That Elec-Trak

[alan]

Finally got all the Elec-Trak parts for the 36 Volt battery powered tractor gathered into the same location and have now reassembled it and it all works including the mower deck.

We replaced the bearings in the original 36v drive motor and had it checked over and on the bench it runs really quietly. However the tractor still has a normal 4 speed gearbox from a petrol ride-on machine and when it’s working you can hear the gearbox inners, and the belts and pulleys turning without any petrol engine noise to drown it out and it’s quite weird.

I read a review in a 1970’s issue of a machinery magazine from the US and it said that the wiring in an Elec-Trak was pretty terrible with no wiring loom whatsoever and wires all over the place – and it’s true the wiring and where it all runs is quite appalling, the original factory wiring was sort of shoved in behind the dash but thankfully it’s tidier now.

Just short of a couple of deck decals now and it’s done.

Would I sort another electric tractor? Probably, there’s no petrol leaks to worry about and the electric power is easier to sort – not sure about modern electrics though.

[hillsider]

Nice to see the Elec-trac project has reached its conclusion and is looking excellent.

Re the transmission noises is there any scope for trying a different grade of lubricant or has the lubricant been changed in the past for one that is of a lighter grade than is recommended?
What is the transmission that is fitted to the machine i.e is it a Tufftorq or Peerles etc?

[alan]

It’s a peerless gearbox as far as I recall, the aluminium tag is still attached to the gearbox.

I’ll certainly have a look at the lubricant in the gearbox, won’t go amiss to check it, can’t remember what grade it is, I have all the instructions so will look it up.

The mechanics are not noisy it’s just that the turning of the components can be heard – the other tractors on Youtube sound exactly the same as mine so I don’t think there’s anything amiss. It’s also unusual to hear or see an electric tractor so the sounds become more noticeable if that makes sense?!!

[wristpin]

If it’s a Peerless 6 or 800 series ‘box the recommended lubricant was Bentonite grease which, they said, resisted heat build up. What they didn’t say was that it tended to dry out not reach the areas where it was needed. If we ever had to open a ‘box to replace selector keys or bearings we used to refill with a semi-fluid grease. The slight downside to that was that because of the construction with open-ended bushes and no proper seals there was sometimes a little seepage if too light a grade of grease was used. In practice, this was not enough to cause a problem.
As has been said, the noise from the ‘box is probably normal – just not masked by the absent i/c lump.

[alan]

I think the noise is also partly due to the gearbox being bolted to what is essentially a big metal box of a chassis and it acts as a loud speaker.

Wristpin, thanks for the info about the grease, I will check on the lubrication aspect, it’s always good to have others input on these things.

The gearbox tag says it is a Peerless 1216 of the old type. The instructions from 1973 say it apparently requires 2 pints of SAE EP90. I will have changed it at some point during it’s overhaul but it’s that long ago that I cannot remember! I will check.

Gearbox looks like this:

[trusty220]

I’d put OO grade grease in to replace the EP90. It may be a bit sluggish to start with until it warms up but it will certainly be a lot quieter and less likely to leak.
We always used to use it in the Ransomes Gang Mower gearboxes and it works wonders- it sticks to everything like s**t to a blanket!
I certainly haven’t seen another preserved Electrac; are there any more in the country?

[alan]

Thanks for the info, Geoff. I’ll look into it and report back.

Mountfield brought a low number of Elec-traks into the country along with a few other oddities whilst importing wheelhorse stuff, quite interesting really what can be found in the UK when I started looking. I spoke to someone today who has now told me where there are some archive details regarding the electric tractors brought in by Mountfield which is interesting.

You never know I might have just cornered the market in rare electric tractors!

[wristpin]

This Peerless lubrication chart may be useful in the future. Interestingly there’s no 1216 listed but there is 1316, maybe the chart doesn’t go back far enough or it just comes under the 1200 series?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/98jk0on0inxna53/Peerless%20lube%20specs0001.pdf?dl=0

[alan]

Thank you for the chart, it’s helpful to see that.

[Author]

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