(ET) RE: New member needs an ET

["Chris Tromley" <chris_t microtrac com>]

Thanks to all who responded on-list and off.  (And I think I get the
hang of responding to this list now.  Thanks, Ken.)

The consensus seems to be that an ET in good condition tends to stay
that way pretty well.  There will be the occasional mishap, so the
prudent owner should keep some spares around.  When an ET is down it
usually isn't down for long.  I can live with that.

The difficulty is finding one in good condition.  I can't spend the time
to restore one.  (My road EV has stretched my wife's patience near its
limit.  And with good reason too - there are times when I hate the thing
myself.  I expect things to change soon when it gets put into regular
use.)  So I'm stuck waiting for a ready-to-use e-tractor, ET or other,
and those seem to be pretty rare.

Which is why I'm VERY interested in what Geof Thompson finds when he
picks up his new-in-the-box B145 (whatever that is?)  A "new" ET with
little more needed than removing some cobwebs would be a real find.

Some of the responses made me think about exactly what ET might be best
for my purposes.  Just to recap, I need this to mow a 3/4 acre lot with
over 50 trees.  Maneuverability is important.  I thought that meant
using a belly mower, but I forgot that -M style ETs have a longer
wheelbase.  Which works better for mowing around trees, a front deck or
a belly-mount?

I also need to clear snow from a ~200' driveway/parking area.  At my old
house (no shade), if I exposed some of the asphalt it would heat up
enough to burn off any remaining snow.  With all the shade at the new
place and the fact that my electric push-snowblower leaves a thin
coating of snow, the asphalt never heats enough and everything turns to
ice.  And stays that way for way too long.  Does that mean I need a
blade instead of a snow thrower?  Does the blade on an ET tilt
right/left, so a few passes gets the snow off to one side of the
driveway?  (Yes, I'm clueless about how this stuff works.)

As far as size is concerned, 3/4 acre isn't that much.  I'm guessing an
E8, 10 or 12 might be plenty, but I'm not clear on the differences
between them.  I suspect power isn't the real issue here, but features.
Can someone give me a quick rundown?  Maybe if I plan to upgrade to an
Alltrax even an E8 would be enough?  Aside from what I've described, the
limit of my ambition might be to build a tow-behind vacuum/shredder for
fall leaves and all the pine cones.  Do the smaller ETs tow implements
well?

Enough questions for now.  Again, thanks for the help.

Chris