# Ride on Lawnmower Conversion



## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

A 7" would be plenty, I broke my first transaxle with a 7" golf buggy motor on 48V.

Have a look at the method for connecting the motor to the trans. Usually it is a V belt that is tightened with the foot pedal, or a hydrostatic trans that is constantly driven.

The hydro would work with a shunt or PM motor switched on and left running I guess, but could be inefficient. The belt drive will need something to maintain the tension to a series motor and then something to kill the motor if the belt breaks or slips off. You could swap the pulleys for a 1/2" chain drive but that will be a bit noisier. 

It may be worth looking at a series motor for the drive and one (or two) small PM motor(s) to drive the mower deck(s). The PM motors could be just on/off with a contactor and then you only need to have a controller for the series motor.

Major has a nice mower conversion, worth looking up.


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## DavidDymaxion (Dec 1, 2008)

Check out lawn tractors on http://www.evalbum.com . A common setup seems to be 36V and a Mars motor like these: http://www.evdrives.com/category_s/1869.htm .

One of the Mars motors will turn constant speed, like the gas motor in the lawn tractor did. Then you don't need an expensive controller, a contactor switch is adequate.

BTW I'm currently converting a lawn tractor. It has a hydrostatic drive, which I really liked when it was a gasser -- you could reverse directions or change speeds quickly. The bad news is the darn thing takes about 150A to idle (it was 200 before I changed the oii). I think this is high and I might have a problem with my hydrostatic tranny.

My current motor is a shunt motor. While it doesn't exactly regen, it does lessen the current draw and provides motor braking down hills via partial regen. That's very nice for me as I have steep hills to mow.



skooler said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I thought I'd start a thread to get some ideas for this.
> 
> ...


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## Salty9 (Jul 13, 2009)

I picked this up for $75 with a chair. It needed batteries and had some cosmetic damage. Should be able to attach a reel type lawnmower easily. This london.uk craigslist entry should be worth a look. http://london.craigslist.co.uk/for/3140445649.html


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## Little Eddie (Aug 3, 2015)

Little Eddie
Electric Tractor Conversion
Converting to battery power is a great idea for a garden tractor I converted one 15yrs ago and it is still cutting grass on a daily basis, I have had to renew the batteries every 7 yrs I am just on my 3rd set now, my design will cut up to 2 acres on a 50cent charge there are no belts or pulleys and no oil on the entire tractor, it can pull a trailer for about 8hrs on a charge, because battery run time is the most important aspect of most conversions I paid particular attention to the most efficient design I could up with, I used 3 separate small motors one for the drive with electronic speed control and two smaller with a cutter blade mounted on the shaft for each cutter, this design only uses the battery power req to do the job, very little wasted battery power, it uses magnetic breaking of both tractor and cutter blades and automatically applies parking brake when you stop or get off the seat.
Little Eddie,
Edmond Electric

Website: Electrictractor.net


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## Brian Edmond (Jul 1, 2016)

Check this website out for plans and info how to convert a gas garden tractor to electric :- electrictractor.net


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## Brian Edmond (Jul 1, 2016)

Little Eddie 
I have wrote several articles on converting your old gas lawn tractor to electric now I have developed a conversion kit based on a 42" lawn tractor,

