Electric Planet Jr walk-behind tractor with Thiessen/Tilmor tools

[@DuncanAitken]

Brilliant work, Reid! Very tidy.

[@RyanDaum]

Nicely done! I've just picked up an old rusty Planet Jr "Super Tuffy" for $50 CAD and am thinking of doing something similar. ICE all rotted out and old (good! one less ICE on the earth!)... thinking about using a 48V e-Bike kit (motor, controller, chain drive, throttle grips) to power it. What do you think? 1800w motor, 4500-5200RPM. May have to mess with the sprocket and chain sizes a bit? Original motor on these things as 1.5hp, so this should be around the same power range.

[@reidallaway]

Hi Ryan. sorry for delay. I think 1800W is overkill for a Super Tuffy but the ratings on e-bike components can sometimes be rather "optimistic". I helped my friend Jenna convert her Super Tuffy to 24V electric using a low speed brushed DC motor that delivers maybe 400W. It needs a bit of a nudge when loads get heavy but it works and she uses it plenty. An e-bike kit is a fine idea. You might consider one of the "trike" motors with a planetary reducer mounted on the motor output. this would let you skip the first stage belt reduction and simply chain drive the Tuffy axle. That's what Jenna did for hers as the motor we had found was low rpms. Makes for a quiet drivetrain provided the planetary gearset isn't too loud. Thumb throttles are an easy substitute for twist grip and tend to suit cultivation ergonomics better. Just look up $5 Chinese thumb throttles on Aliexpress. Gimme a shout on Facebook or look me up through our farm if you want to exchange more on design ideas or see pics of Jenna's Tuffy (she's also on FB as Jenna Jacobs, ferme aux champs qui chantent)

[@beeroquoisnation]

Fantastic machine.

[@fouroakfarm]

Not just pretty impressive, SUPER impressive!

[@sdfft820]

Can this tractor till/plow the soil?

[@reidallaway]

@@sdfft820 this model is too light for plowing but with S-tine cultivators it does a good job on shallow tillage. Larger tractors of this same style are suited to plowing and several plows exist for them. I don't personally have a plow for any of mine and we only use them for weeding tasks rather than deeper tillage.

[@janramonmartin]

I converted an iseki 2 wheel tractor to electric with a treadmill motor and some lead acid batteries (not many wrecked EVs in Australia, yet) i've found my wheels spin in those conditions too, but I reckon a bit of weight over the axle will fix it

[@reidallaway]

Amazing! Are there photos or pics of your conversion anywhere? There are not many out there yet and I'd be very curious to see what solutions you chose. Also I've never seen an Iseki 2-wheeler.

[@janramonmartin]

@@reidallaway just uploaded it to my profile , should be visible soon

[@reidallaway]

@@janramonmartin I found it. And your cool old Honda CX! I'd love to hear or see more about your Iseki conversion and how you set up the motor and drive if ever you have time.