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Electric Ox

30K views 98 replies 16 participants last post by  Jagwire 
#1 ·
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#84 ·
Hi Slow & Steady, I still have 3 good gear boxes here if you need parts to keep going till???

You are welcome John (Jagwire) glad the parts worked, I'll try to post some pics as soon as my decals get here, got her painted an wiring up a deck to mow with, later

Jerry NW Ohio
ETC...
 
#89 ·
Hi wdwrkr1,

I have tried to get my hands on an electrical diagram for the EOx but had no success with the old Electric Tractor Corp. The new company will have a new product so I think we are out of luck...Maybe the new company will help the old EOx owners out and supply old manuals. We'll see how helpful they are once they are fully up and running.

It sounds like you have a busted gearbox just like I have had. If you jack the tractor up and can spin your right rear wheel by hand, you may have a sheared output shaft or perhaps other internal problems.

There should be a knob or big button right behind your heel on your pedal side where you would push down for reverse. Sounds like yours reverse button is missing. Is there a round hole in the deck right behind the pedal? If so, that's where your reverse button should be. It's pretty easy to gear up another one. Do you have any pictures that you could show us of your tractor?

In any case good luck with your tractor.

Cheerio,

John
 
#91 ·
Hi Bob,

That's a very nice circuit diagram that you have. It looks like you have an older EOx than I have and maybe the foot pedal setup is different. I too can reverse by pulling up on forward part of the pedal assembly, but the way mine is setup it is much easier to push down on the reverse button.

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Automotive tire Tire


In the above picture you can see the reverse button that I am talking about.

You can see more pictures of my tractor in post #72 - #76 of this thread.

If you have gear drive problems, Jerry (jerry38) may be able to help you out.

For all present EOx owners, I have since learned that gearbox problems may, I say may, be eliminated by using oil in the gearboxes rather than grease. It's worth a try!

I have recently talked to ETC in hopes to get my EOx up and running again. It's a waiting game as their company is not actually back up and running yet. I wish them luck. It would be nice to see a good working EOx back on the market!

Cheerio,

John
 
#92 ·
A couple pix of my old Ox. Note there is no reverse button; I have to pull up on the lever. The other pic might be an original push bar. It is really heavy, 1/2" steel anyway. The tractor has no charger, no inverter, no front lift (I have a couple electric actuators, though) Also no seat cushion. I got this and a parts tractor (now in parts) from Jerry. I'm running on 3 Marine deep cycle batts. Might have a problem as they are good batts, but the voltage indicated is showing in the red. Maybe today I will put on the parka and do a test drive for distance.
Bob in IL
 

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#93 ·
By hooking up my bicycle backwards, I can measure distance/time functions with the bike "computer'. I rode the bike around my city block measuring .45 miles, then towed the bike with the OX while looking over my shoulder at the speedometer. It indicated around 4.5 mph on the level and slight downgrades. Uphill it would drop to 4 or 3.5. Time was ~ 6.5 minutes which calculates to 4.2 mph average. Some difference from the supposed 7 mph speed advertised.
Don't laugh at my bicycle hitch. The picture shows distance for the two laps. :fing32:
I really do like the 1 1/2" receiver at the rear. Odd size, but I can find 1.5" tubing readily to make custom tow bars, etc. Just for fun I hooked up my 3000 lb 5 X 12 trailer and easily towed it into the yard and parked it temporarily. Much easier than hooking it up to the truck!
Next I would like to fully charge the batteries, then tow the bike until the batteries lost charge, measure total run time, and ride the bike home to get the trailer to fetch the tractor home.:thThumbsU
 

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#94 ·
Hi Bob,

Wow, you have an EOx that is another color than white. What a concept!
When asked about the white color at the company, the reply was basically "it's fine". Most first impressions from people regarding the white color is that the tractor looked like a golf cart! Not a good first impression. I hope the new ones aren't white!

How are you charging your batteries?

Yeah, Jerry is a good guy! He helped me get my EOx going the last time.

I wonder if your tractor was made for 48V? Measure your pack voltage to make sure it's over 36V when fully charged. My 48V tractor shows over 56V when fully charged. If your pack only charges to 36V or so, your meter will read empty.

I was a bit disappointed with the top speed of my tractor too, but it was good enough for me. For universities, municipal maintenance and other lager users the transit speed of a tractor is important and these aren't fast enough for them. Can't have both pulling power and speed from a 1 gear setup...

The rear hitch comes in handy. Even though I have a front attachment system, I have designed a hitch system for the rear that works great. It's very simple with an L shaped piece of tubing that fits in the receiver that holds an old satellite dish actuator vertical for lifting or pushing down. I can even jack up my tractor if I have to work on the rear tires or gearboxes which I have done so much the last going off.

