Re: (ET) First Snow Job

["Max Hall" <maxo iname com>]

Damn, Darryl, that is a nice essay for the start of the snow season.

Ah, SNOW!

-Max Hall
-Think globally, act when convenient. No, wait... Think globally, act
locally. That's it.
-Plywood Guy, Scooters, and what-all: http://www.maxmatic.com


----- Original Message -----
From: Darryl McMahon <darryl econogics com>
To: <elec-trak cosmos5 phy tufts edu>
Sent: Thursday, December 30, 1999 4:17 PM
Subject: (ET) First Snow Job


> Well, we finally got enough snow to make it worth pulling out the
> Elec-Trak.  (I knew this because my wife asked if I wanted to try it
> out as we had started shoveling the driveway.)
>
> Batteries are old and cold, and shortly after I got started, the
> chains came off the rear tires.  Got them placed again, and used a
> couple of old bungee cords to gather up the slack at the outside of
> the wheels, and seems to have resolved that problem.  Between
> the chains and my weight over the rear wheels, the E12 did not
> have any slipping problems, and we have a pretty good slope on
> our driveway.  I do have to do something about the steering, it slips
> when the tractor is stationary and the blower is lifted.
>
> The 36" blower seems a bit fussy.  No worries about blowing snow
> into the next county - 20 feet seems an optimistic limit, and then
> only with optimum feed and a following breeze.  I learned to match
> the speed and load.  Too little snow in the auger, no throw reach.
> Too much snow in the auger, it binds and stalls.
>
> Our city driveway is really too small for this machine, spend too
> much time maneuvering.  After the city plow went by, I took it out
> on the street and it did very nicely on the longer runs.  I think I will
> look into converting a conventional snowblower to electric in the
> future for handling the sidewalks and our driveway.  Today we
> shoveled the walks to the driveway, and used the tractor from there.
>
> Still, there was a real sense of satisfaction as I backed the tractor
> up the driveway into the garage, and past the electric Fiero.  I think
> it is time to put the gasoline snowblower up for sale - our last
> gasoline powered appliance.
>
> My wife's overall reaction:  "It's pretty cool."  High praise indeed
> from someone who has lived with so many of my projects
> (successful and otherwise).
>
>
> Darryl McMahon             http://www.econogics.com
> 1973 Elec-Trak E12 electric tractor
> 1974 Auranthetic Charger electric motorcycle
> 1975 EVA Metro (Renault 12 conversion) electric car
> 1986 Pontiac Fiero (conversion) electric car
> 1997 SpinCraft Explorer electric boat
> current project - B&D Model 8080 electric reel mower
> next project - 1973 Porsche 914 conversion
>