Hybrid Tractor

[RoyJackson]

As far as Compact Tractors, I just don't see a market. These machines are quite frugal with fuel as it is, so where's the advantage? Even if you consider emissions, it's not like most of these machines are used daily (or even weekly, except for mowing).
Industrial users that are much more sensitive to fuel economy might have a market (meaning large farm complexes).

As far as machines that capture braking energy...good applications are city buses and light rail, especially in Europe (smaller countries, congested cities), Asia and South America (congested cities). Not much use other then that. BTW, some of these systems are called "Retarders".

 

[gwjd]

best deal would be a diesel electric
with a smaller bat that fills in the gap caused buy instantaneous power surges

that way a smaller diesel could run at a max efficiency rpm

also you could have 3 independent electric drives: one drive, one hydro, one PTO

cheek out the new cat d7e

but in a crop tractor ..... or a landscapers tractor that logd a lot of hours


but this all sounds to big and cost prohibitive for cuts

 

[CompactTractorFan]

it's not like most of these machines are used daily (or even weekly, except for mowing).

I use mine almost everyday during warm weather...:thumbsup:

 

[RoyJackson]

I use mine almost everyday during warm weather...:thumbsup:

OK...why day?

OK, ONE person uses his CUT daily....any others?

 

[bullbreaker]

Here's about as close to a hybrid tractor that I'd want right now. 2007 YANMAR T80 40 HP to 99 HP For Sale At TractorHouse.com
(hybrid tracs)
Boone

 

[nspec]

+1 on the diesel electric. There are many benefits to this setup. Not nearly as maintenence intensive as everyone thinks. Actually very simple and reliable. Been around for years. Recent technology has driven many improvements and simplification. I believe in addition to the D7E, Deere has a working prototype. All of the mining equipment (I'm talking about the above ground stuff) - loaders, excavators, and those big giant off-road dump trucks (with the exception of CAT) are diesel electric and have been for many many years, so they have a proven track record.

 

[nspec]

Anybody who's wondering about this technology on compact units should check out the John Deere 2500E Greens Mower. It's got a Yanmar diesel and a 48volt alternator (no additional batteries) which sends powers to electric motors driving the reel mowers. Infinitely adjustable speeds on the mower this way, very compact, quiet, and super efficient. The machine itself is still hydraulically driven.

They claim they have eliminated 102 hydraulic leak points. Also show a video of the electric motors running underwater.

Cool stuff.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Going back in time to the 1970s when I was a young teenager and my father worked for General Electric; he was an electrical design engineer for their Elec Trak lawn and garden tractors. They were pure electric, not hybrids. And yes, the battery weight made them very heavy, probably the heaviest tractors in each of their classes. Which meant that in combination with the higher torque produced by electric motors, they could out drawbar pull every gasoline or diesel fueled tractor in their class.

Too bad they were 40 years ahead of their time. They were so quiet you could carry on a conversation with someone right next to them without shouting. No dealing with gas or storing it in the garage. Worked great plowing snow, plowing or tilling a garden, mowing a lawn, or running electrical tools (drills, chainsaws etc) off their on-board plugs. With their biggest model, the E20, you could mow 5 acres of lawn on a single charge. Ft mount mower could get under shrubs and stuff without the branches getting in your face, and the mower deck cut a 3 ft swath. We blew out 300 ft of driveway even with 2 ft of snow dumped on it. Cold weather in the Schenectady NY area didn't cause any noticeable problems with charge or power.

Of course you didn't have the option of taking a gas can out to the south 40 if you ran out of power, so you had to plan ahead and head back to the garage when the charge started reading low. And pushing them by hand, even in neutral, took a lot of work. Nowadays, you could carry a small portable generator with you, or I'd have considered a ROPS with a cover that doubled as a solar charging array.

 

[mike69440]

Going back in time to the 1970s when I was a young teenager and my father worked for General Electric; he was an electrical design engineer for their Elec Trak lawn and garden tractors. They were pure electric, not hybrids. And yes, the battery weight made them very heavy, probably the heaviest tractors in each of their classes. Which meant that in combination with the higher torque produced by electric motors, they could out drawbar pull every gasoline or diesel fueled tractor in their class.

Too bad they were 40 years ahead of their time. They were so quiet you could carry on a conversation with someone right next to them without shouting. No dealing with gas or storing it in the garage. Worked great plowing snow, plowing or tilling a garden, mowing a lawn, or running electrical tools (drills, chainsaws etc) off their on-board plugs. With their biggest model, the E20, you could mow 5 acres of lawn on a single charge. Ft mount mower could get under shrubs and stuff without the branches getting in your face, and the mower deck cut a 3 ft swath. We blew out 300 ft of driveway even with 2 ft of snow dumped on it. Cold weather in the Schenectady NY area didn't cause any noticeable problems with charge or power.

Of course you didn't have the option of taking a gas can out to the south 40 if you ran out of power, so you had to plan ahead and head back to the garage when the charge started reading low. And pushing them by hand, even in neutral, took a lot of work. Nowadays, you could carry a small portable generator with you, or I'd have considered a ROPS with a cover that doubled as a solar charging array.

You know I never considered Lawn Tractors. I was think the kind of stuff hauled on low-boys.

For lawn/garden tractors, battery and to some extent the motor and control cost would make a $2,500 tractor a $4,500 tractor or more. For a smaller yard that you could mow in less than 90 Minutes, this would work. For those who don't want to deal with the fuel and maintenence, and want to be first on the block with the new toy, a well designed machine at a premium price I'd bet would be a commercial sucess.

CALIFORNIA WOULD LOVE IT.

Battery technology being what it is today, practically storing 5 to 8 KWH of power in a lawn tractor in not out of the question.

For those of us with grease under their nails who don't mind poisioning the earth with oil and gas can get a good used polluting lawn tractor for $300-500. It is all sort term economics.

If Electric technology puts the small IC motor out of competion in 20-30 years, I'm all for that.

 

[gwjd]

+1 on the diesel electric. There are many benefits to this setup. Not nearly as maintenence intensive as everyone thinks. Actually very simple and reliable. Been around for years. Recent technology has driven many improvements and simplification. I believe in addition to the D7E, Deere has a working prototype. All of the mining equipment (I'm talking about the above ground stuff) - loaders, excavators, and those big giant off-road dump trucks (with the exception of CAT) are diesel electric and have been for many many years, so they have a proven track record.

a fair amount of underground mining is plug in to the wall electric just showes that machines work just fine with electric moters its storing it that is the problem