got the battery racks painted up. I mounted the two chargers for the rear batteries to the sides of the racks under the seat. This gets them out of the front box and cleans things up a lot. At first I didn't like the idea because I want to be able to see the status of the chargers (theres an LED on them), but I like it now and its easy enough to poke your head down there to see. The chargers are held on with zip ties and I put some of that rubber grip mat between them and the rack to dampen vibration. I mounted the two remaining chargers in the box. I also mounted the contactor and shunt. Previously, they were just sitting in there. And, to clean things up and make it easier to view, I color coded the wires, green is the contactor power, red is the gauges, and the big cable is power for the motor. To finish things off, I soldered all the charger wires together and ran them to a nice plug in. I also had to fix my front right tire as it leaked air and would be flat in a couple hours. I just put an inner tube in it and wow was that a pain! I'm not sure if its because the tire is so old and semi-dry rotted or what, but it would not work with me at all. Its now sitting for the night on the chargers. Too bad I didn't finish a bit earlier today or I would have cut some grass, its starting to get long enough to cut. __________________ 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.

05-01-11, 11:23 AM	#240
rhino 660 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 105 Thanks: 0 Thanked 10 Times in 8 Posts	neat project i would like to do this ill start gathering parts what was the build cost with the parts that are now on it