RE: (ET) Acquiring E15 - Questions

[agp@???]

Thanks, Dwight.

I didn't have time to give more details of my acquisition earlier as I had
to get out and mow! 

But to fill in the gaps:  I didn't even know these machines existed a week
ago.  I found a website that listed all manufacturers of lawn tractors and
saw the 'Electric Ox'.  Was not even close to my budget but when I searched
on 'electric tractor' I discovered the www.elec-trak.org site, etc.  That
was Friday night when I realized I REALLY wanted one of these marvelous
machines.  But I was not hopeful that I would be able to get one since I
could only buy one tractor, with no budget to pay for shipping, and no time
to wait for one to come around.

But still, on Saturday night, I was back on the www, browsing classifieds.
Nothing on the Elec-Trak sites, so I went looking at regular EV sites ads.
The first one I went to was the Austin EV page and about halfway down in
the middle of all these electric cars and trucks was the lone Elec-Trak E15
that is now in my garage.  And it was listed in ROANOKE, VA ??!!  (My place
of residence.)  I couldn't believe it!  It had been listed since Jan 3 and
verified as still for sale Feb 23.  But that was a month ago and I was
begging God, "Please don't let it be sold already."  I couldn't sleep until
2 am and woke up the next morning and called the guy (Mark Hanson) at 8 am.
 Kept calling until we had to go to church and no answer.  Aarrgh!  So I
called again after church and he picked up.  I was able to keep my cool on
the phone and went to look at the tractor. 

I knew it would be like my 1970 MGB:  Rusty.  But I'm used to that (refer
to average non-show MGB underbody).  So when I got there it was drizzly and
cold but I was still trying to hide this huge smile when I first saw this
awesome beast.  I got my face under control and acted as if I'd seen better
tractors.  Tried riding it and was pleased at the feel except for the
steering wheel.  (First thing I replaced on my MGB, too!)  So we hooked up
the mowing deck and I learned the basics of the controls.  This is actually
an early, early (AA) type E-15 with substantial modifications (Mark was an
engineer for GE's electric vehicle division at one time).  I negotiated the
price down to $2000, took a set of all the shop manuals and such, and paid
a deposit (with settlement contingent on delivery and after it proved able
to mow my 3/4 acre on one charge). 

Read the manuals non-stop until the tractor was delivered on Tues but the
weather continued rainy and cold until today.  So in the meantime I changed
the gear oil and familiarized myself with the guts of this critter.  

E-15  Model: 26A15AA   SN: GNO1767  
Drive Motor   SN: 5BCY56RA6    Date Code: EFN
Transaxle   Model: 2318   SN: 002246

Modified as follows.
Power pack:  6 x US Battery  Model: US-8VGC  (165 A-h) @ 48VDC
Controls:  2 x Club Car (golf cart) variable voltage DC motor controller 
One for the Drive motor, one for the accessories.  Capable of instantly
switching from forward to reverse (even at full throttle, if desired).
Display:  Red LED to right of throttle showing battery charge, battery
voltage underhood temp, drive motor temp,       and charging time elapsed.
Charger:  3 stage, 24VAC square wave (from ferro-resonant transformer),
neutral on power pack center point (24VDC). 
Throttle:  Sliding pot replacing original lever.

I mowed today and noticed some belt slippage going uphill.  Plan to replace
those as soon as is practical.  Ditto for the mower motor bearings (just as
a precaution).  Turning radius is not good, but I knew that it wouldn't be
from what I read in the GE specs.  The at-speed switch from forward to
reverse compensates for that pretty well, though.  (And front end had fresh
lube courtesy of Mark.)  I mowed by running laps and then, at the end, a
sort of dumbbell shape to get the last passes done.  Drive motor got up to
90 degrees F.

So now I have it here with also a 48" blade, and non-Elec-Trak pull cart,
fertilizer, and rear-mounted, plastic (not-for-weight), wimpy box.  Plus
some spare bits.  

Many of the old-timers at the GE Industrial Systems plant I work at have
heard of the Elec-Trak.  In fact, the guy in the cube across from me said
he was looking high and low for one back in the late 70's and early 80's.
I was ignorant of these great work-horses due to my lack of years.  (My ET
was built before I even had teeth!)

That's the story for now.  Hope it didn't bore any of you old-timers.  ;)


At 04:49 PM 3/21/02 -0500, you wrote:
>Andrew,
>
>
>Some of the Peerless Transaxles, the 3 speed ones make quit a lot of gear
>noise. You can fit a larger steering wheel, infact I think the E20's had a
>larger wheel on them. The twist lock plug is for 36V accessories.
>
>Remmember this tractor is 30 plus years old and will require some work and
>replacement parts. If you just want to mow grass, you might do better 
>with a
>new ICE mower. But if you want to have something that is cool to mow with
>and you like to mess around with simple mechanical stuff driven with 1970
>electrical parts then the Elec-Trak is the machine you want. 
>
>Change the oil in the transaxle, lube the steering and ball joints, check
>the battery connections, and check the bearings on the mower deck. 
>
>http://www.elec-trak.org/ for more info.
>
>For parts
>
>Technical Services and Parts
> 7898 Pine View Drive 
> Edgerton WI. 53534
> 608-868-6220
>
>Talk to Mr, Bill Gunn 
>
>
> Hey Andrew you work at GE, I thought all you guys would know about
>Elec-Traks! Welcome aboard!  
>
>Dwight 
>
>Dwight L. Hazen, Indiana University, UITS 
>Bloomington, In. 47408-7378 Phone 812-855-5367 hazen indiana edu
>http://php.ucs.indiana.edu/~hazen/ Ham Radio wb9tlh arrl net
>IP Phone 317.278.4014   Change is inevitable except from a vending 
>machine.
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Poush, Andrew (IndSys, SalemVA) [mailto:Andrew Poush IndSys ge com] 
>Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2002 3:50 PM
>To: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
>Subject: (ET) Acquiring E15 - Questions
>
>I am almost the owner of an E15 Elec-Trak.  It's at my house now and the
>soon to be former owner has my deposit.  Pending one mow of my yard we 
>will
>settle up today.
>
>I'm very pleased to have found this tractor at the very moment that I 
>needed
>one.  And the seller is only 30 minutes drive from my home on Roanoke, VA.
>I do have some questions however:
>
>Is the tractor supposed to be as quiet as a golf cart?  This one makes
>substantially more noise, transaxle related, I think.
>
>What is the 250V outlet on the left front used for?
>
>Has anyone fit a larger steering wheel (3/4" shaft)?  I want my wife to
>enjoy driving this tractor, too.
>
>
>Thanks,
>Andy
>
>Andrew G. Poush
>GE Industrial Systems
>Turbine Controls Engineer
>Rm 174 * 1501 Roanoke Blvd. * Salem, VA 24153
>ph 540-387-8066 (dc 278-8066) * fax 540-387-7652
>e
>
Andrew Poush