LiPo batteries

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Davo99 Guru Joined: 03/06/2019 Location: Australia Posts: 1578	Posted: 04:32am 14 Feb 2020         shallowal said   I havent looked into the feasibilities at all, but was thinking of a couple of drive motors similar to that used in small car conversions and a battery pack with about a 1 hour operation range. I believe the motors and batteries won't be cheap but I think costs really start getting away when you look at controllers and relays and wiring etc to make them all play together. Money aside, electric does seem to give one the ability to dial in significant power levels with much better packaging than an IC would need. I'd sure like to see some Vids of a home built electric mower that had some real grunt. I very briefly looked at doing an electric small tractor with electric motors driving diffs front and back but it was quickly apparent that was going to quickly get beyond  what I could justify on the idea. Also appears there is a lot of programming of controllers to be done as well which I have no knowledge of either.   Quote   The current engine is rated at 15HP/11Kw, so a 10KWh battery or thereabouts. I think you'd want to go bigger than that.  You'll never get 100% capacity and the more you pull out of any battery the shorter the life.  Maybe 15 Kwh would be a wiser and more practical size for what you want.   Quote   I didnt know that there were any electric rideon mowers, but I looked at the Ryobi videos on youtube and it looks like a pretty poor excuse for a mower. Haha! In fairness it seems to be built to at least the standard of a lot of hardware store and lower end rideons. I think it would suit a lot of people round me that only have toy petrol mowers anyway. Their lawns are smooth, mowed if they get over an inch high, never see a stick or a stone, usually resemble bowling greens and would simply be light duty for any mower. I think the Ryobi would be OK in this application as seem to be a lot of the other built to a price rather than a standard machines that I see a lot of people with around here.  Cub Cadet also do an electric mower. It's a 30" job and looks more fragile than the Ryobi by far.  There is also an American made Zero turn machine that is made for commercial use and has the grunt and the longevity. It looks quite good and robust and would probably be good for councils and golf courses that want to look trendy and green and have plenty of money to write off as tax dodges etc or claim as some sort of environmental credit. My old Kubota sure isn't the newest or fanciest or most expensive  mower in the neighbourhood But when all the blokes get out at once mowing their lawns as they seem to do, I know my old Kubota is King of the neighbour hood and makes all those single ( and twin ) cylinder petrol things look and sound pretty weak in comparison! I'm sure you know the feeling! :0) My next door neighbour Keeps telling me, " You can't beat a Johhny Deere" but he sure asks a LOT of questions about my old Kubota!  :0) I also seem to recall him telling me that the new one he bought 6 Months ago isn't nearly as good as the 20 YO one. That's Probably why the old one gets 2-3 outings a week and the new one I have seen used once!