First electric tractor ride

[priberc]

Not me!
Who knows...in 2-3 years from now fuel prices may drop.
More electric things mean more demand means higher electric bills.

don't hold your breath waiting for the price of fuel to drop significantly.....even I remember buying 23c per litre fuel.....it goes up in spikes......drops a bit until the villagers stop complaining..... then creeps up from there until the next spike.....repeat

 

[arrow]

I'm sure I won't spend $12K in fuel in 10 years. They do avoid replacement cost of batteries. As my tractor is 10 years old, I still consider it new. Certainly not time to swap in a bunch of batteries. Believe that currently no one in the US takes old lithium batteries. Some huge diesel cargo ship takes them to China.

The conversation wasn't just pertaining to fuel because when i raised the same point to him, he added about servicing the tractor with filters, oils, labor and fuel costs and all done at the dealerships.
We get $650 for this type of service for a mid size tractor. If that price stays the same for 10 yrs, then you're at 6500 bucks just for that if the customer is doing this "yearly" and paying transportation fees. Then if you include a price of 8 bucks a gallon, I think $5500 comes up right quick over 10 years.. Then what numbers were they using for average usage? Did they include the farmer putting on 8 hrs a day on their machines and extrapolated this in their "averages"??
But if you're in sales, you spew statistics that are...let's say "weighted".
I wasn't gonna jump all over this guy who is trying to make a living selling these things. His life is tough enough attempting to sell electrics in our current political environment to a bunch of "tractor guys" at a dealership.
He had an electric tractor...for some it's a good fit and that was the end of the story for me as everyone colors an opinion with a whole bunch of their own particulars including me..
We're still contemplating if we'll take on the product.
There are a few unanswered questions for us to be comfortable. We may take one on and use it as a "shop tractor" for a year and see how it does before we offer it to the public.
Any new product brings along with it the whole aspect of service and supporting the product w a whole bunch of new parts inventory.
We're getting Stihl zero turns next spring and don't want to be overwhelmed.

 

[priberc]

Gotta laugh at all the "never work (insert state name here) in the winter" comments. Norway has 490,000 EVs on the road today.....up from 10,000 in 2012. That 490k is abut 20% of all registered vehicles on the road in Norway.....While Norways population is largely in the milder south still -2c to -13c are the temps for January......hardly warm

 

[arrow]

Gotta laugh at all the "never work (insert state name here) in the winter" comments. Norway has 490,000 EVs on the road today.....up from 10,000 in 2012. That 490k is abut 20% of all registered vehicles on the road in Norway.....While Norways population is largely in the milder south still -2c to -13c are the temps for January......hardly warm

Well this company states the tractor doesn't do well under 14*. Plus this is a lithium/iron battery so it's different from most ev car batteries which are also larger.
You can certainly charge it below 32* but you need the warming blanket that is made for it.
It's the internal temp of the battery that needs to be at 32*.

 

[Hermio]

I would like to get an electric tractor soon for my operation. I know it would not be perfect for all operations but would definitely be good for some chores.
1. Fencing when you are on and off the tractor frequently with little distance traveled comes to mind.
2. Hooking up equipment without exhaust in your face is also nice.
3. Short duration mowing or raking hay. With a quiet engine it would be useful to listen to the equipment you have attached and be able to listen for problems before they become loud enough to hear over an ICE.
4. Picking up hay bales when required to stop often to load a wagon.
5. Short trips to deliver hay or feed to the cows.


Some concerns.

1. Price
2. Parts when it is not a common manufacturer. I wouldn't buy an ICE tractor from an unknown company either.
3. It would have to be a second or third tractor. If you can only have one tractor and need it to make a living for today you probably have no choice but ICE.

That all makes sense. Battery powered equipment is great for occasional, short duration use. I rarely use any electric hand tools that are not battery powered. Even rotary saws work pretty well these days battery powered. I use an electric log splitter (wired, not battery powered) for some of the reasons you mentioned: low maintenance, quieter, no fumes in my face). I could see them becoming battery powered also. I generally split wood 2-4 hours at a time. Overnight charging would not be a problem. But I do all my splitting within 100' of a power source, so I don't really need it. We also have a small battery powered lawn mower. It will run about 60 minutes on a charge, and we use it to get to places the ZTR cannot reach, such as inside a boardwalk circle. But I use my Mahindra 5035 for bushhogging and logging work. I doubt a battery powered unit will be practical for replacing that any time soon, if ever.

 

[Hermio]

Gotta laugh at all the "never work (insert state name here) in the winter" comments. Norway has 490,000 EVs on the road today.....up from 10,000 in 2012. That 490k is abut 20% of all registered vehicles on the road in Norway.....While Norways population is largely in the milder south still -2c to -13c are the temps for January......hardly warm

Minnesota is colder. Evry time I have traveled there in January it has been -13F or below. Diesel tractors are not that great in winter either. But, oddly, my diesel Ford pickup has no problem starting at -15F. I have never used its block heater, though it has one.

