Re: (ET) Chargers (and winch)

[David Brandt <ev_dave13 yahoo com>]

With the modular chargers I am familiar with, they can be left plugged in, 
which with an ET would probably mean for a week or so.  that should be 
plenty long to acount for any imbalance, provided the winch is used at 24V.

I certainly agree on the winch overkill factor, but if I should "need" to 
pull a stump, I can (would probably drag the tractor across the yard 
instead;-).  I guess I could tow cars around, though.  That would make a 
statement with the neighbors.  I came to the decision when I found out 
that the METI guys also used an ATV winch.

Since they are all so overpowered, I went with the least expensive that 
would fit - got a new gorilla 2000 lb. winch off ebay.  It's waterproof, 
comes with a sealed switch (just took it off the handlebar mount and 
mounted it to the dash) and a contactor/circuit breaker that is one unit.  
also comes with a roller fairlead.  I considered the cheaper harbor 
freight ones, but they were too big and were offset too far to mount 
nicely.

I mounted the fairlead inside the bumper (a perfect fit) and cut the hole 
larger.  this also required trimming some of the lift arm that sticks out 
from the bumper.

I ran the cable over the top of the arm to serve as a lift, but you can 
run it straight out as well, by removing the hook, moving the cable, and 
putting the hook back on.  The bumper limits the angle you can pull at, 
but that should not be a problem.  I can still pull it through at about a 
30 degree angle without the cable contacting the bumper's edge.

The only problems are 1) that you need to use some spacers between the 
frame and winch mounting points (I used a couple of old car seat tracks), 
and if you center the cable with the opening, then the motor sticks out 
past the edge of the frame a bit (about 1" - the wheels don't rub or 
anything, it just looks odd).  The motor terminals are on the end that 
sticks out, but that's no biggie if you just cover them up with terminal 
protectors and secure the wires well.

David Brandt


--- On Tue, 8/11/09, Darryl McMahon <darryl econogics com> wrote:

> From: Darryl McMahon <darryl econogics com>
> Subject: Re: (ET) Chargers (and winch)
> To: "elec-trak cosmos" <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
> Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2009, 7:17 AM
> Perhaps my concern arises from the
> fact that my typical applications (snow blowing on a short
> and angled driveway and tilling) do use the lifts a
> lot.  I have seen the front and rear halves of the pack
> be out as much as 0.2 volts at the end of a long run. 
> I don't use my ET for mowing as my yard is more garden than
> lawn.  I have burned out a lift motor and a hand
> cultivator attachment.
> 
> The flooded batteries will tolerate this, so long as one
> ensures the extra charging time required to "equalize" the
> batteries is provided, or does balance charging (which
> almost nobody does).
> 
> I'm contemplating redoing the rear lift arrangement with a
> 12-volt winch, so it could be used as both rear lift and a
> winch.  So far, everything I have seen seems overkill;
> why use a 2500 lb winch on a 600 lb
> vehicle?   Which model of winch are you
> using?
> 
> Darryl