LT1000 Electric Lawn Tractor Conversion 

I’m thrilled with the results of this conversion. It has higher torque, more power, runs quieter, can run an electric PTO, goes for an hour, has a light bar and USB device charging. Best of all, there’s no exhaust fumes and no gas to pour. Just the sweet smell of a freshly cut lawn.
Some common questions:
- How many amps does it draw while running? IDLING: 10; DRIVING/TOWING (no blades): 12-15; MOWING (weekly maintained grass): 20-25; MOWING (heavy long grass): 28ish; MOWING (heavy crazy jungle overgrown): 30-35
- How long does it last on a charge? About an hour on kinda/sorta maintained lawn.
- The above doesn't make sense! You have 100ah at 48v! Why doesn't it last longer? Well, at 25-30 amps of draw, I run for about an hour before I notice degradation in performance. My batteries are a few years old and SLA batteries start to show lower performance (in my humble experience) around 50-60% and I don't like to push them much further. I'm sure I could run for a couple hours if I'd used lithium, but if I'd done that I wouldn't have had money for anything else and my wife never would have approved :-D
Links to the parts (if I forgot something, leave a comment and I'll add it or find it):
- Motor: Motoenergy 1004. It's a 48v DC motor with terrific torque and a vertical drive shaft that's the same size a lawn tractor. It was designed with the intention of being a direct conversion. You can get them from a few suppliers, sometimes on Amazon, and sometimes eBay. I got mine for about $400. I see them mostly around $600 now.
- 100ah SLA battery (I got mine from a failed EV company that liquidated, but I've bought and used these Mighty Max ones in other projects): amzn.to/3868wqF
- 48v heavy duty solenoid (400A): amzn.to/2WhwHAc
- 2 gauge wire (can handle 205 amps): amzn.to/3sDJAjG
- 6 gauge wire (can handle 115 amps): amzn.to/2UEgRPe
- 12 gauge wire (for the 12v stuff): amzn.to/3sJZ4mj
- Heat shrink tubing (hint, I only used the black and red, but wish I'd color coded and would do so next time): amzn.to/384isRJ
- DC Multifunction Battery Monitor (0-200V, 0-300A): amzn.to/3DeEvn8
- Battery Fuel Meter (48v): amzn.to/3870D4m
- 12v meter + USB charging: amzn.to/3khf2AA
- Terminal blocks: amzn.to/3DeEvn8
- Terminal boots: amzn.to/3gssiRX
- 48v step down transformer to 12v: amzn.to/3sDANyp
- Battery keys: amzn.to/2UHwMfR
- Rocker toggle switches: amzn.to/3BjqeDV
- 48v golf cart charger (there are other options, but this one was a good balance of quality and price): amzn.to/3glUJRt
- Golf cart charge port (female): amzn.to/3Da08Vk
- Golf cart charge cord connector (male): amzn.to/3mp6cmW
- Light bar (16"): amzn.to/3sCPi5y
Links to the tools I use:
- Label maker (so insanely helpful on electric projects): amzn.to/3kbd84w
- Test light: amzn.to/3gqCjiB
- My favorite multimeter ($30 and works great): amzn.to/3zdpVJR
- My hated multimeter ($8, works, but why didn't I just get the good one first?) amzn.to/3sDKOvi
- My favorite wire strippers: amzn.to/2WiBW22
- My least favorite big crimpers, but they get the job done: amzn.to/3B2I7qg
- 10, 12, and 14 gauge crimpers: amzn.to/3yfCWBj