Another converted Line Trimmer

[Kepler]

Finished converting my old Line Trimmer to electric. Removed the old motor assembly and fitted a spare Turnigy 63-74 200 kv and 100A K-force ESC as used in my friction drives. Battery capacity is 2 x 6S 3000mah LiPo which is plenty for my garden.Throttle is via a servo tester with the original trigger throttle used to operate a micro switch.

Very pleased with the results with more power than I would ever need in a line trimmer. Now its time to attack the mower.

 

[boostjuice]

Profesh! Love it!

 

[dogman dan]

Boo Yaaa! Extremely nice. 8)

 

[AussieJester]

Very professional looking job there Mr Kepler
keen to see you convert your mower now
is it a ride on :: wink ::

KiM

 

[beast775]

damn! thats clean lookin.

 

[etard]

Dude, that's sick!, Any pics on the motor shaft configuration?

 

[oatnet]

I love it!

-JD

 

[Kepler]

Thanks for the nice comments.
Put it to work today. I have a small garden that takes about 20 minute of trimming. I have 6ah of battery onboard. Put back 1.3ah back into the pack after this run so the pack is plenty big enough. Tons of power too with the motor hardly changing note even under load. ESC total cool.

Here are a few more pictures.

 

[Hardcarve1]

This is just the start of things to come. I think as many ES members who have lawn should build these as they make edge trimming fun.
Nice work and simple design that looks like it can take some hard yakka.

Alex

 

[Kepler]

Thanks Alex. You are right, it does make trimming less of a chore. The design is simple thats for sure. Quite an enjoyable project. 2 flat plates and 4 spaces is essentially the mechanics. The guard around the motor is just Insect screen and of cause the battery holder is just a cheap bike seat tool bag.

Total cost of parts including LiPos was $220.00. Not the cheapest line trimmer but it sure beats ICE or a power cord.

 

[Hillhater]

Ahh ! ..I see the red grip tape is the secret to a good strimmer conversion ! :lol:

 

[Kepler]

Thats it. The grip tape is the key to success and a quick conversion back to a friction drive if it didn't work :lol:

 

[auraslip]

Awesome. I added this page to my growing list of lawn tool conversions.

I'm curious (clueless) on how the motor connects to the shaft. Is there an adapter, or did you have to make one?

Gosh, I really know nothing about r/c motors and the like. It'd take me a lot of work to make one of those, but I bet it'd be worth it!

Quiet, light, and no need for mixing 2 stroke oil!

 

[E-bike4life]

Simply Amazing!

I remember a few years back a lot of commotion about the pollution weed wackers and leaf blowers were putting off.

This could be a good fix for all that. :wink:

 

[Kepler]

Awesome. I added this page to my growing list of lawn tool conversions.

I'm curious (clueless) on how the motor connects to the shaft. Is there an adapter, or did you have to make one?

Gosh, I really know nothing about r/c motors and the like. It'd take me a lot of work to make one of those, but I bet it'd be worth it!

Quiet, light, and no need for mixing 2 stroke oil!

I'm honoured. Thanks mate
The shaft adapter is custom made. I cut the square drive off the old clutch bell on the ICE motor and tuned up an adapter to connect the square drive. 4 grub screws then hold it in place. Easy job even on a hobby lathe.

I think a line trimmer is perfect candidate for this type of conversion. If you can build an ebike, this is a snack.

 

[Kepler]

Simply Amazing!

I remember a few years back a lot of commotion about the pollution weed wackers and leaf blowers were putting off.

This could be a good fix for all that. :wink:

It really make much more sense then ICE powered. I wish I had done it earlier. Got to thank Hardcarve1 for setting the bar. Not sure if I quite reached it but happy to be in the same company

This tool has a blower attachment also. Works a treat also so that's a bonus too. 8)

 

[Kepler]

Bit of an update. Used the line trimmer in anger today. trimmed both front and back yards including using the blower attachment too clean up. Ran for about 45 minutes in total and put back 3000mah back into the pack.

Although it worked quite effectively, I dont think the 63-74 200kv is the right selection. RPM is OK for the line trimmer but a bit slow on the blower attachment. Also its way oversized for the duty and stays completely cool even after 45 minutes of fairly constant operation.

So I swapped out the motor to a 50-65D 270 kv motor. This motor looks tiny in the trimmer but still packs plenty of punch. RPM is much better. The line trimmer really sings now and the blower has more grunt then my mains power unit. Ran it for about 20 minutes. Motor hardly broke a sweat. Just slightly warm. Other bonus is that it took half a kg off the weight of the unit too. Its now only 4.5kg which is so easy to handle.

If you are thinking about doing this sort of conversion, just go for it. The 50-65D 270 kv motor on 6S is the perfect set up. Any cheap 85A ESC will do the job, and 5000mah 6S is plenty. I recon you could do the conversion for $100 fairly easily.

A couple photos of the tiny 50-65 with the guard removed.

 

[auraslip]

I looked up that castle hv160.... that shit is like $250!
What would an appropriately sized ESC unit cost?

 

[Kepler]

No need for anything fancy. Something like this Hobby King SS series 90 to 100A esc would do the trick at $25 USD
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7341