Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Dec 27, 2022 23:45:37 GMT 10
My intent here is to have a place for info, trivia, and the like as EV applies to tractors...
Along the way as there has been talk about the evolution and such of EV... Someone has applied EV to compact tractors... The compact tractor size being very popular now, affordable in diesel mode, and useful.. Anyway here is one part of a preliminary review from a guy associated with another guy who both are quite respected for the info they post.....
=== Also.. This is what I posted before about EV tractors...
I read a review of a compact electric tractor.. About the size of my 32hp John Deere diesel.. Saying it performed well for its size and equivalent horse power, with a duty cycle of about 6 hours... Then it required 8 hours of recharge..
It required 8 hours of charge from a 240 volt 30 amp power source.. The little I know about electricity says ....240 volts times 30 amps times 8 hours equals 57,600 watts of power... What does that cost to charge ?? Besides in one 24 hour day you only get 2 works cycles and one charging cycle.. The next day you get 2 charging cycles and one 6 hour work cycle by these numbers..
I don't remember numbers, but back in the day it was not hard to end up with a monthly power bill of $5,000 or more with the tool and die machine shop.. Plus it would cost $2-3,000 to hook up a new, or relocated machine tool... Again, this was then, and I have no idea the cost in todays world..
So... Facts, details, experience, thoughts .....as it concerns tractors... Put them here
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bug
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Post by bug on Dec 28, 2022 8:50:31 GMT 10
20c/kWh is a normal price, so 57.6kWh * $0.20/kWh = $11.52
Or free if you have your own solar setup.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Dec 28, 2022 9:23:32 GMT 10
Thats the way bug, yup, its not 'free' from solar, unless u are completely off grid. And to supply 30 amps at 240 v for a charger would need a 7.2 kw inverter, and then a solar array around 10 kw to give adequate extra for morning and afternoon charging.
It is just possible with current technology to do for a garden type tractor that is not heavily used, but, is it cheaper ? Probably not. Diesel at $2.20/liter, is 5.2 liters, and garden tractors are very efficient in the small Kobota types, so its probably not as cheap to uses electricity for work, and electric garden tractors are definitely more expensive to purchase than a small diesel Iseki or similar. So economically, no. In a grid down, SHTF situation things change.
After the collapse, fuel will be unobtainable, so being able to run a tractor from your solar system would be a definite plus, cost excluded because if fuel isn't available then the cost of fuel just became infinite.
However, other technologies are available that will do the job better, such as wood gas. And it can be fed into a standard spark ignition engine, such as a old Ferguson. U can pick up the petrol/kero Fegries for almost nothing from farms out west. Problem solved, cheaply and without needing to spend a fortune.
Would I have an electric tractor ? You bet I would, if I could afford one. The more options u have the better after the fall, and a working tractor is a force multiplier, rather like nite vision is a force multiplier in the dark.
I don't always listen to my wife, but when I do, things tend to work out better.
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bug
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Post by bug on Dec 28, 2022 9:26:40 GMT 10
Yeah, nobody is saying it's cheaper. Until one day you're the only one who has a working tractor and still able to produce food when there's no diesel around. Then 'cheapness' doesn't even come into it.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Dec 28, 2022 12:27:43 GMT 10
'Till then, an overhead diesel storage tank and 2,000 + liters diesel is still cheap.
If you only use the tractor for food production for a small group, 2KL will last for several years.
That's our plan, have enough diesel for several years on farm use, and perhaps by then, things would have improved and society will have rebuilt enough to get things into production.
As always, MWAT has standby plans, multiple ones.
I do have enough electrical 'stuff' including controllers and high power dc motors, to convert a ride on lawnmower to electric. And the one I have has the mini 3pt linkage fitted. Add in wood gasifier, diesel and petrol stored for several years, and our group should survive for several years - providing Ceaser (Government), doesn't stick his beak in and tubesteak it all up. And that's the unknown, Ceasers reaction when it all falls over. We know that people will be seeking out food and supplies, so can be ready to defend against that threat, but Ceaser is different and has more resources than we do, as well as being unpredictable when under pressure, tending to overreact far too late.
