| Owner | Alasdair Robertson | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Edinburgh , Scotland United Kingdom map | ||||
| Vehicle | 1984 Westwood W11 Gazelle Classic 11HP lawn tractor from the 1980s | ||||
| Motor | Mars ME0810 Permanent Magnet DC 4.5kW rated motor running at 36V (could be run on 48V) | ||||
| Drivetrain | 5 speed + reverse, belt driven | ||||
| Controller | Alltrax SPM48300 Limited to 150A max to protect the batteries a bit as it has plenty torque at 150A and the gearbox can also be used to reduce current when towing heavy loads | ||||
| Batteries | ZAP Expedition AGM, 36.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, AGM 3x 70Ah AGM explorer batteries, hopefully not being treated too badly and the weight is useful for keeping the front end on the ground. | ||||
| System Voltage | 36 Volts | ||||
| Charger | Sterling Power Aquanatics 2x Sterling power PSP12202 chargers. These are IP68 with no cooling fan (good for mounting in a garage with woodworking equipment and sawdust) each has 2 independent 12V charging outputs. This gives 4 totally independant outputs which are taken to the individual batteries. Option for 48V is also possible as one channel is spare. Set to AGM charging limits and the whole lot are connected through an 8 way cable and the final connection at the vehicle is through an 8-way Speakon connector. | ||||
| Heater | Padded jacket and some physical labour | ||||
| DC/DC Converter | None Did fit a cheapie DC-DC but it promptly died and I have been running the lights and horn straight to one of the batteries. The total draw from the LED lights is minimal and it's just not worth fitting a DC-DC.. | ||||
| Instrumentation | Hour counter and battery indicator. | ||||
| Top Speed | 8 MPH (12 KPH) Slightly faster than the original and still has space in the battery rack for another battery to give a fast travel option. May also do that and re-gear the belt drive to lower the current when in use | ||||
| Acceleration | Totally fine, it's a tractor. Rate limited in the controller as the gearbox is not perfect and I'm trying to avoid buying and reconditioning another one. | ||||
| Range | Unknown. Spends its life towing a small trailer for gardening use and hauling wood too and from the store/splitting area. It also hauls the road going trailer up and over the hill at the back of the house with no trouble. Hauls for many loaded trips over the hill and around the property and I've never taken the battey below about 90% SOC. | ||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | Unknown | ||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | Just one | ||||
| Curb Weight | 0 Never weighed it but it's a bit more than original which is good as it's mainly used as a load hauler. | ||||
| Tires | Yes, all new and period correct ribbed on the front | ||||
| Conversion Cost | £1355 which is more than I'd like but it was a nut and bolt rebuild so there's a bit of cost for paint, decals, tyres etc. Motor, controller, batteries and chargers were about £725 out of the total cost. | ||||
| Additional Features | Still drives like a garden tractor with a combined brake and 'clutch' pedal. There are 2 control pots in parallel which allow you to separately set the maximum speed with a hand pot and use the foot pedal to work the brake and lift off to drive. ie, not automotive type press to go. This has the added benefit that you can set the hand throttle pot to 0 ohms, lift off the brake pedal which sets the foot pedal pot to 10k ohm and then you can start to wind up the hand throttle to start to drive. This is a useful method of very fine torque control when pulling heavy trailers up steep hills and much better than using the foot control alone. | ||||
| Fitted with very bright LED lights and a new seat, it's the workhorse tractor around here for doing all the hauling. A cutting deck is being designed. | |||||
1984 Westwood W11 Gazelle EV
Last Updated 12-25-2020
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