Converting Electric snow blower to battery power

[steveo]

So i got this awsome deal on a Torro Power curve 1800 snowblower slightly used; (mint condition) for 130$; retail currently at home depot is 400$ + tax

I would of gone gas, but for the ease of use for other family members, this was a great option....

I want to take it a step further and run it off battery power

the specs sheet on torro website says its a series-wound motor... I assume dc motor...

what do you guys suggest, can i just wire in a 100v or 144v battery in... maybe a contactor like ev200?

fuse it around 20amps

will i burn out the contactor or motor without any precharge at that voltage?...

-steveo

 

[liveforphysics]

You don't need to pre-charge a motor (especially a series-wound), it has it's own inductance.

I would throw a 40amp relay going to a 120vdc nominal LiPo pack on there, and call it a day.

 

[steveo]

You don't need to pre-charge a motor (especially a series-wound), it has it's own inductance.

I would throw a 40amp relay going to a 120vdc nominal LiPo pack on there, and call it a day.

nice... this seems like a easy conversion... i'll be converting it soon

-steveo

 

[texaspyro]

100S10P AA cells should be just about right...

 

[steveo]

100S10P AA cells should be just about right...

double aa cells?

lol

i have a a123 44s pack i wana use... nominal is 145v though

-steveo

 

[TylerDurden]

I think it's a great idea.

We have three of the 1200 model. While they are narrow, they can do a good job (not so great for heavy, wet stuff). They are light - I sometimes use mine on the flat areas of the roof.

Not having to manage a cord would be nice.

 

[dmwahl]

Did this ever go anywhere? I'm planning on converting my gas snow blower to electric soon.

 

[steveo]

Did this ever go anywhere? I'm planning on converting my gas snow blower to electric soon.

i never converted it.. i have everything to do it.. just been lazy..

pertty straight forward.. it was explained in previous post how to wire it

-steveo

 

[smev]

Alright I got a power curve 1800 for $50. I wired 4 6s 5000mah zippy batteries from hobbyking in series to get 100v hot off the charger.

I attached the pack to a female extention cord end I bought for $5 I plugged it directly into the regular blower plug.

Works great, I've run it for around 45 mins and the pack was at 90v

To hold the batteries I used a reusable fabric shopping bag and zip tied it to the bottom of the handle.

One day I'll add a fuse off the pack but for now it just has high gauge wiring and I'm careful.

 

[steveo]

Alright I got a power curve 1800 for $50. I wired 4 6s 5000mah zippy batteries from hobbyking in series to get 100v hot off the charger.

I attached the pack to a female extention cord end I bought for $5 I plugged it directly into the regular blower plug.

Works great, I've run it for around 45 mins and the pack was at 90v

To hold the batteries I used a reusable fabric shopping bag and zip tied it to the bottom of the handle.

One day I'll add a fuse off the pack but for now it just has high gauge wiring and I'm careful.

can you post pictures??

how are you switching it on and off

i would imagine at 100vdc the switch would fall appart quickly

steveo

 

[smev]

Here you go. I didn't do any modifications to the blower itself. Nothing fancy just 4 batteries in series connected to the plug.

I used 14awg of high quality silicone wire. Probably shouldn't go any lower then that.

I put a hole in each of the 4 corners of the bag and used zipties. The extra weight lower down helps the blower in the deeper snow.

I put the positive wire to the smaller terminal on the plug, I doubt it makes a difference though.

Its just turned on and off by the regular switch on the handle, on the 3rd day running it in pretty heavy snow with no problems yet.

I'm assuming the switch is rated higher then it needs to be. No way to find the dc rating on that switch, and not willing to put much time into this project. If it melts, that will be the time to figure out a new switch. Haha maybe I'll put that fuse in sooner then I was planning.

 

[steveo]

Here you go. I didn't do any modifications to the blower itself. Nothing fancy just 4 batteries in series connected to the plug.

I used 14awg of high quality silicone wire. Probably shouldn't go any lower then that.

I put a hole in each of the 4 corners of the bag and used zipties. The extra weight lower down helps the blower in the deeper snow.

I put the positive wire to the smaller terminal on the plug, I doubt it makes a difference though.