Hopefully the cites will keep them so busy they wont even think about opening the cans of worms with defended farms in the country areas. And by the time they get around to us, they may have all died out, or deemed it not worth the effort.
As preppers we must consider things we can't control, like Government interference, weather, volcanoes etc and plan accordingly. Not worrying about them, but being aware that things may not go as we were thinking, and be flexible enough to alter our plans to take advantage of it. Like making the decision to stay put at your BOL, but be ready and have the gear, to move out if it all goes legs up.
'nough ramblings, back to bee work.
Do you ever listen to someone and think they have the IQ of a crayon ?
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Dec 30, 2022 12:36:21 GMT 10
Another short video about the EV tractor...
I believe this guy is in the mid, upper part of the lower 1/3 of the US.... Mid, lower Missouri state, if I got it right...
Certainly NOT the kind of winter we get here in the far north.. But interesting.. Hope it is of interest to some...
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Dec 30, 2022 13:18:30 GMT 10
Lithium battery's seem to have a quite narrow range in which they like to operate. One of our 400 amp, 24v paks tripped off at 42 degrees c. Ive also read that below 32 de gf, 0 c, they wont charge until they warm up, but I suppose a diesel tractor is difficult to start at 0 degrees as well, not to mention the operator !
Curious enough to take it apart, skilled enough to put it back together, and clever enough to hide the extra parts when done.
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Dec 30, 2022 15:01:19 GMT 10
You guys need to think outside your modern box.
You don’t need all these high tech gimmicks that cost a fortune to buy and run. You don’t need thousands of litres of diesel stashed.
All you need is a sturdy horse or two. They fuel themselves, self replicate, even double up as transport when not plowing your field.
A horse might not run an auger attachment, but real men dig their own holes. Most of the attachments you get for those toy tractors are for latte sipping pretend farmers.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Dec 30, 2022 15:58:38 GMT 10
Good point, that's why we have a couple of Yorkshire pony's, immensely strong for their size. And pigs for ploughing up gardens as well as firtalising them.
The 'toy' tractor attachments are a bit of a 'toy', but in a fallen world, an ounce of labor saved is worth it. And the big tractor can dig post holes easier than the petrol handheld one, quicker and easier on my back !
One of the first attachments I bought after moving here, was, after trying to dig some holes for garden fence posts, with Heavy clay, clogs everything, and is such a 'drag' on energy, was a 3pt post hole digger. I tried a hand type rotary cultivator, and broke 2 of them before giving up and getting my money back. Now I just sit back with the tractor in low, low, low gear and steer. And it does 6 foot strip at a time, without me raising a sweat ! Sure, it does use a bit of diesel, but u can do an awful lot of work for a few liters of fuel.
We must remember that in a fallen world, the bar changes, and things we thought were silly or superfluous, will suddenly become Godsends.
Make no mistake about it, a lot of our time and energy will be going towards growing food to support your group and anything that makes it easier and quicker will be welcome. Supplies wont last for ever, unless u have a warehouse full stuffed somewhere !!
Our friends have all been told they are welcome here, but you will be working for your daily bread, and u better not turn up with nothing to contribute. Self contained accommodation is the minimum required, with enough food for a few months. Water we can supply.
Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classed as a super power.
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Dec 31, 2022 22:34:56 GMT 10
Have not watched this yet.. Wanted to get it in a place where I know I could find it again...
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Jan 1, 2023 8:09:16 GMT 10
I wonder what the next generation of electric tractors will be like ?
If we come into a spare $50K, definitely on the list.
Don't like me ? P..s off, problem solved.
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bug
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Post by bug on Jan 2, 2023 21:25:22 GMT 10
Love EVs, but a horse wins any day in a post-electricity world when it comes to farming.
For what it's worth, some googling quickly reveals copies of old articles/opinon pieces from the very early 20th century from people criticising the new ICE vehicles and saying they would never switch over from their horse. Their criticisms were range, reliability, repairability...sound familiar?
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