Channel: Living Web Farms

Category: Education

Tags: how to use an electric tractorelectric tractor conversionfarm educationhomestead educationrichard freudenbergerliving web farmsfarming without pollutionhow to convert an engine from gas to electricityconverting to electrichomestead skillsreducing petroleum use on the farmtractor versatilitymotor building skillslearning how to convert a gas enginefixing your tractor

Description: Compact cultivating tractors are small, versatile, and easy to maintain. They also offer a birds-eye view of the soil's work since everything happens right beneath your feet. Unfortunately, nearly all of these tractors were manufactured decades ago, and engine parts can be costly and difficult to come by. But the tractors are still out there, ripe for conversion to electric drive, with all its benefits of low maintenance and impressive power range. In this workshop, Living Web Farm’s energy and resource coordinator Richard Freudenberger will explain the process of replacing the original gasoline engine with an efficient 48-volt electric drive system commonly used on golf carts and small utility trucks. You’ll learn how to match the motor to the existing drivetrain, what’s needed in controls, cables, and batteries, how to plan layout and use of space, what to expect in performance, range, cost, where to get components, and working the soil with the new drive system. Dozens, if not hundreds, of similar conversions, are tending farms and gardens to date. If you’re a grower thinking of weaning off petroleum, this is a webinar well worth attending. Our new workshop format welcomes live participants via LivingWebFarms.org and our YouTube channel. No registration is necessary. Workshops will average less than 2 hours in length, with a 5-minute intermission after the first hour and a Q & A period at the end.