First electric tractor ride

[chim]

Funny thing...

I was daydreaming today while a friend was driving and thought, hey, if I had a tesla, maybe I'd find a front end wrecked tesla, cut the rear off, make it into a matching trailer, and throw a/some batteries in there to increase range for long trips. Of course, there's a trade off for weight towed VS battery life, but it's an interesting concept to me.

I've seen people take old cars and make a matching trailer out of the trunk of a donor car. It always looked pretty interesting with trailer matching the car that's towing it.

Here ya go. Aesthetics still need a little work:

 

[MossRoad]

Oh geeze!

 

[MiserableOldFart]

Salesman came buy the dealership yesterday peddling a Solectrac (spl?) tractor. The owner jumped on and rode it around for awhile. He said it was pretty smooth running, quiet and responsive. The salesman stated that this tractor would save over $12,000 in fuel costs over a similar diesel powered machine in a 10 yr period. The battery was good for that long and I asked about a battery purchase price. He didn't know the answer to that one and kept saying "it's guaranteed for 10 yrs. What tractor company do you know of that guarantees their engine for that long"?
At any rate, the tractor was good for 3-6 hrs on a charge and would charge in 8 hrs on a 220 circuit. It weighed similar to a fueled tractor of that size at 2300 lbs.
MSRP price was $28,000. Came with ags on it. Industrial and turfs were about $1500 more and a loader was about $4600.

In my opinion, It has its place for light use like on a horse farm of small garden or short driveway. If your climate gets below freezing in the winter, you have to heat up the battery with a blanket for it to take a charge. It is a lithium/iron battery that itself must be at 32*
My overall impression was that it was nice for what it was and has its place for someone.
I wouldn't buy it to save the planet as some believe electrics will but I guess its main thrust is towards convenience.
I don't think it would like pulling a 2000 lb log behind it for long or plowing out a 1000 foot driveway with 15" of snow. There is no front pto mount for it as yet..
cet-electric-tractor

It's early in the game, too late for me, sad to say. The Solectrac is good for about four or five hours of hard use on a charge, from what I understand, certainly good for what most CUT owners would be using it for. Just the relief of not having to lug 5 gallon cans of fuel back and forth from the gas station and lifting to fill the tank would be a blessing for me in my old age. Electric tractors will be taking over the CUT market in the next decade, and will be superior to small diesel tractors in every way in ten years, including price.
I didn't realize the battery had to be kept warm. That would be a negative here in upstate NY, but I'm sure there will be simple workarounds for that in the coming years. Diesel engines are very expensive things and without engines or transmissions, the only really big expense in making the tractors now is the battery. The hydraulics too will still be an expense, but I really think you'll be seeing 40-50hp equivalent Electric tractors available for less than diesels in a relatively short time.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

I'm thinking this price would come down as the technology advances.
Then I think of the mining needed to make one battery and become unconvinced that it would.
I also think that unless synthetics are created for what the raw essential minerals accomplish that comprise a battery makeup such as iron, cobalt, lithium, copper, etc, the scarring to the earth might be as prolific as more and more giant holes are dug. Plus these minerals are in abundance in certain spots only.

I wonder how long a nuclear reactor about the size of a coffee can would propel a vehicle for.

Much about the mining is fossil fuel company propaganda. Most lithium is drilled, not mined, in a process similar to, but much safer than fracking for gas or oil. Plain water is pumped into the well and the slurry pumped out. Large ponds are used to evaporate the water. They are ugly but not particularly destructive of the environment.

A viral picture circulated to millions online awhile back of a copper mine claiming it was a lithium mine is still being circulated by people who should know better. Besides, how about the mining, melting, forging and casting of all the parts that go into an diesel engine PLUS the extra fuel that is used because diesels at their best are only about 30% efficient?

 

[4570Man]

Much about the mining is fossil fuel company propaganda. Most lithium is drilled, not mined, in a process similar to, but much safer than fracking for gas or oil. Plain water is pumped into the well and the slurry pumped out. Large ponds are used to evaporate the water. They are ugly but not particularly destructive of the environment.

