Battery Powered Lawn Mower

by Bill
(Salt Lake City)

Steve Clunn's Battery Powered Lawn Mower on the Job!

Steve Clunn's Battery Powered Lawn Mower on the Job!


Is it possible to convert a gas powered lawn mower into a battery powered lawn mower? Has anybody done it? Could this be done with a smaller riding mower or even a push mower...and what parts do you recommend for this? Does somebody sell a kit?


Hi, Bill -
Oh, yes, it's possible.

Steve Clunn converted the commercial lawn mower in the picture above to run on battery power, but he says you can convert any size lawn mower you like to run on batteries.

His company, Green Shed Conversions, sells the parts you'll need to convert your gas powered mower to run on batteries, and Steve says he walks his clients through the conversion process step by step.

He doesn't sell kits, but you can buy all the parts from him. "I'd recommend getting the same hp ELECTRIC motor as the gas motor that was on the gas mower," Steve says. "My mower has been on the job for over 2 years, and I've enjoyed every day of it."

He offers these four bits of advice:


  • If you're going below 10 HP, a golf cart controller would do the job.

  • A mower that runs the blades and the drive train with BELTS will be the easiest.

  • If you can, get an electric motor with the same size shaft as the gas mower..so you can use the pullies.

  • Don't go for long run time (lots of batteries) as short charging is possible (you're not going to get stranded anywhere, are you?) and long charging requires many (heavy) batteries on the mower.


The best thing about a battery powered lawn mower? Oh, the absence of toxic fumes is good, yes, and not having a cord to run over is pretty nice, too...

...but the best thing is the lack of NOISE; )

Regards,
Lynne

P.S. - A big thank you to Steve Clunn, president of Green Shed Conversions, for his contribution.

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starstarstarstarstar 		Considering a 54" Zero-Turn Mower Conversion
by: Brad

I've found several riding mower conversions out there, some on YouTube. The most refined, publicly-available plans or kit I've found is at www.electrictractor.net. It's for converting a 42" standard (not zero-turn) riding mower. I emailed back and forth with him asking if he might be able to sell me the appropriate components to convert my 54" zero-turn mower, but he did not not have the correct rear driven axles or gearmotors that I would need. The complication of a zero-turn is that each back wheel has to be controlled and driven separately. I'm not wanting to do the simple conversion where I simply bolt on an electric motor in place of the gas engine. That would still leave the unreliable pulleys and belts in place for the blades and the rear wheel drives (both of which I've replaced several times, and the big one isn't cheap). The idler pulleys are wearing and not tracking perfectly any more, so that only accelerates the wear on the belts. Also, the 26 HP Briggs engine is starting to make a bit of unusual noise on startup, so I don't know how much longer it's going to last. I really don't want to buy another gas mower to replace it if I can figure out how to convert this one. I'm trying to find 3 motors to drive each blade directly. I'm also looking for 2 sets of motor/axle to drive each rear wheel. For the blades, I've considered buying 3 Kobalt 80V push mowers from Lowes to use the motors and controllers. I need to get more serious by contacting motor sources and asking for suitable motors. The guy at the Web site mentioned above said he's seen the single-ended transaxles on Amazon that might work for me, but I can't find any. So... I'm open to any advice on parts sources, etc.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Go Electric
by: John

I just bought a Homelite 24v cordless electric 20" walk behind about a month ago. I like it a LOT better than my Black & Decker I've had for 3 years!! Also, Ariens makes a 34" battery powered Riding mower, called Amp. (48V) Looks sweet, but have not had the chance to try it yet.
I'm powering my battery mowers from my Off grid solar and wind project! (-:
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starstarstarstarstar 		battery powered riding mower
by: Anonymous

Where is the stuff on the site to convert gas powered mower to battery powered mower. I don't see a link.

How about Green Shed Conversions Lawn Mowers?
-Lynne
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starstarstarstarstar 		Lawn mower
by: Redwoodloon

You could revelutionize the mowing business. Small engines make alot of pollution. What is it; mowing for a half hour with a small engine is equivelant in air pollution to some ungodly amount of miles with an automobile.

The folks at GE were ahead of their time with the Elec Trak mowers. We need someone to bring back the electric tractor mower into production.

Maybe that's you guys.....

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