Ben's Elec-Trak
 

A few weeks ago, I was a big depressed about using my electric car to go buy gas for my gasoline lawn mower.

Well, all that is going to be a thing of the past. As part of my New Year's Resolution, I decided I was going to get off Oil - that includes for mowing my lawn.

Today, I got an e-mail from out of the blue from a guy asking if I want to buy one of his Elec-Traks!

Heck ya!
I drove over to his house to check it out. It's the E10 model, which is the smaller one, with the central-mounted mower deck.

He also has the larger model for his own use.
We used the big Elec-Trak to pull the little one out of the barn. (It has no batteries, and doesn't roll well since there is a tree branch growing through it!)

After placing two planks from the ground to the tailgate of my pickup truck, we then pushed the E10 right on up with the bigger tractor! What Fun!

My little tractor is going to need some tender loving care, including a bit of welding to repair the rusted out back end, some new tires, batteries, but then should be ready to mow my lawn fossil-fuel-free!

http://gallery.me.com/benhdvideoguy/...12469231950001
http://gallery.me.com/benhdvideoguy/...12469232230001
http://gallery.me.com/benhdvideoguy/...12469232140001

Couple more photos at:
MobileMe Gallery

AWESOMMMMMMMMMMMME! :D Can't wait to see and work on it.

It really doesn't look too bad (from the outside).

That looks like a Sumac branch... I have plenty of those!

Oh - nice tractor, too LOL.

I knew they existed, but I've never seen one. I'm actually thinking about building an electric riding lawnmower, just for kicks.. I have a reel mower, so I don't really need anything else for personal use, but I love big toys!

I just got the tree branch out.
I only had to remove the rear axle to do it!
(And NO, I couldn't just stick a saw in there)

I need to pester my dad to get his two working, there are some used T105 batteries sitting around on the charger even.
They look to be fun mowers, I haven't looked really deep in to them yet to see how they work.

I was able to tinker with the mower a bit.

The good news is that the blade motors work.

The bad news is that the drive motor doesn't. It's pretty corroded. Looks like it will need to be rebuilt.

It's very icky - must have been parked in the rain too many times.

Ben, you are sooooo lucky! I missed a model 15 on craigs list last week. He was asking $450 I Think (without any batteries) but it was sold when I called. I did some research on these and they were talking 2 hours of mow time on a single charge. They only made them for a few years and then sold the rights to make them to Wheel Horse who only made them a few more years. They were just ahead of their time and cost a little too much compared to a cheap gas guzzeler. Good luck with fixing it up, I know you can do it!

Hondo

I missed buying a Model 15 about a month ago - somebody else swooped in and paid cash sight-unseen and stole it out from under me!

I think the bigger tractor that the seller had was a model 15 - it was a very nice tractor - it pushed my tractor right up the ramps into the back of my truck!

I was able to get at the drive motor. It sits in the bottom of an interior compartment of the tractor, which means it sits in the water when it rains.
The wires going to the motor are all corroded. One power connection snapped right off when I was shifting the motor.

It appears to be a permanent magnet motor - about 4.5 inches diameter and 10 inches long. It feels like a bearing is shot. Looks rusted inside. I think it is going to need a complete rebuild. (Which is still WAY easier/cheaper than rebuilding an engine!)

Here is the motor unbolted from the pulley.
http://gallery.me.com/benhdvideoguy/...12470037530001

The red cable snapped right of just after I took this photo.
http://gallery.me.com/benhdvideoguy/...12470037800001

Needs some work....
http://gallery.me.com/benhdvideoguy/...12470038330001
It actually doesn't look too bad in this photo, but the rotor won't spin right, and it sounds like the brushes are scraping.

I never knew these existed!

For those of you who are interested, there are about 10 or so of these listed at EV Photo Album: Our Electric Cars on the Web. Do a search by make and you will find a section on tractors & mowers.

Hondo