Picked up this 1972 “Elec-Trak” riding mower on Craigslist. made by G.E. In Schenectady NY it was a fully electric 12 hp unit with loads of attachments. The control boards are fried. And I let our more magic smoke late last night.
Luckily, it came with the service manual with beautiful hand drawn 1960 style schematics.
Hopefully I can breath new life into this beauty and maybe upgrade with a few Tesla model S battery backs!
My little helper assisted in upgrades (down grades?) to the Elec-Trak control system. Copious duct tape, dc breakers, and a multi meter for good measure. Was getting sick of getting shocked when using the “alligator clip starting method “
Next up : dc shunt controller for variable speed, Nissan Leaf batteries re-imagined as 36v pack, and maybe an onboard inverter for mobile 110v.
Starting the Elec-Trak E12 Mower conversion. Almost 50 years of service later it’s time for some new tech!
Replacing the 36v lead acid battery and solenoid activated controls with ~38 volt* Lithium Ion battery pack from a scrapped Nissan Leaf and an Alltrax motor controller. The new controller will provide smooth throttle control and regenerative breaking.
Amazingly the original 1.5 HP electric motor is in great shape. And Alltrax even wrote a custom field map for it in the 90’s for an older style motor controller—I called and they were willing to port into the new controller! *5 cells in series. I’m hoping the slight over-voltage and flat discharge curve will make et12 very zippy.
Workshop Weather is cooperating as E12 approaches test drive 1 with the new batteries and controller.
Newly repaired Elec-Trak E20 joins the fleet and pulls E15 friend to my shop for further work. The E20 would only go backwards. A sticky mechanical relay was the culprit. Some food grade spray lubricant did the trick. The service manual for these is a work of art.
I picked these 4 up in central VT along with the snowblower which I will have to wait until fall to test.
I found my first Elec-Trak on Craigslist’s last year about this time. I now have 7 so I think it’s time to stop! (Unless anyone has the front loader bucket attachment ... would love one of those!)