Solar-electric Mowers & Tractors
(Page 2 of 8)
August/September 2006
By George DeVault and Charles Higginson
The extra weight of batteries is a disadvantage in automobiles, but it improves tractor performance by increasing traction. And electric motors generate high torque at very low rpm, making them more effective than gas or diesel engines for the low-speed, high-power applications typical for tractors.
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In addition, electric motors are constructed more simply than engines and therefore are much easier to maintain. “Using industrial batteries, every component in the electric tractor will operate with very little maintenance for 15 to 20 years,” Heckeroth says. “Many electric forklifts have been in service for 50 years, while their gas counterparts last only five to 10 years.” (See his article, “The Case for Solar-powered Electric Tractors,” April/May 2002.)
In addition to converting tractors to run on batteries, Heckeroth’s company, Homestead Enterprises, has built several electric and solar-electric tractors from the ground up. In the late 1990s, the company created electric prototypes for two major tractor manufacturers, Ford-New Holland and Eifrig Ltd., but the companies did not put them into production.
Despite the numerous advantages of electric power, no major manufacturers have yet decided to lead the shift that now seems inevitable as fossil fuels dwindle and costs climb.
Plow-power Pioneers
Nonetheless, Heckeroth is not alone in his conviction that the future will be solar-electric. Major manufacturers’ lack of vision hasn’t stopped others who share his understanding of the multiple benefits of electric tractors. For now, at least, electric power seems most promising for use on small farms and home gardens. Here is a quick look at the current electric-implement market in North America:
Riding mowers. Canadian entrepreneur Brian Edmond routinely mows two acres of grass using just 50 cents’ worth of electricity each time. Edmond’s electric lawn tractor uses 48-volt deep-cycle batteries, permanently lubricated drive components and an electronic automatic transmission (see Image Gallery).
“I have been using it for two years now without any problem,” Edmond says. “The first thing people say when they see this is, ‘Why isn’t everybody making them?’”
His new company, Edmond Electric Co., is converting 20 horsepower lawn and garden tractors to battery power. The electric lawn tractors, complete with 42-inch mower decks and side discharge, will go on sale in Europe later this year under the Lawn Boss brand. If plans work out, they will reach North American markets in 2007, for about $4,000 each. Edmond says he also hopes to sell kits for converting conventional gasoline-powered lawn tractors to electric power around the end of this year for $1,500 to $2,000.
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