Wisconsinite says, "ey!"

[Weed Dog]

Greetings fellow divergent thinkers...

I'm looking to build electric mower number two. Model one used an old 1/3hp, 1750rpm, 120VAC motor from an ancient Maytag washing machine. But I burned out the motor windings by not using a 12 gauge extension cord.
Ah, well, I got the mower shell and the motor for nothing...
My neighbor saw me testing the electric mower and told his wife to stay indoors till I was done. I wire tied an AC-powered radio to the handle and listened while I mowed. Passersby were a bit confused by the melodic sound of my mower, and I witnessed more than a little bit of rubbernecking. Still, mowing was a much more edifying and entertaining exercise when I could leave the earplugs in the house.
After I finish mower number two, maybe a motorcycle, then a car...

[Daox]

Welcome to the site Weed Dog.

I too have an electric mower, but mines a rider and battery powered. You can check it out on our sister site ecorenovator.org.

I completely agree, the electric mower is very gratifying to use.

Where in Wisconsin are you?

[Weed Dog]

I live a few blocks north of Mitchell International, though my brother lives up there in "Kraut Town".

Electric Mower number two is going to be a battery powered unit, driving a 24V DC motor. Then I'll work on installing solar panels on the roof and get the mower off the grid.

I live on almost half an acre, though only about one quarter acre is grass. I'm landscaping and gardening to reduce the amount of grass, but an electric riding mower is intriguing...I recently got a 1990 vintage John Deere riding mower for nothing (It wasn't running.), and fixed it up, but realize that riding mower convenience comes at the price of high pollution. I've wondered if I could attach an Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve and/or other emission control devices...

When that neighbor who kept a safe distance during the test phase for my first electric mower saw me wheeling the riding mower out of a borrowed van, he asked me if I was going to make that one electric, too. Heh, heh, little does he know...

[Daox]

Haha, good luck with the conversion. Please keep us updated on how it turns out.

BTW, are you a member of the Milwaukee Electric Car Club? We meet every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month to help work on each other's projects. Your mower would be quite welcome there.

[Weed Dog]

Awesome, I didn't know a local club existed! I've been researching how to build an all-electric car for a couple of years now. This can really jump start that project...