New Tractor Company as if we didn't have enough

[Grumpycat]

For running the battery out of juice in the field vs running out of diesel is simple just run to the barn and grab a couple gallons of diesel and back to the tractor no problem but then you look at the dead batteries no hoist out in the field.

To compare apples to apples you need to figure the time to remove the diesel gas tank in order to carry it to your fill station.

However if incompetence leaves a tractor in the field, or most likely in this case the orchard, hitch to another and pull it out.

Also you are not allowing for the time required to reprime the fuel system of a diesel tractor. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not. Lacking the special tool it took me an hour of research and another 30 minutes to get the air out of my F-250 once I knew what bolt to loosen when the fuel pump was running.

It might take 30 minutes to get some fuel in the tractor but 5 hours to recharge the battery??

We never recharge batteries. We charge batteries. If they have a charge then there is no need to "recharge", to do it again.

It takes 15 seconds to connect at night and another 15 seconds to disconnect a fully charged EV in the morning. That is a whole lot better than your 30 minutes to fuel each day.

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How much is the recharging (sic) system going to cost?

About the same as the transfer tank in your pickup. EVSE starts about $200. Is nothing more than a CFI current limiting extension cord with a simple signal to the vehicle as to how much current it is allowed to draw.

battery price??
how long will the battery last??

At nearly 8 years my Tesla has 95% of new capacity.

diesel engines last a very long time.

As do electric motors.

Also if you are pulling a plow that will take a lot of juice and batteries will not last any whare near 10 hours of running.

You don't know that. You don't know what parameters were used by the maker to back the statement. Electric fork lift operators have no qualms believing an EV tractor will run 10 hours as a forklift is a form of a tractor and they have decades of experience.

 

[bearthebruce]

"...CA, OR, WA (the people) want it..." "The people" do not want it. I'm in WA, and this state's been hijacked by radical politicians located in the Puget Sound area who control the entire state. Restricting driving in the cities except for those who submit to the state's dictate of using an EV? Sorry, but I can't agree with anyone who approves of a government entity taking away the right of individuals to use their legally-owned property, just because they want to force an agenda down our throats.

What and how the Chinese accomplish is by taking away freedoms and punishing those who don't obey. In my opinion, following the Chinese Communist Party's methods of controlling a society is not a model any freedom-loving American should admire or aspire to adopt.

I'm not against EV if people freely adopt it, but I AM against a government taking away the freedoms of law-abiding citizens to use their non-EV vehicles (or whatever legally-owned property they have).

@tbnyasukos,

I responded to someone who did not accept what I observed. I posed a question about other large cities doing as the Chinese did in their large cities.

I understand your objection to how governments attempt to improve the air quality. Politicians make laws that indeed tell their population who can drive when. They set up a selection system. They offer incentives for the adoption of less polluting technology. They encourage use of their transit systems and discourage driving to the city for work. Such has occurred in virtually every major population center of the world which I have visited or lived near. It forces people to comply, restricting their use of their property, forcing compliance through the threat of imprisonment/stiff fines.

I don't care for such either. I merely observed that a clear, observable result occurred. I did not advocate anything other than the fact that reduced driving and the switch to EVs had an effect on the quality of the air.

On the matter of what the people want in CA, OR and WA - I stand corrected and offer my apology for the offense. I did not realize the divide that I know to be present in much of rural America is also present on the West Coast. It seems from your reaction that the divide is just as real on the West coast as it appears to be in the rest of America. Again, my apology for my offense and ignorance.

I did not intend my comment to be a political statement. As to my politics, my guess is that you and I are not far apart. I believe in a free America just as you do and I believe myself to be as committed to the American dream, to be free and exercise my control over my life, as I believe you are committed. The fractious nature of the two party political state is leading us ever closer to a tragedy like the one that occurred in our country in the mid-1800s. I pray I do not live to see the day.

Let's move off the politics. Let's get back to discussing whether or not an electric tractor company is something that will succeed, meeting a need. Seems there is a wide diversity of opinion on the subject and we should hear those opinions.

 

[gtunney]

I have an interest in alternative power vehicles and tractors and ran across this the other day. Seems like they are on the right track. Solectrac Electric Compact Tractor
Here's a decent video of their small ag tractor on a farm - Farmer and his Solectrac tractor video

 

[Redfox2]

Running an electric tractor (or car for that matter) will require some adapting to how the machine works. Just like running a fuel vehicle does. The difference is that we have already adapted to running fuel vehcles. Though the threads about what's the right warm up time, idling vs shutting down, how to keep the engine warm in very cold weather, and preventing fuel gelling might indicate that not everyone does.