 

[Citydude]

Gotta laugh at all the "never work (insert state name here) in the winter" comments. Norway has 490,000 EVs on the road today.....up from 10,000 in 2012. That 490k is abut 20% of all registered vehicles on the road in Norway.....While Norways population is largely in the milder south still -2c to -13c are the temps for January......hardly warm

What snowblowers and snow pushers are on their cars?

 

[ultrarunner]

Gotta laugh at all the "never work (insert state name here) in the winter" comments. Norway has 490,000 EVs on the road today.....up from 10,000 in 2012. That 490k is abut 20% of all registered vehicles on the road in Norway.....While Norways population is largely in the milder south still -2c to -13c are the temps for January......hardly warm

My thoughts exactly...

About 20 years ago I was having an indepth discussion with a VW Audi engineer in Germany...

I mentioned we now have Toyota Prius and GM EV and when would Euro manufacturers have something to show?

He went into detail on how it might work in California but a poor choice for cold Northern climates where snow is a factor...

He saw the future as super efficient Diesel providing high MPG and greater thermo efficiency plus the winter utility if cabin heat in minus temps and endurance to push through snow drifts with all wheel drive like the quattro.

Twenty years later it has all changed...

 

[hornett22]

Costs me about $25 to fill up my tractor with diesel.

I get A LOT in return for my $25.

 

[smiley]

The side of the electric car industry that they prefer you don't hear about like this little piece below from New Zealand and links.
I think I electric vehicles may have their place in this world generally around the cities, But for over the road I doubt they'll ever get them to the point that they will replace the good old gas and diesel. furthermore they don't have anywhere near the capacity that would be required to charge all those electric vehicles And unless we come a long way in solar technology etc. They'll still be fueling those vehicles with electricity produced by coal, nuclear, natural gas etc
Just my 2 cents And I think I'll stick with gas and diesel.

Electric cars have a dirty little recycling problem — batteries

Financial incentives to recycle spent electric vehicle batteries are eroding. That could spell environmental disaster, writes Perry Gottesfeld.

www.nationalobserver.com

and then Google, dark side of electric cars and disposing of their batteries catching fire and exploding.

Alarming: Two Electric Buses Spontaneously Explode, Entire Fleet Taken Off the Road - Biden Should Watch This

'Lithium has a natural affinity for fires’, Amit Das, the founder of the Indian multi-brand electric vehicle store chain Electric One, said.

www.westernjournal.com

Electric cars have a dirty little recycling problem — batteries

Financial incentives to recycle spent electric vehicle batteries are eroding. That could spell environmental disaster, writes Perry Gottesfeld.

www.nationalobserver.com

dark side of electric cars and disposing of their batteries

Top 7 Problems Facing Electric Cars Today | 2022 Update

While it's true that electric cars are exploding in popularity, there's still issues that need to be addressed. Here, I've broken down the...

avtowow.com

The move towards electric is so strong that issues like these are being neglected.
In the Antipodes, crook also means bad, broken, unserviceable, unfair. In other words, not good!

"So much for electric cars from a NZ mechanic!"

Had to work on a "Nissan Leaf" last week. A $30,000 car with a crook battery.
No-one in town would work on it and as he had done a course it was given to him.
He got the tutor up from Dunedin polytech to help.
One crook module in the battery was shorting to the case.
A secondhand module is able to be fitted, but they need to be in exactly the same condition as the remaining ones (85.2%) or the entire battery fails.

So the owner was left with the option of a secondhand battery out of a wreck that has no guarantee at $14,000 or a new battery at $20,000.

Then there is the problem of disposing of the old battery or part battery.

Nothing available and No-one willing to transport a damaged battery.


Specialist transport is available, and the cost to have one module (out of 24) transported to Australia and disposed of is around $5,000.

On top of all that, the tutor went through some of the legislation around EV's with him. So if one is involved in a crash, and people are trapped inside, the fire brigade have to isolate the battery before they cut into the car.

In a “Leaf", the isolation plug is under a bolted cover on the floor between the front and back seats.

Once the cover is removed, the 3 pairs of gloves required by law are to be fitted, cotton, rubber, and leather.

Then with hands resembling lamb roasts they can try and disconnect the 3 stage electrical plug.

Then they can cut into the car.

So the problem with crashing any electric vehicle is that if you are trapped, you're dead, as it is impossible to remove victims.

Also can't put a battery fire out

Water makes lithium burn. (Lithium reacts intensely with water, forming lithium hydroxide and highly flammable hydrogen. The colourless solution is highly alkalic. The exothermal reactions lasts longer than the reaction of sodium and water, which is directly below lithium in the periodic chart.)