Its just turned on and off by the regular switch on the handle, on the 3rd day running it in pretty heavy snow with no problems yet.

I'm assuming the switch is rated higher then it needs to be. No way to find the dc rating on that switch, and not willing to put much time into this project. If it melts, that will be the time to figure out a new switch. Haha maybe I'll put that fuse in sooner then I was planning.

thanks for sharing..

all you need is a nice ev200 contactor that will run off a simply 12v.. you can use a laptop adapter off the main 100v to give you 12v output which you can power contactor... or see if the switch melts.. if it does let me know at least lol

-steveo

 

[smev]

I believe the switch is just rated for its ability to break the current, so the ratings should be the same when the switch is closed. Only difference with dc is it has a higher chance of maintaining an arc when the switch is opened. I figure the blower only uses around 3-4amp under no load, so I could back off before opening the switch.

It feels like the switch has a significant air gap, I guess time will tell though.

Those relay/contactors are quite expensive, currently I have $56 invested in this project (not including lipos that I already had), and less then 10 mins time. I'll make a post if I have issues, or I'll make one at the end of the season stating all was good.

 

[dmwahl]

DC ratings are lower because there's no inherent zero crossing like with AC. Under normal operation you're probably fine, but if the motor stalls and you try to shut off the switch the air gap may not be sufficient.

 

[Ypedal]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CvpnnTWiJc

[youtube]9CvpnnTWiJc[/youtube]

Been running this since 2010, tried various switches but none last... biggest one i could find was rated 25 amps DC and it melted after 2 uses.... so i ditched them and just use Anderson PP45's .. no problems since.

and the above is a Thrower.. not a Blower lol...

 

[gogo]

Its not much of a safety issue because there is no drive to the wheels. Hard-wiring around switch + replacing standard wall-plug connector on handle = cheap and safe enough considering the device. You could even put the plug at the end of a long lever to give mechanical advantage for breaking any potential arc event.

I run a Toro 1800 using AC and the only time I've ever needed to suddenly cut the power was when I got the power cord wrapped into the impeller.

and the above is a Thrower.. not a Blower lol...

Technically maybe, but the low power of these units might make the distinction meaningful. Mine 'throws' wet heavy slush about 3 feet.

 

[999zip999]

Nice but what is it for and how would you ride it ? Oh it's a snow cone maker, but snow cones in winter as it' s only 68 de. Today ?

 

[smev]

Alright well here's the update on running the toro 1800. Good news is I've had around 30 hours of solid runtime, and the winter is pretty much over.

I was lazy and never put in a fuse. The other day I hit a pair of scissors under the snow and jammed the motor. It was actually completely slient after it jammed and took me a few seconds to realize the switch was melted in the closed position. Anyways the magical smoke has been released, I think a proper fuse may have kept the magic smoke where it was supposed to be. The lipo batteries fried it like a champ, weren't even warm. The motor still functions (maybe with less power) so I may try to replace the switch and some wiring.

Oh well the batteries on back on the ebike now anyway, and off to a new city next year where I won't have to deal with the snow.

All and all well worth the $50 I paid for it.

I think putting a under rated fuse in at around 15 amp would probably be ideal. The motor pulls alot less amps then it claims. 4x 6s 5000mah in series was getting well over a hour of runtime, never actually monitored the batteries during running but they were never even 50% drained when I charged.

 

[smev]

Another note, the blower seemed have a lot more power on the dc then the ac at 100v. It would probably be sufficient to run at around 50v and the lower voltage would solve a lot of problems.

 

[RHill051]

I know this is a super old thread, but I've been staring at it for months telling myself I should do the same. I was wondering if anyone else had ever done the same with a similar electric snow blower. I'm going to buy 3 of these Turnigy Nano-Tech 2650mah 4S 25~50C Lipo that are on sale for $16.95 and run them in series to get the 50V that was suggested and see how it goes. I can always use the batteries for other projects. I don't have a ton of experience with this sort of thing but I love to tinker and learn so any and all advice is appreciated.

P.S. Thanks @smev for all the info you shared!! huge help

 

[pwd]

I love the idea of an electric snowblower, even it is just a smaller one. For a corded model to run properly; won't you need 120VDC? 50VDC wouldn't cut it I think; you wouldn't be able to get the right rpm.