Motor CompartmentMotor and PulleyAdapter on Motor ShaftPulley on Adapter on Motor ShaftMower with Cart
OwnerMark
Owner's Other EVsFrankenTrike
Chinese-Made Eagle Scooter
1980 Suzuki GS 450
LocationHuntsville, Alabama United States map
Email email image
Vehicle1998 MTD
Turf Pro 12.5 hp Riding Lawn Mower being converted to electric
MotorLeeson Permanent Magnet DC
1.5 hp 36 volt, 38 amp
Batteries3, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
3 store brand lawn/garden batteries from Advanced Auto...
System Voltage36 Volts
Charger
el cheapo Wal-Mart battery charger to charge batteries one at a time
for now...
HeaterYou must be joking!
InstrumentationOriginal
Top SpeedDon't expect near the performance the mower had with the 12.5 hp
Briggs & Stratton, but only expect the wheels to turn and the blades
to turn. Will update later...
RangeAbout 20 minutes drive time, have run it about 6 blocks back and
forth in front of the house...
Seating CapacityMe
TiresOriginal
Conversion TimeHard to say, worked on it a bit here and a bit there... maybe 16 hours
up to now, but most of that was dismantling the motor and other
works and prep...
More like 30+ hours now...
Conversion Cost$20 for battery charger, $0 for salvaged motorcycle batteries (Thanks
Marc!), $40 for new dual drive pulley (eeek!) $8 for lawn/tractor
battery cables... so far...
Another $56 for 2 new lawn/garden batteries...
Will mount motor and pulleys as soon as I have an adapter to mate them together
made, and
will wire up a 12 volt battery and toggle switch for first test run.
UPDATE: (12/7/08) The custom part is about to be ready, just having it tweaked. It
fits great,
though. Can't wait to install the motor and pulleys! Hope to have another update
within a
week.

UPDATE: (12/9/08) The adapter is here! All I need now is a longer screw to secure the
pulley
and a set screw and I will be ready to reassemble the mower! *praying for good
weather this
weekend*

UPDATE: (4/17/10) A long time since the last update... We bought a house and I
FINALLY got
back to my electric conversion projects! I decided to remove the mowing deck to
lighten the
load. Motor was mounted to the mower and first hard-wired power-up test was
made with a
single lawn/garden battery. It moved! I've added a second battery and it runs alot
faster!
Video coming soon!

UPDATE: (4/26/10) Check out the link above for a video of the test drive with a 3rd
battery
connected and a battery box made from a Contico tool box mounted to the front of
the
frame!

code by jerry