(ET) Dismal failure

["Jeremy Gagliardi com" <jeremy gagliardi com>]

Well, I haven't posted in a while, but I feel like it after what I 
experienced 
yesterday.  Call this an airing out, if you will.  Caution, I'm not on my 
usual 
bandwagon.

My tractor is currently only in service in the winter now (it isn't able 
to 
handle mowing anymore, since I moved to a hilly, landscaped lot in 
suburbia).  
So, here my tractor has been sitting in my garage for well over a year 
without 
use, but plugged in with Landis controller the entire time.

First, the batteries were very discharged.  I couldn't even get it up to 
full 
speed before the whole thing just quit.  Me thinks the controller didn't 
kick 
in enough.  I had to put it on a "quick" 20-minute manual charge just to 
get 
things going.  After use, I put it on a full manual charge.

But, now here's the really horrible part.  I have the dozer blade on for 
plowing snow.  The crossbar is off so the blade can spring up whenever it 
encounters an obstacle.  Guess what happened?  This snow wouldn't budge 
one 
bit.  The blade just kept springing up.  Plus, the rear tires (with 
chains) 
would just spin out of control.

I got the dang thing stuck, in 2" deep snow no less, more than 3 times.  I 
had 
to get my wife to push while I drove in LL twice.

My wife & I then spent the next hour chiseling a one-shovel width path 
down 
the sidewalks to comply with city ordinance.  We didn't even feel like 
getting 
to the driveway.  We weren't happy.

To be fair, the snow was hard packed, but on the other hand only 2" deep.  
Meanwhile, the neighbors ICE snow throwers were handling things just fine. 
 I 
felt particularly "behind the curve" after that.  Kind of like when I 
splurged 
$500 for a brand new Newton electric walk behind mower, got everything 
setup, 
charged the battery, and...saw how utterly horrible it performed in actual 
use.  It only took me 2 months to ditch the Newton and hire a lawn service.

--
Jeremy Gagliardi
E20
Potomac, Md