Re: (ET) Bucket loader

Peter and other friends of GE,

The reason the no one has persued a more modern electric tractor is cost. When GE built them they were introduced at near cost and still cost more than gasoline tractors. Wheel Horse bought out Ge and raised prices, but look how many Wheel Horse tractors you find. There is actually a Canadian company that makes an electric tractor, but it starts at $8000. When I buy a 2 hp shunt wound DC motor today in quantities of 10 I still pay $600+. At that motor seem no better than our GE shunt wound traction motors. Its no wonder that we at my place of employment have virtually phased out DC motors for AC motors with inverters.

-----Original Message-----
From: Pieter Litchfield <plitch ibm net>
To: electrak discussion list <elec-trak cosmos5 phy tufts edu>
Date: Wednesday, January 27, 1999 9:34 AM
Subject: Fw: (ET) Bucket loader

Last Sunday in upstate NY it warmed up - but it flooded!! I have been chipping away at the 2 or more inches of ice that formed as the result of a series of ice storms. My hands have a multitude of blisters resulting from pounding on unyielding sheets of ice on our front walk and driveway with the traditional "ice spud" . But today I got even!

I fired up my ElecTrak E-15, equipped with counterweight box (about 200 lbs patio blocks), tire chains, and bucket loader. I lowered the bucket and within an hour had peeled up and removed tons of soft, punky ice from the driveway. At the end of an hour with the electric/hydraulic unit operating most of the time, the tractor was still going strong (although the motor on the hydraulic unit got very warm) -- it was re-equipped with a set of USED golf cart batteries bought from a golf cart sales & rental down the street for $60 last summer. Guess I got a deal.

I am always amazed and pleased that such a relatively "antique" piece of equipment still operates so well. It's quite a testimonial to the engineering that went into these units. While today our power control technology is better that that employed in the E-15 (transistorized relay switching), the old tractors still manage to get the job done. I only wonder why a major manufacturer hasn't used improved power handling technology in a modern knock off of the ElecTrak.

Now all I have to do is wait 'till spring so I can go mow the lawn with my other tractor - an E-12!