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Interesting solar powered lawn care DIYer

Supervstech

Supervstech

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The guy even uses a Tesla to tow the equipment around…

With 1200W of solar, he isn’t charging the car though! But that combined with an onboard eg4 5kWh rack mount, and several chargers onboard, he is getting the jobs done!
He doesn’t go over the tech setup much in this video, but his others go into more details of that.

 
Supervstech said:
The guy even uses a Tesla to tow the equipment around…

With 1200W of solar, he isn’t charging the car though! But that combined with an onboard eg4 5kWh rack mount, and several chargers onboard, he is getting the jobs done!
He doesn’t go over the tech setup much in this video, but his others go into more details of that.

Click to expand...
Ive watched some of his videos. Not to bad.
 
Why not.
Good for him, left a job "that I hate" and working hard on a low-cost-of-entry business and YT promotion fills a niche market, hope he does well. (and gets the commercial version of that zero-turn before his residential one dies)
 
Driving my Tesla I spend $.10 per mile at a supercharger and $.04 charging from my house. Compared to $.40 - $.50 per mile on my diesel truck, the Tesla can provide some savings on energy.
 
chrisski said:
Driving my Tesla I spend $.10 per mile at a supercharger and $.04 charging from my house. Compared to $.40 - $.50 per mile on my diesel truck, the Tesla can provide some savings on energy.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I need the truck for now to haul equipment.
If I just needed a commuter I would definitely buy a Tesla..
 
Last week i was golfing near the Tesla plant. They had a bunch of Tesla suit and tie guys watching a demo of a secret (shhh!!) Tesla lawn mower. They did't let us get too close but it was virtually silent from 50ft.
 
MisterSandals said:
Last week i was golfing near the Tesla plant. They had a bunch of Tesla suit and tie guys watching a demo of a secret (shhh!!) Tesla lawn mower. They did't let us get too close but it was virtually silent from 50ft.
Click to expand...
Seriously ?

Interesting they would get into that field considering how many all ready are in it.
 
I'd love a commercial grade electric zero turn mower to replace my Kubota but unfortunately the entry cost is prohibitive. It's 4 times the price.
 
wattmatters said:
I'd love a commercial grade electric zero turn mower to replace my Kubota but unfortunately the entry cost is prohibitive. It's 4 times the price.
Click to expand...
yeah - I have thought about it a few times too.
Maybe I can convert my ICE lawn tractor to LiFePO4 - set it up to run on a pair of 16S packs from the ESS, then after cutting put those back into the rack for charging.
I can just see this coming in my future: cutting the lawn at 11:00 pm in the summer because I don't want to pull two rack batteries out while it is sunny. My OLT will kill me.
So does anyone have a link to a lawn tractor conversion? It is just a 42" deck 17Hp plain jane vertical shaft run of the mill machine.
I have wondered if a 7.5kW BLM running on 96 v would work to replace the ICE on this machine. 2hrs run time would be enough.
 
OffGridForGood said:
yeah - I have thought about it a few times too.
Maybe I can convert my ICE lawn tractor to LiFePO4 - set it up to run on a pair of 16S packs from the ESS, then after cutting put those back into the rack for charging.
I can just see this coming in my future: cutting the lawn at 11:00 pm in the summer because I don't want to pull two rack batteries out while it is sunny. My OLT will kill me.
So does anyone have a link to a lawn tractor conversion? It is just a 42" deck 17Hp plain jane vertical shaft run of the mill machine.
I have wondered if a 7.5kW BLM running on 96 v would work to replace the ICE on this machine. 2hrs run time would be enough.
Click to expand...
Converted a Ryobi zt540e.
I love that mower.

No Gas, Belts, spring tensioners, oil, hassle.
Just cuts grass.
 
OffGridForGood said:
did you post a thread on this conversion?
what motor(s) did you use?
Click to expand...
It’s already electric.
Just changed out the lead acid batteries to LIFEPO4

I guess not a true conversion but they call it that on YT.

I think I posted a picture on here I’ll have to look.

Here is a Picture after use.

Sorry didn’t mean to get your hopes up there.
 

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OffGridForGood said:
Maybe I can convert my ICE lawn tractor to LiFePO4 - set it up to run on a pair of 16S packs from the ESS, then after cutting put those back into the rack for charging.
Click to expand...
Most convert lead acid battery electric mowers to LiFePO4, like this long running thread:
diysolarforum.com

Ryobi Zero-Turn Mower SLA to LiFePo4 Conversion - (Updated - Build Complete With Pics!)

