I have an old New Holland skidsteer loader that I would like to convert to electric power. It’s a pretty large machine that originally was equipped with a 65 horsepower engine (L775). I have since replaced the original engine with a 35 HP engine and, honestly, it does just fine in most situations.
I am looking for an electric motor/batteries that will get the job done for a reasonable cost. Basically, I just need to spin a shaft (that turns a big Cessna hydro pump) at around 1700 RPM, give or take. Weight is not as big a concern as it is on an electric car because I need a certain amount of weight to replace the boat anchor Wisconsin V4 that was originally installed with something equally massive or it will lower the amount that the machine can lift.(Even if it was more massive, the skidsteer is equipped with a set of counterweights that I can remove in increments to fine-tune in case the electric motor and batteries weigh too much.)
That said, I was originally thinking maybe a Nissan Leaf drivetrain, but that almost seems overkill, power-wise as well as possibly more expensive and intimidatingly complex for my particular use case where all I need to do is keep a shaft spinning at a particular, modest speed. (The ability to adjust the speed would be nice, but not strictly speaking necessary.)
I have more recently been investigating the possibility of using a large AC Industrial motor, but I worry that the inverter would be a huge pain to figure out…
Would it make more sense to go with a DC industrial forklift motor? Do they even make them big enough?
Any help you guys could offer would be quite welcome…
Thanls,
Jake