A viral picture circulated to millions online awhile back of a copper mine claiming it was a lithium mine is still being circulated by people who should know better. Besides, how about the mining, melting, forging and casting of all the parts that go into an diesel engine PLUS the extra fuel that is used because diesels at their best are only about 30% efficient?

There’s a good reason that there’s only one lithium mine in the United States while there’s thousands of other mines and oil wells. It’s probably along the lines of it’s so environmentally destructive that first world government won’t allow it. And then there’s the problem of a big enough supply of build enough electric cars for everyone to have one. Let’s not mention the electric grid is already failing. And electric cars are the easy hurdle. We’re no closer to giving up combustion engines then we are to building a space ship cap of flying humans light years away.

 

[ultrarunner]

For days the warnings on grid capacity in headlines...

Each replacement furnace comes with A/C which never existed and two neighbors that had them installed are running them...

Why spend 13k on a new system and not run it on the hot days?

All I can say is we are expecting a lot from the grid going forward...

With the drought hydro is a small percentage of power generation...

 

[MiserableOldFart]

There’s a good reason that there’s only one lithium mine in the United States while there’s thousands of other mines and oil wells. It’s probably along the lines of it’s so environmentally destructive that first world government won’t allow it. And then there’s the problem of a big enough supply of build enough electric cars for everyone to have one. Let’s not mention the electric grid is already failing. And electric cars are the easy hurdle. We’re no closer to giving up combustion engines then we are to building a space ship cap of flying humans light years away.

ICE vehicles being sold new today are already obsolete. EVs are the future of the American highway, not in 30 years, but more like 10.

Prairie Lithium Makes Big Discovery on the First Lithium Brine Well Ever Drilled in Canada

PRAIRIE LITHIUM CORPORATION (the “Company” or “Prairie Lithium”) is pleased to announce the completion of its drilling and completions program for its

www.businesswire.com

 

[MiserableOldFart]

For days the warnings on grid capacity in headlines...

Each replacement furnace comes with A/C which never existed and two neighbors that had them installed are running them...

Why spend 13k on a new system and not run it on the hot days?

All I can say is we are expecting a lot from the grid going forward...

With the drought hydro is a small percentage of power generation...

The effect on the grid with the rise of EVs is not that big a deal. Many people with the funds to buy EVs are capable of using solar panels to charge them. With most vehicles that do use the grid charging at night, when use is less, a lot of the problems being ballyhooed are just more fossil fuel company propaganda. Of course, in places like Texas where the grid has been allowed to become a joke, it's another matter.

 

[4570Man]

ICE vehicles being sold new today are already obsolete. EVs are the future of the American highway, not in 30 years, but more like 10.

Prairie Lithium Makes Big Discovery on the First Lithium Brine Well Ever Drilled in Canada

PRAIRIE LITHIUM CORPORATION (the “Company” or “Prairie Lithium”) is pleased to announce the completion of its drilling and completions program for its

www.businesswire.com

In a few years when people realize how impractical and much dirtier than claimed they are this whole push for electric vehicles will be scrapped. At least that’s my prediction. But in any case electric cars are the easy hurdle. With the exception of some mega mining equipment that drags around a power cord electric heavy equipment is a joke, light equipment is still a joke, battery powered trains, boats or plans are far from existing and electric semi trucks aren’t much better off. Electric cars only sorta work because it doesn’t take much energy to push a car down the road. Apply a continuous heavy load and the battery falls on its face. Even if electric equipment was developed to something useable which isn’t going to happen fast or probably ever it would take decades if not the better part of a century to phase out combustion equipment. And again passenger cars are the easy hurdle here. Commercial equipment last for decades and they aren’t just going to throw away perfectly good equipment.

 

[California]

The future may be here sooner than we anticipated. Well for cars at least.

U.S. EV adoption is happening faster than anticipated

EV adoption in the U.S. happening much faster than anticipated, according to an observation of research by Recurrent Auto

www.teslarati.com