Electric Conversions

A little hobby of mine… So much fun stuff to explore. Not enough time.

I’m in the market for a new lawnmower

Does anyone have an electric or battery-powered push mower they love? (Or... hate?)

I'd love to know!

I'm also open to just buying another battery for my DIY lawnmower. Here's what I did back in 2007.

https://jeanegan.com/lawn-mower-conversion/
It's used 2 batteries since then. I didn't use my mower last year because I didn't feel like buying another battery!

Are electric plug-in mowers a pain in the butt? I understand they're:

1. Cheaper to buy ($150 - $200)
2. Cheaper to run ($5 - $10 for the whole season!)

Car conversion stuffs started!

Holy cow. I can’t believe I’m finally starting in on this. I feel like I’ve read about it and talked about it for so long, that I’m all read and talked out. Time to do!

Today I went and set up the engine lift at the garage space a friend has so graciously offered up.

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A Gaping Need: Electric Conversions

Here’s a somewhat long-winded explanation of why I am interested in doing electric car conversions. (At some point, this page will contain steps I’ve taken with my conversions!) Enjoy!

I had a “stock photography site” idea around 2003. The place I was working for had a photographer that would take extra photos that had nothing to do with what we needed while on shoot for a client. They were real good, and I thought it would be great to take advantage of these shots and start an independent stock photography site that was affordable. Not like the giants of the day: Getty Images. $200 or more for a photograph? Wow, I can’t afford that. We used PhotoDisc royalty free stock photo CDs (from $100-$300 ea.) most of the time, but it would be nice to have an alternative. And a good one at that! A gaping hole. This is where my ideas come from.

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Electric Car Conversion Considerations

I’ve got a donor car for my electric car conversion 🙂

My Dad offered up his trusty car to me! I learned how to drive standard shift in this car. I love this car! It gets just about 50 MPG!

Also got a “new” car. Not new, but new to me:

I bought the VW with the intention of it being my first conversion. The people that owned it before me didn’t seem to believe in changing the oil. The muffler rattles around when I accelerate and the brake indicator light is on most of the time. It has something to do with my emergency brake. I hear a click near the e-brake handle, and then the light goes on & stays on. Also, it’s hard to put it into first and second gear. A new friend told me that it was probably the spacers in the linkage, and not a problem with the transmission. Phew! Most of the problems would not have mattered if I were converting it, which was my intention when I looked at it & put the deposit down.

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Preparation Project: Lawn mower conversion from gas to battery powered

The images below show how the mower looked during each step of the conversion. I took lots of pictures to ensure that I could rebuild it. Click on any of them to see them larger and to view the captions. Below are videos of the first mow!

Transmission

Another view

Just acquired a free mower from FreeCycle.org!

Tried to use this switch...

Yuck!

Stripped off the motor

Now I can see why it's called a "Snapper". It looks like a turtle!

while it sits on the floor of my basement.

This is where the previous tiny starter battery was housed. I'll use it for my huge battery replacement.

Yahoo!

spatulate!

We put about 10 inches of rocks and rock dust under the rocks when we did it. Wow! It should drain well! I should put a pic of the finished project on here too...

found at NAPA

Notice the electrical tape... It was temporary!

So stylish!

I love this switch. It's a non-arching switch and can handle 75 amps. (plenty)

Until I make this "pretty", this very functional bungee cord does a good job of holding the battery as I mow.

24 VDC 1.54 HP Lawnmower Motor

New. Tecumseh 90000A. Built as motor for cordless electric lawnmowers. Permanent magnet motor. End bell of motor is aluminum casting similar to gas engine mower mount. Shaft end tapped 3/8"-24 RH. Price $69.95

Specifications

  • HP 1.54
  • Voltage 24 DC
  • Amps 4.5 no load
  • RPM 3,200
  • Rotation reversible
  • Duty intermittent
  • Mount: four 5/16" holes on 8" B.C.
  • Shaft 7/8" diam. x 2" w/keyway
  • Size 8-3/4" dia x 7-1/2" long
  • Shpg. 15 lbs.

Finally, the fun stuff: Videos!

I took the mower to my new found friend's house & he helped me to get it working this weekend!!! It started for the first time on May 28, 2007! This video is the mower's "HELLO WORLD"! Awww... isn't it cute?! Thanks hubby for filming and taking pictures of it's "birth"!

My friend was so kind as to not mow his lawn and allowed me to REALLY test out the motor's capabilities! hehe! It sounds like an airplane!

After we stopped recording, I edged my friend's lawn. It lasted just about a half hour before the battery lost power. I think that's that!!! Oh, except I plan on sharpening the blade. It kinda ripped the grass rather than cut it, so sharpening it will make it a MEAN GREEN MACHINE!

Update: It did well to sharpen it! Also, I was able to add the bagger back on & can mow my lawn and bag the clippings and leaves as well.

Thanks for following along with my project!


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