Seth's 1968 Bolens Garden Tractor

Owner	Seth Murray
Owner's Other EV	1985 Chevrolet S-10
Location	Harpswell, Maine US ^map
Web/Email	WebPage
Vehicle	1968 Bolens 1050
Motor	General Electric 2CM77 Compound Wound DC Old aircraft starter generator. Probably overkill, and very inefficient. But powerful!
Controller	Stepped resistors on field winding - lo/hi. Don't really need high range.
Batteries	3 Alphacell 165GXL, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Gel Old junk batteries that I had lying around
System Voltage	36 Volts
Charger	Army surplus multitap transformer/rectifier
Heater	the motor
DC/DC Converter	none
Instrumentation	tri-metric battery monitor
Top Speed	6 MPH ( 9 KPH) with a creeper gear, the tractor is unstoppable!
Acceleration	neck-breaking
Range	across my yard a few times
Seating Capacity	1 adult
Curb Weight	950 Pounds (431 Kilograms) that's a guess. heavy.
Tires	turf
Conversion Time	a few days
Conversion Cost	$400 including tractor. converted almost entirely with junk I already had lying around
works great, tons of power - no grass too tall. battery capacity is the weak point; have to do the lawn in a few sections. I may add three more batteries on the back, or make a battery trailer. The motor needs forced cooling. I have a plow plade and snow blower for the tractor as well.

1968 Bolens Garden Tractor“Bo”