Edmond Electric Co. Ltd. presents:
THE PERFECT GREEN PROJECT
Convert your old gas lawn tractor to a clean battery powered with a 
NEW!* D-I-Y Electric Tractor Conversion “KIT”.
www.electrictractor.net*
Do you love to build things?* Are you looking for a D-I-Y project?*
Would you like a clean, pollution-free, reliable & budget-friendly ELECTRIC RIDING TRACTOR to cut your lawn?
If the answer is yes, yes & yes – I’ve got the solution for you:-*
Convert that old, noisy, smelly riding mower in your garage to a clean, quiet, battery-powered.
Note:- This Riding Lawn Tractor Conversion Kit will cut grass and pull a small trailer but is not suitable for ground contact equipment.
The Edmond Electric Co. Ltd. D-I-Y Lawn Tractor Conversion “KIT”
This one-of-a-kind “KIT” is new for 2018 and available only from:-
www.electrictractor.net starting in April 2018.
WHAT IS REQUIRED?
It’s easy to build and budget friendly.* You will need an old gas lawn tractor to convert to battery power (called a glider), basic electrical skills to be able to strip and connect wires, D-I-Y tools like screwdrivers, socket wrenches, tape measure, battery drill, hacksaw, etc. a small amount of welding required but could be done by a local welding shop.* If you’re advanced at D-I-Y, you’ll still find it plenty engaging.* After all, this is probably the first time you have built a battery-powered electric riding tractor.
THE DESIGN
I have mixed some old ideas with state-of-the-art technology to produce the cheapest, easiest and most efficient D-I-Y design to get the most run time out of the batteries, charge:-110V outlet or solar panels.
HOW?
The photo is an example of an old 42” gas tractor with a damaged transmission that I bought for conversion to an electric using the Edmond Electric Conversion Kit.* You don’t need the engine, transmission, belts, pulleys, blade bearing or any electrical wiring.* All you basically need is the frame, 4 wheels and metal cutting deck (commonly called a glider).* Everything else is either discarded or sold for parts.
COST COMPARISON, SAVINGS
This is a great riding mower project that you will enjoy using for years while saving hundreds of $$s on fuel, oil, repairs and tune-ups.*
Example:-
Cost to operate gas tractor:** 2 acre grass cut 22 times per year.
*
4 litres per acre x 2 acres x 22 cuts @ $1 per litre = *********** *********** *********** $176 per yr
Maintenance, tune-ups, oil changes, filters, belts, pulleys, battery, etc ********$190 per yr
*
Gas tractor total est. *********** *********** *********** *********** *********** *********** *********** ***$366 per year.
*
Cost to operator electric tractor:* 2 acre grass cut 22 times per year.
*
22 battery charges @ 50 cents per 2 acres = 22 x .50 =*********** *********** *********** $11 per yr
replace 4 x 6V golf cart batteries (last approx. 7 yrs. $400/7yrs*********** *********** $57 per yr
*
Electric tractor total est.*********** *********** *********** *********** *********** *********** *********** $68 per yr
*
Savings:*********** *********** *********** *********** *********** *********** *********** $366 - $68 = $298 per yr
*
Plus your electric tractor should outlast the gas version for many years.* You will be the envy of your neighbours!
*
KIT CONTENTS
The kit will contain plans, instructions and most of the difficult to get parts such as:- electric transaxle with motor and electric brake, 2 cutter motors with mounting flange, electronic motor controller, control relays, and other parts.* Final cost of the kits is still to be determined once all the parts are delivered to me, but total cost is expected to be $1600 US.* The parts should arrive by the beginning of April 2018 when the kits with be assembled for sale and posted on my website.
WHY?
The kit was developed to make it easier and cheaper for you ‘the builder’ to obtain parts to convert your gas mower.* The way around this was for me to search for suppliers of specially-made parts and purchase in volume to get the best prices for you.* I then redesigned the new kit around these parts.
FEATURES
The kit is based on a 42” two blade cutting deck, lawn tractor with 18” diameter rear tires.* It uses standard 6V golf cart batteries, can cut up to 2 acres of grass, pull a small trailer for about 6 hours on a .50 charge, plug-in to any 100V electrical outlet to recharge in about 4-5 hours or charge with solar panels.* It has magnetic braking and automatically applies parking brake when stopped.* It is designed to last with almost no maintenance:- low noise, zero pollution, no starting problems, no oil changes, no gas, no belts or pulleys, no filters, no engine tune-ups.* It can even be used indoors in a greenhouse.
*ORDERING
There will only be a small number of kits available for now but as a valued customer of the conversion kit plans, I am offering you first opportunity to reserve one of these kits for a small deposit of $50.* Also the initial cost of your plans will be deducted from the kit price.
*we only have a few kits left so If you would like to reserve a kit in advance, please email me at:-
[email protected]*
I will send you an invoice for the deposit.
At present, we only ship kits to USA and Canada.
Disclaimer
While we do our uttermost to incorporate all safety features in this design and will provide free email support for up to 2 yrs we have no control over the assembly or use of any d-i-y project, so buy purchasing this kit you agree to assume responsiblty to make sure your project is safe to use and meets any required safety standards
Sincerely,
*Brian Edmond
www.electictractor.net
*


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

Typo in URL:

http://www.electrictractor.net/


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## Brian Edmond (Jul 1, 2016)

I sell electric tractor conversion plans and kits that answer all those questions and more, if you want more info go to:- electrictractor.net


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## HA1029 (May 2, 2019)

Hi, 
In reference to the electrictractor.net , it seems that the website is down. I'm interested in building an electric mower. Are there any other sites with kits and parts, and important for me a manual or work instructions? Thanks for any information you can point my way.


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## Brian Edmond (Jul 1, 2016)

Someone else told me the website was down but it is always up and running when I check?
try :- electrictractor.net or electriclawntractor.com


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## Brian Edmond (Jul 1, 2016)

Looking for something different for the man of the house? 
How about a conversion kit to make that old gas lawn tractor run on rechargeable batteries just like a golf cart? no more gas! great winter project



SAVE $$$ special price $1295.00 CDN for a limited time,
NEW! D-I-Y Electric Tractor Conversion “KIT”.
www.electrictractor.net


Edmond Electric Co. Ltd. presents:

THE PERFECT GREEN PROJECT

Convert your old gas lawn tractor to clean battery power 

NEW! D-I-Y Electric Tractor Conversion “KIT”.

www.electrictractor.net 

Why not build an electric lawn tractor for yourself and be the envy of your neighbours

Note:- This Riding Lawn Tractor Conversion Kit will cut grass and pull a small trailer but is not suitable for ground contact equipment.

available only from:-

www.electrictractor.net 

WHAT IS REQUIRED?

