Electric Riding Lawn Mower

Hayes said:
So do you think the non-controller method is causing you battery woes?? Sounds like a real dollar winner for this project..

Alex:
Could very well be. I do know that my batteries are very weak and I am going to use brand new better quality wiring when my controller gets here, just for now, everything is in the testing stage.

Hayes Said: Intersted to know where you would spend 200 dollars on batteries and your thoughts on the 24 volt Lift Truck motor

Alex:
24 volt lift truck motor (depending on model) is probably much more substantial than a club car motor. Golf carts weigh 600-1000 lbs. Fork lifts weigh 2400 lbs and up. As long as you can attain 3500-4000 R.P.M.s, it should do fine. For a 24 volt system you could easilly buy two good quality deep cycle batteries for yours with that amount of money. Depending on availiability, You may want to consider four, six volt batteries. Plenty of room to store them, better performance (from what I have read here) and longer run time. Check out the battery threads here and you can get a better picture than what I can portray.

DIYguy said:

I haven't got into this yet...but I would like to do the same perhaps this winter. I think the system from a golf cart would be perfect. Motor, controller, contactor, pot etc.

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I just finished a conversion of an older Cub Cadet, The cub may not be one of the easiest tractor to convert, but when you are done you will have something that will last.

The one I did may have been over 40 years old and right now it runs and drives better then my one year old Husky. There are a wealth of parts and information available for the Cubs because of their toughness and the fact that they are one of the few tractors that will survive quarter scale tractor pulling.

You can generally find them without engines for $100.00 or less. They are very hard tractor to break so they can generally be broght back to life easily.

I used a rebuilt Prestolite HiLo pump motor and driect drive to the transaxle for mine, but the clutch and pressure plate system would be easy to adapt to an electric motor. I have an Alltrax 7245 controller and four 40ah agm batteries and a Tyco contactor. I put in an Albright Disconnect. I mounted all of the components under the hood on a plastic cutting board.

Two batteries went under the tractor on their sides in a combo footboard mountand battery rack and two under the seat/femder unit that doubles as a seat mount.

See the attached pictures of various stages of the conversion. Mine was done as a pulling tractor, and I think I can safely say it turnned out nice even with a quick rattle can paint job. You can see from a view of the transaxle why these things last, Thats a BIG lump of cast iron

Somre other tractors that should convert well are Wheelhorse, Allis Chalmers, Bolens, Sears Surburban and any other with a real steel frame cast iron transmission/axle and cast iron front axle.

If you want something that will last, stay away from hydros and anything with an aluminium transaxle unless you use a small motor, If you want something your grandkid will still be using, go with the older "real" garden tractors.

Way back when I was just a beginning member here I helped out someone who wanted a conversion with a tractor to electric. He needed a controller and wiring diagram to build his tractor. So I gave him a free Alltrax AXE4834 and give him a wiring diagram that I drew up in MS paint. So I suppose you guys are also looking for a wiring diagram. So here it is:







This circuit simply performs the AND function for safety as follows: the key switch, foot switch, seat switch, and throttle pot box lever switch must all be ON or HIGH in order for the lawn mower's traction motor to be active. The Key switch also engages the Negative side contactor. The reason a negative side contactor is used is so an extra safe guard is in place in case one of the contactors has a catastrophic failure such as welded contacts which makes it permanently ON. Also this actives the pre-charge circuit when the switch is turned on to avoid sparks being present when the user hooks up battery terminals to the batteries if this contactor was not present. Sparks at the batteries is not such a great idea so it also serves to reduce explosion hazards.

There is a warning that anyone who uses this wiring diagram should adhere to and that is the THE CONTROLLER MUST HAVE THE HIGH PEDDLE BEFORE POWER UP LOCK OUT ENABLED. FAILURE TO ENABLE THIS FEATURE IN THE CONTROLLER CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH IN WHERE THE USER CAN HAVE ALL SAFETY SWITCHES ACTIVE EXCEPT THE KEY SWITCH WHICH THE USER MAY CUT THE KEY SWITCH TO THE "ON" POSITION RESULTING IN INSTANT TAKE OFF OF THE LAWN MOWER WITHOUT WARNING.