This is an instructional video of how I did my first electrical conversion. You can download the schematic pdf from this link if you are interested. www.dropbox.co...
This is the most sensical tractor conversion video I've watched. No controller, off the shelf parts, very little special hardware. Batteries, motor, adapter plate and a kill switch. Using all the components that came with the tractor. Very very helpful.
Motor around 500$, small stuff added up to around 200$ and the battery was 2k as I bought a whole nissan leaf battery pack. Quite expensive but I managed to sell off the spare battery modules with a profit and covered the costs.
Nice build. I like how you leveraged the existing pulleys and hydrostatic that was in place. How did you determine the size of the DC motor? I have a broken John Deere I am thinking of converting if it isn’t too expensive. Thanks for the video. You were good and clear in your video.
I went with the ME1004 as it is intended as a replacement for B&S engines and was pretty much bolt on. Cutting long grass might peak at 10kW but mostly it takes around 5kW to cut so slightly above those numbers should be sufficient (5kW nominal, 10kW peak). Thank you for the kind words!
@@myevhobby7864 thanks for the reply! So quick to respond. I like that! I am considering replacing a Briggs & Stratton with a DC motors in my John Deere. One more question: do you find it any problem not to have a motor controller. What I mean is the blade will not be governed. Unless it is not that critical I your situation. Thanks again.
@@brentjohnson6654 Some times I wish I had a controller as the cutting board seems to spin a bit too fast making it quite loud. I might "upgrade" with a controller in the future but for now the mower is still fully functional like this and has worked like a dream for 3 years.
I'm about to do this to my Cub Cadet, hit one too many things and killed some piston rings lol There's a 72v motor on Amazon for ebikes that come with everything except the batteries and I think I'll be able to rig all this up with AL "L" channel and brazing. You said that since its hydrostatic it won't need a controller? Also would the pulley size matter on the motor or would adapting the original pulley to the new motor work? Thanks for the video!
The hydrostatic lets me change the speed while the motor spins at a constant rpm, thus no need for a controller. The motor I used is made to run at similar rpm as a B&S engine (close to 3000rpm) at 48V so the original pulley was a good fit for me. If you know the nominal RPM at your battery voltage you can calculate the pulley size.
I would add a way to adjust motor speed. No sense in having it rev full bore unless you need the extra power or speed. Other than that, awesome job man!
Great video. Nice build too! 1) where did you find Nissan leaf batteries? 2) did you consider doing away with the police and having a separate motor(s) to run the blade(s)
Thanks! 1) I bought the whole ev battery from a junkyard and took it apart. Recouped my money by selling half of the cells that were inside. 2) This motor was almost bolt on and the easiest/cheapest route for the hydrostat mower I had so never really considered separate ones. Without hydrostat separate motors would be great and let you keep a constant rpm on the cutter while controlling the drive motor.
I like your build, it looks very approachable. I'm looking at lifepo4 battery discharge. On your dropbox schematic you say the battery is a 7s2p, but that would only be a 24v battery. (7 x 3.2 = 22.4).. What am I missing there? I'm very curious about you battery setup, as this motor could easily push cells above 1C draw current. Does the battery bank get very hot after mowing for an hour or so? Do you know what the cell discharge rate is when you peak out at 10kw draw?
Thanks! 7S2P refers to the 14 Nissan Leaf battery modules I use. Each module consist of 2S2P 32Ah pouch cells. Under normal use I discharge the batteries at around 1C or below so no noticeable heating.
Very nicely done project! I see that you are powering the contactor from your battery pack and I am wondering that if I have 4, 12 volt batteries and a 12 V contactor if there is any issue with triggering the contactor with one of the 12 volt batteries? For that matter, why not use one of the 12v batteries for the accessories also instead of of a dc-dc converter? I realize that there may be a price in unbalancing the batteries but is there any electrical issue that prevents this?
Hello and thanks! In my case it would have caused unbalance in the cells but with lead acid batteries it's possible to just use 12V from one battery as you fully charge them every time.
Thanks! No action videos available currently as I'm trying to fit the batteries into a snowmobile :) Runtime is roughly 1 hour of cutting or 2 hours cruising the neighborhood.
Haven't pulled anything heavier than a small trailer of dirt yet. The electric setup has more torque and hp than the original engine so shouldn't be any problems.
myEV hobby, i'm confused about your use of the 12v relay / ignition, does this 12v relay activate the coil in your Albright contactor? I'm using the same motor for a John Deere conversion, and wondering if i can use the oem 12v relay powered by the same buck converter, to activate a different 48v contactor... but doesn't this require 48v, or will the 12v relay work, please?
Yes, the 12V relay is activated from the ignition and in turn activates the Albright contactor with 48V coil so that both get the right voltage. I didnt want 48V in the 12V rated ignition.
Did you use those same Leaf cells, in a snowmobile conversion? What other things have you converted to electric power? I'd like to do a pickup truck next. And have an OpenPPG electric paraglider. Fantastic you included schematics myEV hobby!
I'm working on a snowmobile with the same leaf cells but progress is slow as I always seem to have too many projects going on. Also working on a onewheel made from a hoverboard currently. Few years ago I made a two-motor electric mountainboard that I still use. The only contraption with propellers was a 8.8kW dual EDF fan powered snowboard but 8kW was turned into noise and 800 watt into thrust. It did work but was hard to handle with the added weight and a battery backpack :)
@@myevhobby7864 Whao! those are some pretty wild & inspirational EV projects!!! i tried to start the me-1004 today, and it did turn on, but only when the ignition key was turned all the way right, into a position it does not stay in. When i let the key go it turns off. Same with the Brake Pedal, the motor only runs when i have my foot on the brake, and hold the key all the way over. Wish i knew the schematic for this JD 180ltr mower. Not sure what i need to do to fix this.
Not much left then if you already have the motor spinning! Sounds like you are using the wires that was used for the starter motor solenoid. If you have a multimeter you can measure the ignition in different key positions and figure out what pins to use.
Hi , How about using allready developed solution - driving system made for mobility scooters 24v with good and quiet complete drive axle ( see ctengineering.com.tw for great stuff and complete solutions including electrical wiring and controllers . I `ve newer seen better quality axles ( according to them CT4H with 25:1 gear ratio ) bestwishes . Mark
I enjoyed your presentation, Thank you! I converted a Craftsman LT1000 to a 48 volt Electric about 10 years ago; however, over time by necessity , I added an Altrac Controller and a foot pedal so I could adjust the motor and save on charge capacity; mostly because my Lead Acid batteries discharged too quickly at full speed. I had hoped that LFP batteries would be within my reach; but, that has not occurred and to replace the lead acid with LFPs would cost about $1500-$2000 for a 5 kWh unit. Where did you source your Batteries, BMS and Charger?
Thanks! I'm also considering a controller as this thing is so loud at the current rpm. I bought a complete 24kwh batterypack from a car junkyard and recovered the cost by selling all the cells I didn't need. Not using a bms currently as I don't use the whole capacity and frequently measure all cells. For charger I bought an old adjustable 60V/15A server powersupply and have also used an adjustable 0-60V lab psu.
Check out the EVE/Lishen 280Ah cells. They can be had for $500 shipped for 3500w. I have some extra cells and am thinking about converting my John Deere LA145 to electric. Chinese LiFePO4's have become less expensive lately. I ordered mine from VariCore on ali express. They have all different capacities. I'm using overkillsolar bms for my current solar bank project, four of their 100A bms units in series. Cheers.
