(ET) Reliable, heavy-duty electric tractor?

[ThompsonG DFO-MPO GC CA]

Hi
Good luck, and go the ET solution. Nothing better than cutting grass 
hearing
the birds chirp and breathing clean air. 

All the New Idea (Electrak) Tractors will take both a mid mound and a front
mount mower, and you can make a front mount mower into a mid mount if you
know somebody who is good at stick welding. So you are not just stuck
looking for a E12M , Also the E10 and E8 while much smaller machines are 
mid
mount two mower decks and are great in tight quarters. The small frame E10
and E8 are 3 speed machine extremely simple machines with a constant 
running
motor PM motors. And it very easy to make the E8 a 3 12V battery machine
into a 6-6V  battery machine, basically just add swap batteries and a 
couple
of jumpers. It would be dead simple to put in a controller if you wanted to
control speed but it is not needed.
I think Jon K. from Albany (use and E10 to pull fire wood out of the bush
and as I recall it is a good little work horse). 
If I was looking to make a working tractor from an ET I do like the rest of
the group seem to be suggesting. Get a good large frame ET, rebuild the
motors and install an Alltrax type controller. 
        Caution. There are some variation in the motors, some are Sepx/ 
some
PM some sort of a bit of both and it really depends on the model and the
manufacturer. This is not a problem but it does make a difference when you
go to buy a controller.

Have fun


Geof Thompson