Electric Tractors

[UpNorthMI]

The automotive industry is moving fast and in mass to electric vehicles, the electric tractor is coming too!

 

[skeets]

Enjoy

 

[SAR Tracker]

 

[je1279]

I saw an electric zero turn at a home improvement store recently. Maybe I'm old school but if I run out of diesel an acre or two away from my house, I can fix that problem pretty easily. Not so much when you need to recharge 6 batteries. I also never need to wonder if I remembered to charge my tractor before I use it

 

[i7win7]

The automotive industry is moving fast and in mass to electric vehicles, the electric tractor is coming too!

Kubota's vision

Kubota Concept Tractor | Innovation | Kubota Global Site

A fully autonomous electric tractor that paves the way for the future of farming with advanced technologies. This is Kubota’s vision for an enriched society with agriculture as its origin.

www.kubota.com

 

[bucktail]

A homeowner ZTR is probably viable. Not everyone is going to want one and the energy cost savings probably won't pay for the increased purchase price. For a lawn care service you're going to have issues waiting around to recharge. For large scale grain farming the scalability isn't there.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

cub cadet electric 42" rider, $6300 +13% taxes, mows for 1.5 hours( 2 acres ! yeah , right) recharges in 4 hours.
So it's THREE times the cost of a gas equal....
did some rough math... it would cost me about $3 per recharge
NO lit about how long the battery will last either( # of charges or months...)

 

[Botamon]

The big benefit to me would be the lack of noise. I wear ear plugs whenever I'm on my John Deere or quad; I would love it if all I could hear was the sound of hydraulics working, or whichever piece of equipment I've got hooked on the tractor. If they ever get them to the point where they could work 12 hours before needing a charge I'd be in!

 

[NCL4701]

Electric utility tractor?? That would turn my current backup power procedure into a non viable self dependent loop.

It does concern my admittedly simple mind to have EVERYTHING dependent on “the grid”.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: The big benefit to me would be the lack of noise


There's a device called a MUFFLER that'll really help you...... 3-4 decades ago I saw that B&S had a 'low tone' muffler for their 10HP engines.... A HUGE improvement. You might try extra inline mufflers, or a long tailpipe depending on your ride.
Stock OEM, out the door are made cheap and noisey....just what the buyer wants.....'HDSyndrome'

 

[sheepfarmer]

I think it depends on what do you dislike doing more? I hate running off to get gas to run some of the small stuff, trying to get them to start etc. And listening to the racket. So I got a little battery powered push mower and battery powered string trimmer to do edges. By the time the battery runs down I am worn out and ready for a break. Spare batteries are affordable. It is possible to push or carry the item back to the barn for recharging when the battery dies. A ride on mower maybe not so much. My tractor is real nice for that...

 

[Old_Paint]

re: The big benefit to me would be the lack of noise


There's a device called a MUFFLER that'll really help you...... 3-4 decades ago I saw that B&S had a 'low tone' muffler for their 10HP engines.... A HUGE improvement. You might try extra inline mufflers, or a long tailpipe depending on your ride.
Stock OEM, out the door are made cheap and noisey....just what the buyer wants.....'HDSyndrome'

I have an 11 HP B&S on a Swisher brush mower. Until I actually start cutting stuff with it, it really isn't very loud. It gets loud when it gets busy, though. Even if it were electric, the high frequency noise (that you don't think you're hearing) will DESTROY your hearing. Even just an exhaust fan in a room can cause severe tinnitis. I know. I've got permanent crickets.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re:

I know. I've got permanent crickets.


welcome to my World. Asked the doc about it in 2008, Still waiting for the answer to my question, which was... If (when) I go deaf, will I still hear the crickets ? This is a SERIOUS question, haven't seen a doc since then(cept for heat stroke(that don't count))... anyway, was talking to an trucker(even did ice roads...) asked him. He said he took wrong meds one day (blue vs red pill...) and one side effect, he went deaf....
yup, all he could heasr were the 'crickets'....
nice eh ? pretty sure when that happens to me,I'll be swallowing some lead.

 

[William1]

I mow using a Craftsman Garden Tractor. 1200 hours on it now. Total investment (including 20+ years of servicing) is about $3K. I can mow all day on less than a tank of gasoline.
It is stored in a shed, 100' from a source of electricity. That said, I'd not mind an electric if it were feasible and not absurdly expensive. It is a lawn mower, not a Telsa status symbol.
I have a Ego Battery electric leaf blower. I also have a top of the line Sthil. The Ego at full power is about the same as the Sthil at idle. The Ego is great to bring in the house, to the second floor, lean out a window and blow debris off the roof. 10 Minute run time before the battery dies. I also have the Ego Hedge Trimmer. 45 minutes on a charge, more than enough for a day and fairly quiet and no extension cord to sever.
My Kubota does not get a lot of use but when I need it, it is irreplaceable.
A place for everything and everything in its' place.

 

[motionclone]

I mow using a Craftsman Garden Tractor. 1200 hours on it now. Total investment (including 20+ years of servicing) is about $3K. I can mow all day on less than a tank of gasoline.
It is stored in a shed, 100' from a source of electricity. That said, I'd not mind an electric if it were feasible and not absurdly expensive. It is a lawn mower, not a Telsa status symbol.
I have a Ego Battery electric leaf blower. I also have a top of the line Sthil. The Ego at full power is about the same as the Sthil at idle. The Ego is great to bring in the house, to the second floor, lean out a window and blow debris off the roof. 10 Minute run time before the battery dies. I also have the Ego Hedge Trimmer. 45 minutes on a charge, more than enough for a day and fairly quiet and no extension cord to sever.
My Kubota does not get a lot of use but when I need it, it is irreplaceable.
A place for everything and everything in its' place.

How did you get a craftsman garden tractor to last more than a couple seasons? Must be an older unit?

 

[William1]

How did you get a craftsman garden tractor to last more than a couple seasons? Must be an older unit?

Engine (Kohler) and transaxle (Dayton, IIRC) are quality units. Everything else is a rust problem. Steering was a big fail as it used plastic bushings. I replaced them all with sealed ball bearigs ($70) One mower deck rusted through and Sears sent me a replacement for free!!! I replaced the drive belts out of caution once.
Oil and filter every year, plugs, air filter fuel filter every few years. Third battery. Sharpen the blades every year. Most people that have problems it is because they fail to use fuel stabilizer or check oil level. They do not grease the zerks.
I've a neighbor that buys a new one every three or so years because she fails to take care of it. I have another neighbor that buys up recent model ones, services the carbs and sells them for 3X what he paid.

 

[hope to float]

Engine (Kohler) and transaxle (Dayton, IIRC) are quality units. Everything else is a rust problem. Steering was a big fail as it used plastic bushings. I replaced them all with sealed ball bearigs ($70) One mower deck rusted through and Sears sent me a replacement for free!!! I replaced the drive belts out of caution once.
Oil and filter every year, plugs, air filter fuel filter every few years. Third battery. Sharpen the blades every year. Most people that have problems it is because they fail to use fuel stabilizer or check oil level. They do not grease the zerks.
I've a neighbor that buys a new one every three or so years because she fails to take care of it. I have another neighbor that buys up recent model ones, services the carbs and sells them for 3X what he paid.

We have a Craftsman from about 1995 and just found 2 zerks with the factory paint still on them and we used that thing commercially for about 10 years