I have friends who bought an electric car with a relatively short range. They're bike racers and bike races are held in far off out of the way places. They view finding charging stations and factoring in charging time to their trips as a fun challenge. It turns out that it's not that difficult for them to go wherever they want.

In the same way, if you wanted to run an electric tractor you'd spend a little time learning how to operate it and make some minor changes to work with the limitations that are different than diesel tractors.

Yehbut . . . W H Y ? Isn't it obvious that if EVERYthing in our lives ran on electricity, the grid will have to be beefed up considerably as well as the SOURCE for all those electrons? And in an all electric society,dependent upon wind ( which doesn't always blow ) and sun ( which doesn't always shine ), we'll hafta say goodbye to all heavy industry? So let's send out for all our steel and aluminum smelting and fabrication . . to the current majority polluters who aren't about to reduce THEIR emissions ( which currently amount to approximately 75 to 80 % ) Let's get real folks.

 

[Redfox2]

For big operations the days of requiring a human to pilot a tractor are coming to an end, just like it is with semis and delivery vans. The transition to EVs is the same and the only real question is when. Considering self-driving electric semis are being tested on public roads today, I'd guess that would be sooner rather than later. In a few generations people will probably look at diesel powered, manually driven tractors as either quaint novelties for the hobbyist or necessities of the poor.

Quoting, " Not from my cold dead hands ! "

 

[DutchInNZ]

TL;DnW:
40hp continuous (55-70hp short-term) can send full power to PTO, ~$50k price but this is going to increase ("due to demand" and probably also metal costs and cost overruns).
Battery life: 10+ hours, 4-5h to recharge.
No clutches or transmission would be a plus.
Production starts end of this year.
3ph lift 2200#
4wd optional.
Loader in development
Definitely aimed squarely at the vineyard & orchard IMO.

Just a quick calculation: 40HP=30kW. That during 10 hours is 300kWh. If I remember well, Tesla's biggest battery is abt 75kWh, so this one would be 4 times as big. That is a lot of cubic yards and many tons of weight to put someplace in or on a tractor. 5 hours recharge of 300kW is 60kWh. At 115Vac single phase that means a current of abt 522 Amps, with 3-phase abt. 150 Amps. Network cables for that capacity are thicker than my arms.

Fables, as usual.

 

[creeky]

Wow. Nice reasonable conversation.
The advantage of electric motors (IMHO: MF, F150 and Tesla Model 3 owner) is torque. However the biggest advantage of electric is maintenance. There is none. Just went in for my 2 year first check up on my Tesla. Didn't even have to change the air filter. Cost for two years maintenance: $0. Oh wait. Sorry. I replaced a driver side wiper last year.
Btw: my car charge bill is around $20/mo. So I drive the Tesla all the time. My F150. Well. Let's just say I use the trailer on my Tesla any time I can. I do haul a equipment a lot.
With the trailer I get between 1/2 and 2/3s the "mileage". Depends on whether I can knock the back gate down. Can't believe the drag on that thing.
I use the truck more in the winter. 4x4 is the only way to get around the farm.
I look forward to an electric truck.
Diesel has torque. Has reliability. Has fairly low operating costs (okay not a low as electric, don't kid yourself). But an electric tractor? I own a paid for diesel tractor with about 40 years more life on it. Whaddya gonna do?

 

[DutchInNZ]

....... Just went in for my 2 year first check up on my Tesla. Didn't even have to change the air filter. Cost for two years maintenance: $0. .......

You paid for that maintenance service already two years ago when you bought it. Do you really think that they will maintain a crew and a building and give you time for the check-up without already being paid for, so at their loss?

 

[ning]

Just a quick calculation: 40HP=30kW. That during 10 hours is 300kWh. If I remember well, Tesla's biggest battery is abt 75kWh, so this one would be 4 times as big. That is a lot of cubic yards and many tons of weight to put someplace in or on a tractor. 5 hours recharge of 300kW is 60kWh. At 115Vac single phase that means a current of abt 522 Amps, with 3-phase abt. 150 Amps. Network cables for that capacity are thicker than my arms.

Fables, as usual.

It's probably why they say 5hr for a full charge; I wouldn't be surprised if the batteries are bigger int he tractor than in a car for exactly what you've mentioned (though I wouldn't expect the tractor to be putting out 40hp all of the time either, especially if a human driver is involved).

 

[Mtnryder]

For big operations the days of requiring a human to pilot a tractor are coming to an end, just like it is with semis and delivery vans. The transition to EVs is the same and the only real question is when. Considering self-driving electric semis are being tested on public roads today, I'd guess that would be sooner rather than later. In a few generations people will probably look at diesel powered, manually driven tractors as either quaint novelties for the hobbyist or necessities of the poor.

Not in this lifetime