OwnerRich
Owner's Other EV1994 Kawasaki KE100
LocationAustin, Texas United States map
Vehicle1976 Sears Suburban SS16
I bought this as a non running, mostly complete
tractor, sold off the engine. So as a roller it
cost about $100. Nice heavy duty old garden
tractor.
MotorMars ME 0201013101 Brushless DC
Ebay find, kept it for years knowing I would
eventually do a tractor conversion. I am told it
was designed for a floor burnisher and rpm max
is about 4000 tops. I think it does around 3500
at 52v.
DrivetrainOriginal 8 speed transmission, kept the same
pulley and belt length, just shorter as the
motor is closer.
ControllerKelly KLS-S Mini 24-72v 200amp
Sine wave, which is required for this motor.
Square wave controller was super loud and not
good for motor I was told.
Batteries0.00 Volt,
12s of old Chevy Volt module (40ah?), and 2s
of old Nissan Leaf modules (55ah?) which I
stole off my wife's emoto scooter (replacing
that now). Doesn't matter, I base charge level
off Chevy battery voltages and all have stayed
perfectly balanced forever. No BMS, I just
watch the voltage.
System Voltage52 Volts
Charger
Generic aluminum case 5amp
HeaterMaybe I'll rig up a pedal or hand crank for
lifting the 3pt. That should help keep warm
DC/DC Converter
None yet. Maybe 24v converter for actuators
soon.
InstrumentationOld cycle analyst stand alone shunt.
Top Speed12 MPH (19 KPH)
Torque monster. Higher speed due to
larger tires than stock.
AccelerationEnough to almost throw me off the flat seat.
Range18 Miles (28 Kilometers)
Totally depends on work being done. Just driving
unloaded on dirt, maybe 18 miles? .
Watt Hours/Mile100 Wh/Mile
It uses about 700watts at 7mph and battery is
1.8kwh usable. about 100wh/mile no matter the
speed. I would guess that half of the power
goes to loss in the transaxle. It is a lot
harder to roll in neutral than a geared lawn
tractor with a light duty tranny.
Seating Capacity1, though I had my wife stand on the front axle
when towing a 25ft camper up a slope.
Curb Weight450 Pounds (204 Kilograms)
Bare form is about 450lbs. Add 150lbs of
concrete wheel weights, 125lbs of steel plates
up front, 3pt hitch and receiver, about 800
total without my 200. Weight is a good thing
when traction is the limiter, not power.
TiresRear are 26 x 11-12 TG Tyre Guider Mars-X
Utility ATV/UTV Tire. Not proper tractor tires,
more rounded, but still vastly better traction
than turf.
Conversion TimeMaybe 80 hours? Seemed like a lot, but I work
slow and think too much.
Conversion Cost500? Mostly the cat 1 3pt hitch and related
stuff.
Additional FeaturesWill eventually do loader arms up front. I've been working on a
secret 2(ish) wheel tractor lately. An excavator attachment would be
good too.
I tested the drawbar pull at 1243lbs on dead grass, at which point it
lifted the front axle and my wife standing on it 2 ft in the air. I
ceased further testing because I don't want to find the limit of the
transaxle strength. Total vehicle weight of 1000lbs with us on it, so
I was really impressed it pulled more than that.
It tows big heavy trailers really well, other than needed a brake
improvement. Often times I'll leave the parking brake on and have no
idea, it has such good torque. Very precise throttle and speed
control. I can inch along at incredible slow rates to safely get
through a tight clearance area when towing a big trailer. Recently I
made a custom frame extension to hold the cat 1 3 pt hitch, as the
oem 3pt is tiny. With a middle buster/ ripper it goes through 8
inches of compacted dry soil

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