Riding Mower Teardown

Steven Guccione

Up until now I’ve really just removed the battery and drilled a few harmless holes. But there comes a time to start really doing a Teardown. There is a bit more going on than I appreciated. First I removed the dual 42″ blades and the pulleys that ran them. Then I removed the controls and disconnected them from the engine. Then drained and removed the gas tank. A wiring harness was next. There is a somewhat complicated set of manual and electric interlocks that I still need to think about. For instance: shutting off the motor when the seat isn’t occupied, but only if the blades are in use (good if you fall off while mowing) or decoupling power from the drivetrain while braking. Removed the exhaust from the front and explored the engine mounts.

Also looking at wiring and placement of controls. A bit more to it than I realized at first. Will need two controllers, one for the drivetrain and one for the blades. A foot control is probably a better idea than a dashboard knob for a throttle. The second motor controller I have has little documentation. Wires are labeled in Chinese and something resembling English. Some experimenting is probably going to be necessary.

As far as blades, I’ve decided on 4 or 5 small blades used as string trimmer replacements. The whole deck is big and heavy and probably massive overkill for what I want to do. Might dump it all, but I will need a way to figure out how to support the blades and motors and how to make a safety cover. Probably not too hard, but something I didn’t intend to do.

Next big step: engine removal. Really not much left after that, just a frame and some wheels.

Lastly, I’ve started tagging blog entries. My goal is just to be able to group similar entries. I was just using keywords in the title, but best to use the proper tool for the job. Will go back and add tags to older posts.

No COVID-19

Steven Guccione

Even as the US blows past 3,000 COVID-19 deaths today, it is important that people realize: it didnt have to be this way. There are places all over the world where competent leadership and reasonable populations have kept COVID-19 at bay and are living otherwise normal lives. As an added benefit, their economies are also relatively normal and people aren’t getting sick and dying.

“There Was A Pandemic?” What Life Is Like In Countries Without COVID

The Point of No Return

Steven Guccione

I have the mower drivetrain (sorta) working. The chain slips off occasionally but if I am gentle with the throttle it seems ok. Because I had originally planned to go with a direct drive, the chain gears it down yet another notch. So max speed might end up 2 – 3 MPH. Probably ok for mowing.

Up until now I could easily re-assemble the pieces and go back to a traditional gas engine power. There comes a point when you have to make a more serious commitment to a project like this and going back is not an option. I think I am at that point. I pulled the blades and pulleys and disconnected most of the wiring. Next is draining and removing the gas tank and lastly, getting the engine out.

Then I’ll mount the electronics and start thinking about a for a test drive and details for the mower blades. Right now I’m planning on multiple (4 or 5) small motors driving small circular metal bladed made for string trimmers.