Would you buy an electric tractor?

[Mat4644]

Still can't pack enough energy in batteries to be useful for the vast majority of people to be satisfied with duration. When an electric manufacture says 3 to 6 hours this translates to 1 to 3 real world. There will still be a small tree hugger market that will put up with it. Got to laugh when they say zero emissions as the vast majority will charge off of the carbon grid.

 

[hdmyers]

Excellent point. Weight reduction (or perhaps better stated as range extension without massive weight increase) seems to have been (seems to be) the primary concern or drive in the development of EVs. Therefore it seems the electric tractor should have been the perfect development platform to advance EV technology without such high stakes. I wonder why nobody ever thought to capitalize on the opportunity until now?

We worked with John Deere for consumer division electrification 10 years ago... (motor controllers... heavy duty electronics/heatsinks). Development has been ongoing ...yet not much advertisement... there is probably a lot of 'secret' work being done.

 

[hdmyers]

Still can't pack enough energy in batteries to be useful for the vast majority of people to be satisfied with duration. When an electric manufacture says 3 to 6 hours this translates to 1 to 3 real world. There will still be a small tree hugger market that will put up with it. Got to laugh when they say zero emissions as the vast majority will charge off of the carbon grid.

Yah. those **** tree huggers. oh my. lol. so funny. WHere I'm at, the carbon 'grid' is minuscule... those that aren't moving off carbon are going backwards. OH well. To each their own. But tree huggers? So funny.

 

[EddieWalker]

No! Mainly because they will tie everything into the computer and make next to impossible to work on. If it was made in a more simple fashion with easy to diagnose failures and electronic components rather than all computer controlled functions there might be a chance.
My buss system in the BMW gave false or inaccurate readings 2 times in the last week, cost to diagnose and fix the fault will be crazy. My friend lost or dropped 7 calls from my property alone over the weekend. My computer has decided to do what ever it wants all by itself again and my notepad has locked up for no reason several times last week alone. And they want me to buy something that’s completely dependent on the computer for its operation, NO WAY!

Sorry folks but if battery tech gets good I would buy a set of batteries and build my own tractor without a computer controlling everything. If they build one like that maybe I might change my position.

I was looking at a used tractor at a lot with a large variety of equipment. They had a 20 tonne Cat excavator tore apart and found that the problem was in the computer board. Just that board was $14,000 I have no idea what other parts it needed, or why the board went bad, but there was a lot of man hours in taking it apart and then putting it back together again.

I want a cabbed tractor to pull a 15 foot bushhog and the only thing that scares me more then Tier4 smog, is all the computer electronics on the tractor. When I get around to actually buying the tractor, those two things are going to be at the top of my list to avoid, or learn to live with.

 

[caver]

They had a 20 tonne Cat excavator tore apart and found that the problem was in the computer board. Just that board was $14,000

Back in the late 80's, at this manufacturing plant I worked at, we had a bad board on one of our wire winding machines. The manufacturer still had replacement boards but they were something like $1000+ for a new one. It was crazy money for a small 4"x6" board with probably less than $20 in parts on it. We sent it to a local electronics repair shop and got it repaired for pocket change.

 

[MossRoad]

I had some laser typesetters at my old job that had hydraulics, pneumatics, electric stepping motors, power supplies and three very expensive proprietary boards. Each one was about $2500 + exchange of old one, or $5000 to keep in our parts cabinet. Two or three times our main air compressor in the plant went nuts, the water separator failed, the airlines filled with water, then burst inside the typesetters spraying water all over all of the components, roasting the boards and power supplies. It was brutal.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I was looking at a used tractor at a lot with a large variety of equipment. They had a 20 tonne Cat excavator tore apart and found that the problem was in the computer board. Just that board was $14,000 I have no idea what other parts it needed, or why the board went bad, but there was a lot of man hours in taking it apart and then putting it back together again.

I want a cabbed tractor to pull a 15 foot bushhog and the only thing that scares me more then Tier4 smog, is all the computer electronics on the tractor. When I get around to actually buying the tractor, those two things are going to be at the top of my list to avoid, or learn to live with.

There is no Tier 4 smog requirement on an electric tractor.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Yes, but not right now. The advances in battery technology are really amazing. In 10 or so more years, I would most likely consider having one.

Batteries are advancing for sure. I watched Tesla Battery day today. They showed their new cells that are much larger and can charge much faster. The range is improving by 50% while their cost is dropping by 50%. They hope to have out a $25K smaller Tesla with self driving in 3 years. Battery cost is the tail that wags the dog.

 

[5030]

Batteries are advancing for sure. I watched Tesla Battery day today. They showed their new cells that are much larger and can charge much faster. The range is improving by 50% while their cost is dropping by 50%. They hope to have out a $25K smaller Tesla with self driving in 3 years. Battery cost is the tail that wags the dog.

Gale, you have electric on the brain. This thread is about tractors, not 4 wheel toasters. Keep on subject.

 

[Mat4644]

Kubota electric. Drive it while sitting in your recliner in house. No cab needed.