It’s easy to build and budget friendly. You will need an old 38” to 42”- 2 blade gas lawn tractor to convert to battery power (called a glider), basic electrical skills to be able to strip and connect wires, D-I-Y tools like screwdrivers, socket wrenches, tape measure, battery drill, hacksaw, etc. a small amount of welding required but could be done by a local welding shop. If you’re advanced at D-I-Y, you’ll still find it plenty engaging. After all, this is probably the first time you have built a battery-powered electric riding tractor.

Choosing the right tractor to convert, you don't need any particular make of tractor just one with the features stated below, the one on the internet is a Craftsman 42" 2 blade cutter deck, I used to advertise in my local paper and on KIJIJI I or go to the local lawnmower repair shop they usually have plenty of them waiting to go to the scrapyard, you don,t need to pay any more than about $50-$100, you can repaint them with spray cans, the recommended 18 inch wheels diameter is because of the gear ratio of the transaxle, my tractor had 20 inch wheels but I changed the tires to 18" on the same rims, 
The cutter motors are sized for19" to 21" blades e.g. a 38" to 42"cutting deck, this is the most popular size of garden tractor sold in the US and Canada,

The deck must be of the offset two blade type, one blade is mounted approx 4" ahead of the other blade, the blade tips slightly overlap when viewed from the front, this is to eliminate the small ridge of grass that would be left uncut if the blades were mounted side by side with a small gap so blades do not hit each other! 
one thing I can tell you is when it is converted you won't be disappointed they are far superior than gas tractors in many ways

THE DESIGN
I have mixed some old ideas with state-of-the-art technology to produce the cheapest, easiest and most efficient D-I-Y design to get the most run time out of the batteries, charge:-110V outlet or solar panels.

HOW?

The photo is an example of an old 42” - 2 blade gas tractor with a damaged transmission that I bought for conversion to an electric using the Edmond Electric Conversion Kit. You don’t need the engine, transmission, belts, pulleys, blade bearing or any electrical wiring. All you basically need is the frame, 4 wheels and metal cutting deck (commonly called a glider). Everything else is either discarded or sold for parts.

COST COMPARISON, SAVINGS

This is a great riding mower project that you will enjoy using for years while saving hundreds of $$s on fuel, oil, repairs and tune-ups. 

Example:-

Cost to operate gas tractor: 2 acre grass cut 22 times per year.


4 litres per acre x 2 acres x 22 cuts @ $1 per litre = $176 per yr

Maintenance, tune-ups, oil changes, filters, belts, pulleys, battery, etc $190 per yr


Gas tractor total est.  $366 per year.


Cost to operator electric tractor: 2 acre grass cut 22 times per year.


22 battery charges @ 50 cents per 2 acres = 22 x .50 = $11 per yr

replace 4 x 6V golf cart batteries (last approx. 7 yrs. $400/7yrs $57 per yr


Electric tractor total est. $68 per yr


Savings: $366 - $68 = $298 per yr


Plus your electric tractor should outlast the gas version for many years. You will be the envy of your neighbours!

KIT CONTENTS
The kit contains plans, instructions, a disk with numbered photos and most of the difficult to get parts such as:- electric transaxle with motor and electric brake, 2 cutter motors with mounting flange, electronic motor controller, control relays, digital amp/volt meter,circuit breakers, and other parts. 24v battery charger, batteries and some other easy to get parts are not included cost of the kits are $1635 US. The parts have arrived, kits are assembled,
SAVE $$$ special price $1295.00 CDN for a limited time,
if you have any questions send me an email :- [email protected]
To order a kit send:- shipping address postal code and phone # and I will send you an invoice

WHY?

The kit was developed to make it easier and cheaper for you ‘the builder’ to obtain parts to convert your gas mower. The way around this was for me to search for suppliers of specially-made parts and purchase in volume to get the best prices for you. I then redesigned the new kit around these parts.

FEATURES

The kit is based on a 42” two blade cutting deck, lawn tractor with 18” diameter rear tires. It uses standard 6V golf cart batteries, can cut up to 2 acres of grass, pull a small trailer for about 6 hours on a .50 charge, plug-in to any 110V electrical outlet to recharge in about 4-5 hours or charge with solar panels. It has magnetic braking and automatically applies parking brake when stopped. It is designed to last with almost no maintenance:- low noise, zero pollution, no starting problems, no oil changes, no gas, no belts or pulleys, no filters, no engine tune-ups. It can even be used indoors in a greenhouse.

ORDERING

There will only be a small number of kits available for now, 

please email me with shipping address postal code and PH# :-

[email protected] 

I will send you an invoice .

At present, we only ship kits to USA and Canada.

Disclaimer

While we do our uttermost to incorporate all safety features in this design and will provide free email support for up to 2 yrs we have no control over the assembly or use of any d-i-y project, so buy purchasing this kit you agree to assume responsiblty to make sure your project is safe to use and meets any required safety standards

Sincerely,

Brian Edmond

www.electictractor.net

Youtube video ETC-24v-1 kit 
https://youtu.be/8tLo1cLQccI


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## Brian Edmond (Jul 1, 2016)

Edmond Electric Company Ltd 
Electric lawn tractor conversions
website problem with electrictractor.net? 
it will be fixed shortly please use :-
electriclawntractor.com


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