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Let me apologize to all dedicated Elec-Trak owners who have insisted on maintaining their tractors in the original configuration. My wife and I are no longer able to stay with the amazing classic tractor. Twelve days of hospital emergency treatment for a second stroke on New Years day this year left me unable to walk and with little memory of the past. I had to learn to walk and talk all over again. Subtraction of simple numbers remains a problem today. My wife and I with the help of many members of the list had just succeeded in converting E20 power to the Alltrax 300 DCX. We were joyfully sharing the mowing duties and the Elec-Trak was the mower of choice at our house. I am still enjoying every minute of life, but a simpler way to keep the batteries charged on our E20 became essential for us to continue using the Elec-Trak to mow our lawn. A Landis Controller was installed along with a mechanical timer in the quest for a simpler solution. On August 28, 2006 Harry Landis wrote me and said the bypass is not a good idea. He asked me to “Do an experiment: Mow the lawn, return to the garage and plug in the tractor using my controller, but without the bypass timer. After the test report to the list what you find”. The results may prove beneficial to some. I am most grateful to Harry Landis and those who made recent comments. My wife stayed close to me day and night throughout the recovery and she helped with this report. The Landis Controller will save our E20 from the dump and simplify charging chores.
The E20 battery charging test with Landis Controller w/o the timer is detailed here.
Start Point: 38.9 Volts (6.48, 6.50, 6.46, 6.48, 6.48, 6.48)
1. Front and side lawn over drainage field = 73 min Voltage Read – 37.2 volts 2. Mowing outside the fence at road run time = 28 min Voltage Read – 36.9 volts 3. Lower lawn inside the gate to hedge row = 32 min Voltage Read – 36.8 volts 4. Back yard around garden to well and shed = 37 min Voltage Read – 36.0 volts 5. Left of driveway to main gate (rough grass) = 30 min Voltage Read – 36.2 volts Final Battery: 36.0 Volts (5.96, 6.02, 5.99, 6.01, 6.00, 6.01) Charger Amps Watts Volt Battery On High Low High Low High Level 9.46-6.06 1022-700 40.6 38.9 There is no need to continue with the test. The controller checks voltage for a very brief time and restart to continue the charging. The batteries will be OK because already the level is up to 38.9 volts in only about 6 hours. I feel honored to have been led to the perfect solution. Thank you, Raymon Ellis
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