Have you figured out what is going on with your right drive yet?

Cheerio,

John
 
#95 ·
I'm quite sure a PO sprayed it; there's white showing and inside. I have a 36 V Lester which I think kicks out 43 volts. Jerry told me this was a 36V unit. And I recall that when I charged it last, it showed green on the LED gage.
What would be neat for moving the trailer would be a front lift with 2" ball so one could drive up and raise the ball and move on (albeit unlocked) Then just lower it and back off.
I did the jacking up and turning test this morning and both wheels would turn the gearhead, so I guess I'm lucky to have 4 good motors now.
Do they really say "cheerio" in NS or are you putting me on?
Bob
p.s. I heard that my GE Elec-Trak parts will be ready at the painter on Monday so immediate project will become to completely re-assemble the E12.
 
#96 ·
Hi Bob, John, look lke you got her going, yes the older unit were 36vdc, the newer ins are 48vdc, I still have 2 motors, 1 gear set/box if anyone is in need of parts.

The black bracket is a pusher bar for the front, and yes there is a hole under the floor covering for rev/fwd

Hows things in NS John?

Jerry NW Ohio
ETC...:trink40:
 
#97 ·
Hi Bob,

Ahhh...the ol' paint-it-yourself-because-you-don't-like-the-white trick, gotcha. I didn't think they made them any color other than white...

Sounds like you have a good charger and it sounds like your gearboxes are good. Phew, I hope they hold out for you.

Have fun putting your E-12 back together and we want to see some pix when your done, if possible. :thThumbsU

Bob, "Cheerio" is just my thing. A number of people say "Cheers" or "Best Regards", I say "Cheerio" and no, it's not an NS thing that I know of. I actually only use it in print and don't recall ever saying it...I just like being different :dunno:

Hey Jerry,

Good to see you out and about on the board. To be honest, things are a little rough right now. My wife just lost her dad in mid February and I just lost one of my best friends earlier this week. I'm still unemployed, but have hopes to become an EV converter before the year is out.

There is a nice kit on the Canadian EV site, www.canev.com, for the New Beetle. My first car was a '71 Super Beetle so I have a soft spot for them in my heart. Also in my heart, besides grief and mourning for my father-in-law and good friend, is GAS ANXIETY. Our local gas prices are CAD$1.439/l which works out to about US$5.46/US gallon. Another reason to stick with EV's...:fing32: For those interested in EV conversions, check out www.evtv.me ( hope that doesn't get me in trouble here )

Those are a few of the serious life matters that have recently passed and on the not so serious side, my tractor is still lifeless and we just got about 15cm or 6" of snow today!!!

I did have a nice chat the other day with Doug Gailbraith of the Electric Tractor Corporation and things look encouraging there, but to be fair to him I'll have to keep what I learned from him confidential until more info comes out publicly from them.

On the bright side, we did receive a little money from Shelly's dad and used it on go on a trip to Cayo Santa Maria in Cuba. We stayed at a nice resort called the Melia Las Dunas and had just about perfect weather for the time we were there. It rained for about and hour one morning then cleared up and was fine later in the day. So, out of a dark cloud came a little sunshine in more ways than one...:praying: Thank you Lord!

They are very energy conscious there as they use flourescent light bulbs, LED bulbs and from a high view at a tower we were in, I could see a number of solar hot water heaters on the roofs of a lot of the newer buildings there. The Melia Las Dunas used only EV's for their grounds support and baggage carts.

So that's what's new in my part of the world. How are things in your neck of the woods, Jerry? Are you ducking flying debris from tornados lately? Man, it's turning out to be another crazy year for extreme weather below the border. To all my American friends, Take Care and Keep Your Head Up ( Or Down ), what ever serves you better!

That's all for now. Take care and Cheerio, Bob! ;)

John
 
#98 ·
Blast and Darn!
I spent a few days on the Ox. Added 2, 5/8" sections of pipe to the frame so I can front mount the Elec-Trak 42 inch mower. Added a contactor and PTO power outlet to match the GE cord (and the Lester charger). Added a 24V 6" actuator lift. I had to remove Jerry's nice Baja lights to do this.
Everything works, but now I can't get motion because the seat switch sensor (inside the controller) doesn't seem to be working. Even shorting the switch doesn't help
 
#99 ·
Hi wdwrkr1,

I wonder if the seat switch sensor looks for a switch that is normally closed and needs an open to turn on?

That's too bad, it looks like you have put a lot of work into getting a mower hooked up to it! By the sounds of it, you'll figure out the problem and get it up and running...don't give uo and good luck!

John
 
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