RE: (ET) First mowing of the year (at last!) and questions

["Elie, Larry (L.D.)" <lelie ford com>]

I'm glad you finally got to run the mower....

-----Original Message-----
"
1) The battery voltage fluctuates from the bottom of the green (when mowing
up a hill) to the top of the green (going downhill :-) Is this swing range
normal? At what point do you check the fuel gauge to see how much power is
in the batteries? At rest or under load?
"

When you go down hill, the load is reduced; steep enough and it does a 
little regen.  The voltage always shows some 'droop' depending on load.  
When the load is low, the droop is low.  I compare the voltage at rest 
after several minutes of recovery, but that doesn't mean you don't gain 
some information all of the time.  Mow heavy grass and you may see the 
voltage go into the top of the yellow, but it will recover some when the 
load drops.


"
2) The E20 doesn't steer as well with the mower on. In fact at any speed
above L1-2, the front wheels don't seem to provide much input at all. On 
the
hill I have to slow to speed 1 in order to steer.
"

Are your casters free to turn?  Do you have the wide or narrow front 
tires?  Do you have enough air in the front tires?  Do you have anything 
on the back of the tractor?

"
3) What is the recommended speed for mowing the lawn? I've been using L
gear, speed 4 (cruise control, no resistors, full field) because D speed
drives the batteries into the red when climbing the hill. Also L seems to 
do
nice amounts of regen, while D doesn't do much regen braking at *all*. Is
this normal?
"

I have no hills.  I mow D2 or D1 depending on how long or wet the grass is.

"
4) How noisy should the deck be? I don't hear any mechanical whines, but 
the
blades do appear to make a lot of air noise (roar). Would new blades be a
good idea; do I have an aerodynamic issue here?
"

The roar is common.  So are vibration noises.

"
5) To increase the range (and decrease the voltage drop under load) I have
been thinking of adding three 12 volt Dynasty AGM batteries (100 amp/hrs at
36 volts) in parallel with the six T105's. Is this a bad idea? I would
charge them seperately; I know about the setpoint difference and can put a
second solar charger on them.

My thought is the AGM batteries can provide a lot more amperage over a 
short
period of time than the lead acid batteries and this might help smooth out
the voltage fluctuations when going up a hill.

Thanks for any thoughts or input.
"

There are people using another pack on the back of the tractor.  It takes 
a lot longer to equalize the charge between the packs.  I do 2 acres 
pretty well on a charge, but I have flat ground.  I have also heard of 
using a SECOND ET for a big lawn.

Larry Elie