Re: (ET) New guy in town...

["T Humphrey" <thumphrey mynra com>]

I wonder how hard it would be to change the reversing circuits on 
an E-15 to switch the armature instead of the field, like on the E-
20's and I-5's.

Has anyone tried this.

I can go from forward to reverse and back on my I-5 under full 
power.....I don't recommend doing this however, it must be even 
harder on the tractor than it is on my neck....and back.

On another note, for those of you that are electrically 
challenged, the All-Trax controller is a real good deal. Install 
it and the only electrical problems you will have will be charger 
related. Now we just need a real smart charger controller.



Stay Charged!
Hump


---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: Humphrey Timothy H Contr AFRL/IFEC 
<Timothy Humphrey rl af mil>
Date:  Tue, 10 Feb 2004 18:16:49 -0000

>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Pieter Litchfield [mailto:plitch attglobal net] 
>Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 12:56 PM
>To: Discussion List Electrac tractor
>Subject: RE: (ET) New guy in town...
>
>
>I have seen many "welcome to the group" posts suggesting (like 
the one
>below) that some normal maintenance activities will keep your ET 
healthy for
>years to come.  Very true!  Be sure you keep the plastic bags 
around the
>batteries to prevent battery acid from eating its way through the 
boxes too.
>That seems to be a traditional problem.
>
>I have both an E-12 and an E-15.  Mechanically very similar, but
>electrically quite different.  The E-12 is "relay driven", while 
the E-15
>employs a printed circuit board full of discrete semi-conductors 
to help
>with switch timing and lockouts.  Frankly, the E-12 seems more 
robust
>electrically, but the E-15 is a more powerful tractor.  An 
owner's service
>manual, available from Bill Gunn, is invaluable!  You absolutely 
need one.
>
>Part of my electrical problems with the E-15 stem from the last 
owner
>leaving it out in the elements for a few years.  When I pulled 
down the rear
>panel, there was a mouse nest on the circuit board (just like 
Chris
>Zacks!)and a lot of mouse pee rotted components.  I rebuilt the 
board myself
>using off the shelf components, and it works OK.  I should 
probably buy a
>"real" replacement for it since I think there may still be an 
intermittent
>contact somewhere on it.  The only ongoing problem I have, not 
entirely
>unique to mine, is the occasional frying of a reversing relay.  
The only
>sure cure for me is to be sure that the tractor is completely 
stopped before
>reversing direction.  These units are not without 
their "personality quirks"
>which make them more fun to be around than your average Sears 
garden
>tractor.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu
>[mailto:elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu]On Behalf Of 
Christopher Zach
>Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 11:27 AM
>Cc: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
>Subject: Re: (ET) New guy in town...
>
>
>I think one of the key issues on the Elec-Trak as opposed to more 
modern
>tractors is the fact that you do have to do some annual 
maintenance on them.
>They are 30 years old, and back then things weren't quite the 
same "drive
>till it drops" philosophy that permeates most stuff these days.
>
>The most important thing IMO is to make sure the tractor is 
lubricated. Get
>a grease gun and lube the front axles, the front steering points, 
the front
>axle bar itself, the rear axles, etc. Change the tranny oil, pull 
the
>batteries and check for rust/make sure the liner is intact, that 
sort of
>thing.
>
>The electronics are dead-simple, especially on the E20's. My 
whole smart
>card is out right now (one of the diodes cracked due to too many 
mouse nests
>in there) but the tractor still runs fine in speeds 1-5. I'll fix 
6-8 this
>spring.
>
>Chris
>
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