Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Real world test



 I serviced the deck and got it under the mower. I drove around to check current draw, hydraulic drive eats a lot of power. Drive is about 80 amps, mower engaged amps are 150-170 depending on forward speed.

Things look good so far, but I hooked up charger and it let smoke out, so I’m going to need another.

Monday, May 30, 2022

Wiring

I made a bracket and mounted the combination meter and wired to shunt, tested things, all good.


 I fabricated a tray to hold components and mounted relays, battery contactors and terminal strip.

I wired the 12volt side of things and discovered one contactor in not working. I will address this at a later date,


I decided to add a high voltage fuse in the 48 volt side, just in case. Tested fuse accidentally when cable bridged some batteries, fuse is opened. On a positive note, fuse protected things, bad news is fuse is over 100 bucks.

I had a higher rated fuse I installed until I find another.


I checked connections, I bypassed seat switch due to not installed. I turned on the motor and checked transmission operation and hydraulic lift for deck.
I bolted on covers and parts. Test drive soon and deck install.

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Battery install , first layer





 I fabricated some support trays from aluminum and made spacers to raise batteries above hydraulic equipment and get maximum area for batteries in the front.

I ran into a clearance issues, I had to countersink some fasteners and had issues with some batteries were a little bulged and bigger than new battery dimensions.  Used batteries caused a fair amount of frustration.

The bottom set of batteries is a very tight fit! I believe I have adjusted things to work.

Monday, May 16, 2022

Motor part 2




After a bit of a break due to illness I got a bit done today.
 The thrust bearing came in but I discovered the bearing was too thick and wouldn’t work. I went with some thinner bearings that I hope are up to the task.

I added a center bushing to keep things aligned, I thought having the thrust bearing was added insurance.

Finished up the mount and supports, tried batteries for fit and bolted it down. 

Up next, battery tray building.

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Motor mounting plate




 I decided to start the mount for the motor even though I still don’t have my thrust bearing. 

I gathered a pile of steel from other projects and recycled to make my mount.

I transferred the dimensions to cardboard, then center punched locations to mounting plate that I had cut roughly to size.

All of this took longer than expected, the aluminum I’m using is some tough stuff, 20 inches of cut ruined 2 blades on the saw.

The blue items next to mount are a few batteries I set in for fitting.

I still need to sort the top support, and cut some battery shelves. I am planning on a second layer over the motor, I have 32 40 amp batteries that in parallel wound add 80 amp hours.