Hi. I'm new to the forum. I have a 48V Ryobi Zero Turn that runs off of (4) 100AH AGM batteries. It's been about three years and now I can't get through a full cut. I would like to upgrade to LiFePo4 batteries. I'm thinking of using these ones...
diysolarforum.com diysolarforum.com

These residential grade mowers just aren't robust enough for my needs and the wheels need to be larger for my terrain.

The model I'd need costs more than my new EV!

The price disparity is insane.
 
Nobodybusiness said:
It’s already electric.
Just changed out the lead acid batteries to LIFEPO4

I guess not a true conversion but they call it that on YT.

I think I posted a picture on here I’ll have to look.

Here is a Picture after use.

Sorry didn’t mean to get your hopes up there.
Click to expand...
yeah you got me with that 'conversion' word.
I have this idea about changing my lawn tractor - not a zero turn - by adding low speed BLM motor for the traction drive and a pair of BLM for the cutting head. Use 48v or 96v so I can have ESS battery packs for the tractor when needed. It is just a dream. one of many!
 
wattmatters said:
The model I'd need costs more than my new EV!

The price disparity is insane.
Click to expand...
That led me to the idea of converting my existing machine, since I don't see any reason for this to be so expensive. It just needs to move at a low speed and spin two cutting blades in the mower deck. It doesn't need Ministry of Transportation approval/insurance or anything fancy. Heck I don't even care how it looks when done as long as it cuts grass once a week and doesn't cost a ton.
Ideas?
one or two planetary gear motors to run the drive axel
two high speed flat type brushless motors for the cutting deck
remove the original gas engine and fuel tank, build a rack to hold two 15.5kW 16S packs - these can be parallel or series depending on the motor's requirements.
I would use two batteries I already own, so the only cost would be the three or four new motors. should be easy to put this together over the winter ready for next spring. But what motors? from what supplier?
Yeah, I suppose a new thread is in order.
 
So far my cub cadet zero turn electric (the original one with the steering wheel not the weaker stuff they sell now) has done great. I cut with the exmark commercial mower and the wife uses the cub electric since were cutting over 5 acres each time.

The cub can actually cut the entire 5 acres its just slower than the exmark. With both of us going at it the job gets done pretty fast. Wife loves it since its so quiet.

Anyways its still on the 4 deka intimidator agm batteries it came with which have held up for 3 years now. Big fan of the electric lawn care stuff now. I also have electric push mowers, weed eaters, hedge trimmers, leaf blower, etc. Ditching the 2 stroke weed eaters was the real win in my opinion. Since ethanol came around I want nothing to do with gas for that stuff.

I will be doing a lifepo4 swap on the cub when they finally wear out.
 
OffGridForGood said:
yeah you got me with that 'conversion' word.
I have this idea about changing my lawn tractor - not a zero turn - by adding low speed BLM motor for the traction drive and a pair of BLM for the cutting head. Use 48v or 96v so I can have ESS battery packs for the tractor when needed. It is just a dream. one of many!
Click to expand...
I still have My Kubota 3301 for bigger stuff.
 
chrisski said:
Driving my Tesla I spend $.10 per mile at a supercharger and $.04 charging from my house. Compared to $.40 - $.50 per mile on my diesel truck, the Tesla can provide some savings on energy.
Click to expand...
I doubt a loaded tesla towing a trailer full of equipment gets anywhere close to $.10/mile... remember... loaded, the battery drains FAR faster than just commuting
 
Supervstech said:
Really? Still that good? What does one get just cruising?
Click to expand...
Is that not about double the normal Tesla consumption?

I'm presuming much of this guy's driving is in urban/suburban environments, not long highway driving.

But for comparison my MG4 EV uses ~ 17.5 kWh/100km (0.28 kWh/mile) on the highway at 110 km/h (68.4 mph).
 
Supervstech said:
The guy even uses a Tesla to tow the equipment around…

With 1200W of solar, he isn’t charging the car though! But that combined with an onboard eg4 5kWh rack mount, and several chargers onboard, he is getting the jobs done!
He doesn’t go over the tech setup much in this video, but his others go into more details of that.

Click to expand...
thanks for sharing, that was awesome. they seem quite pragmatic about the endeavor.

in one of their videos, they do demonstrate charging the EV from the trailer, and emphasize that it is not something done regularly.

hoping to see this catch on more :)
 
My wife does the gardening and lawn care. She wants a zero turn electric lawnmower. Man they are very pricy! I can't find a Ryobi zt540e for sale now. Not zero turn but I love the idea of a new battery project. I am concerned that any of the new ones would have a computer taking to the batteries and prevent you from DIY batteries. This is an old thread but I figured I would kick the tire and see what is out there.
 
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