Re: (ET) Intro: Just bought an Elec-Trac

["Christopher Zach" <czach computer org>]

Well one thought would be to use three 12 volt regulators coming off the
panels. Each 12v regulator would be charging two batteries. The back ends 
of
the regulators would all bus off the common current coming from the the 
four
panels rigged in parallel.

Same logic as plugging three household chargers in, then plugging those 
into
the same wall outlet. But I'll bet that the batteries would never charge at
*quite* the same rate, the universe being what it is...

Another possibility would be to charge the batteries in sections of 24 
volts
using a timer. Thus with a battery layout of

1 2 3 4 5 6

Batteries 1234 would be charged first for 5 mins at 24 volts. Then we would
shift to batteries 3456 for 5 mins at 24 volts. Then batteries 1256 for 5
minutes. Result would be all three batteries receiving roughly the amount 
of
charge. Of course there would be overhead for the logic.

Another thought is for me to get off my tail and buy another MSX120 panel,
then wire them in series (12/12/12) for the tractor and parallel (24/24/24)
for the shed. Being that this is relatively low (and fused) current, I 
could
probably get by with something that can switch a max current of 7 amps.

> T-105s ~are~ standard golf car batteries.

Silly me. I was thinking the T105 as a Trojan battery. I have heard their
batteries are more solid than most. Is there a cheap generic battery that
will get me started?

> There is a vacuum gadget that was made for the ET that trails along
> behind the tractor.  Don't know about simple baggers, though.  I don't
> think GE ever made one.

Yes, that is a thought. I could buy a vacuum device from Sears (ug, ICE) or
think about this one some more.

If the T20 allows side discharge, I might be able to mount the Craftsman
bagger on the rear, then run a very long pipe back to it. Might not work
though if the blades aren't very fast...

Chris