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Re: (ET) Ground up ET build



      The Brute Force approach that I would employ would entail re-fitting the control system to employ the use of armature contactors for reversing. Unless there is a superior method of surge suppression available during cycling from F to R, that poor relay ALWAYS takes the hit. :(

      On a lark, I put a set of contactors in my E-10, just to see the results. With the permanent magnet motor, the stops from F to R were violent, but tolerable. :)


RJ

On 8/6/2022 1:16 PM, Larry Chace wrote:
Greg Curran asked about wishes for a beefier ET.  What an interesting idea!

Greg, can you tell us where in the Northeast you will be?  I'm near Ithaca, NY, "centrally isolated" with plenty of winter weather, but probably not as severe as Maine or northern Vermont or New Hampshire. I have an E15 for plowing and mowing and an I-5 for hauling and snowthrowing.  The 700 foot long driveway is somewhat sloped, enough that the tractors clearly prefer to go downhill rather than uphill, especially with the snowthrower (aka "battery eater").

Both tractors seem to have about the same power, with the E15 running somewhat more slowly than the I-5. They are usually run with the speed control set to maximum, using gears to select the appropriate ground speed: LL for in-garage movements, L for hauling and meadow mowing, D1 for lawn mowing and snow plowing, and D2 mostly for moving from place to place.  Snowplowing and lawn mowing need more frequent fwd/rev switching, and so the E15's hand control is more convenient. For hauling, the I-5' foot controller and cruise control is convenient.  However, I added a switch to each tractor to avoid getting into electric speeds 5, 6, and 7.  On the I-5 that also gives an increased amount of dynamic braking.

For driveway clearing (700' by 12'), the E15 and plow do a great job unless the snow is too deep (a foot or more, depending on moisture content).  The snowthrower works well but it really drains the batteries; one trip downhill is all that they will tolerate.  I had to replace its drive chain once -- a truly unpleasent task (in the winter, of course).

I use a 3-bank 10-amp Minn-kota charger, plugging it into whichever tractor needs it most.  Both tractors also have their original GE chargers and the tractor garage has two 20-amp circuits, so both can be charged simultaneously.

Both tractors got new Crown batteries about 10 years ago.  There is no indication that I can see that they may be approaching their end-of-life.  The most annoying problem is the infamous reverse relay lock-up on the E15.  Even being VERY careful to aovid changing the FWD/REW switch while in motion, sometimes it just happens and that means pushing the tractor into the garage for relay replacement (the problem seems to be worse in the winter). Luckily, the house and garage are at the downhill end of the driveway.

The I-5's brake is just barely adequate and the E-15 brake does nothing.  Luckily, the snow plow and mower deck provide a certain amount of braking.  Both tractors have chains all the time.  (The best part of the lawn in mowed with a Ryobi cordless push mower rather than with the E15.)

What would be good to have?  Eliminate the fwd/rev relay problem, have a less power-hungry snowthrower, have a good way to clean the bottom of the mower deck,
speed up the E15's transions from electric speed 1 to electric speed 3.

My father worked for GE and I enjoy seeing the GE monogram in the center of the steering wheel whenever I drive the tractors.

In Greg's situation, it might be good to have *two* tractors.  A few times I've had to use one of them to pull the other.  (When I had just the I-5, my wife said "you should have a spare".)

Larry Chace, Ithaca, NY  E15 and I-5


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