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"Made It Myself" Electric Tractor
Steve Heckeroth believes we need to change our ideas on what a tractor should look like. And how it should be powered.
What Heckeroth believes should power most tractors, especially utility and small field tractors, is electricity.
Heckeroth, of Albion, California, has been making and testing el
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"Made It Myself" Electric Tractor TRACTORS Made-It-Myself 26-4-7 Steve Heckeroth believes we need to change our ideas on what a tractor should look like. And how it should be powered.
What Heckeroth believes should power most tractors, especially utility and small field tractors, is electricity.
Heckeroth, of Albion, California, has been making and testing electric tractors for more than a decade. Much of his work is posted at his Website: www.renewables.com.
His latest tractor has two 5 hp electric wheel motors, which gives the tractor the same tractive power as a 30 hp tractor. A separate electric motor for the pto can be added. It also has front and rear Cat. I three-point hitches. Each hitch is raised by two 750-lb. capacity linear actuators, giving it a maximum lift of 1,500 lbs.
It has 11 by 24-in. traction wheels and 5 1/2 by 16-in. steering wheels. Wheelbase is adjustable, from 110 in. to 128 in., and track width can be adjusted from 48 to 72 in. Even when fully extended and widened, the electric power steering gives the tractor a zero turning radius. Ground clearance is 20 in.
The seat can be faced forward or turned to the rear. The seat can also be positioned close to the ground.
The tractor's electric motors and actuators are powered by an on-board 10-kilowatt/hour-battery pack, which Heckeroth says is sufficient for all-day light-duty applications such as planting and harvesting. A full charge will power the tractor and pto driven 48-in. mower for about two hours, or a loader or forklift for about three hours. He recommends an additional exchangeable 10 kWh battery pack mounted on the front 3-pt. hitch for field operations like four hours of plowing (with a single-bottom plow) or two hours of operating a 48-in. roto-tiller. It will pull a 2-row cultivator for about 4 hours.
Heckeroth has developed a photovoltaic shade canopy to help keep the batteries charged while shading the operator. His electric tractor can be made from modular components and many parts are readily available from the electric forklift industry.
Heckeroth is not able to answer individual requests for information or plans for his tractor, but he'd like to hear from companies interested in his design.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Steve Heckeroth, Homestead Enterprises, Box 151, Albion, Calif. 65410 (E-mail: tractor@renewables.com; Website: www.renewables.com).
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