stiga c300 - electric tractor, ride on lawnmower

[szczur333]

hello
I own stiga c300 e-ride for 1,5 year (2 seasons)

it is basic (lowest) model in line up
higher models (C500/584e/384e/798e)

it has 14S li ion (58,8V max) 30Ah battery
stock charger - 5A (FANLESS ! )
optional charger - fast charger 18A cost about 450-500euro :O

I can mowe 3000sq meters on one sitting 100-10% battery if I mowe regullary and grass is low, I dont mind to cut 60% of property , charge for 3-4hours and make other 40%

my MODs:
- button/remote instead stock ignition key (very annoying) (for remote I have to build small 12V li ion battery for receiver to stndby)
- added CRUISE CONTROL + ECO button (avaible in higher models only)
- added LATCHING button to cut on reverse without holding a reverse button - not avaible normally bcoz of safety reasons)
- 3d printed handle for stock charger (annoying to plug sometimes)
- voltmeter (by default its only 5 led status bar - in higher models its app and bluetooth connection so you can see %)

Stiga made their custom charging plug/socket - but under the panel it is regular anderson powerpole 30a connector, so you can change charge port or charge with any 14S charger (in comparasion to stiga fast charger price, most expensive charger on aliexpress its GTK waterproof 14S 18A charger (similar look to surron one) cost about 180eur, lower models cost 100-120 maybe, so 450-500 is absolute ripoff)

I tested it with my adjustable voltage/amp rectifier and works fine (max i tested is 18A like stiga fast charger but breaker is 30A so maybe it can charge faster but, in my opinion 10A is more than enough (its +65% under 2hours)

ALL mods are reversable, plug and play - I still have warranty for it

future mods to do:
4-channel remote, one to on/off, second maybe to turn on LEDs, 3 and 4 to ride forward and backwards (i know its totally unnecessary but will be fun to do it)



PS
power consumption for 2024 season - 62kWh (I cut grass very often)
PS2
voltages:
100% of charger - 5 bars - 58,8V (so really 100%)
but 1bar blinking, whe ride only is possible, no blades, its about 48V so really about 5-15%

 

[fechter]

That's nice.
Next try making it self-driving. Just kidding... Talk about safety issues.
Sounds like a bigger battery would be nice. Eventually old EV car batteries should be plentiful and cheap.

 

[szczur333]

That's nice.
Next try making it self-driving. Just kidding... Talk about safety issues.
Sounds like a bigger battery would be nice. Eventually old EV car batteries should be plentiful and cheap.

suprisingly everything is CAN operated, so its possbile - only steering is mechanical

about bigger battery - main controller is CAN operated - battery has CANbus as well, probably it will be possible but some software flashing but I am not a PRO (yet)

anyway, ultimate battery will be - 21S LTO 25Ah cells (I calculate a cost and it will be abiut 600euro in total)
capable of 6C charging (10min) , but as I said - I "survive" two seasons with 5A charging only. FEW times faster charging will be handfull but thats it.

For next season I will have my custom fast charger prepared for 10-12A maybe 15A charging, I wonder how many times I will use it

PS
stiga C500 vs C300 panel (I got c500 internal pics from guy who own one)

differances: C500 has two more buttons and 9 more LEDs
In c300 i dont have cruise control and eco button also i have only ONE LED - its "generic" exclamation mark warning LED

I compare two PCBs ,and C500 has one "chip/controller" more - I realized it cost 0,2$ -LED and some resitors are even cheaper

so they purposely cut my C500 to C300

 

[szczur333]

I soldered second "driver/controller" for leds and 2 leds (cruise control and eco mode) - and leds works, also I checked eco mode today - and blades spinning slower

so I am only missing bluetooth and 10Ah to c500 model now

 

[szczur333]

I opened battery cover
14S12P
cells Samsung 29E
100A main fuse
PCB BMS numbers LY-BP078-A5 and LY-BP078-B5 but google shows nothing

battery case is steel - top cover weight 4,2kg so both parts 8,4kg - why I tell you that? - 168cells weight also 8,4kg

 

[fechter]

The heavy battery case would be good in the event of a fire as long as it's properly vented.

 

[szczur333]

The heavy battery case would be good in the event of a fire as long as it's properly vented.

case is tight insulated, between two parts of case is some kind of sponge - I would say its waterproof but one guy from my country bought flooded one and everthing was destroyed inside

I remove top cover bcoz of curiousity, also I am wondering if its possible to make removable/slide in battery - cells are so cheap right now so I can make same size battery for about 300-400euro - unfortunanetly BMS has CAN singlas so i think I have to stick with stock one

 

[szczur333]

white plastic box dimensions

36cm lenght
21cm width
15,5cm height

cells are positioned in lenght (along) - sorry i dont know if this is right word

in theory I can fit cells:

18650
10x5 flat + 7-8 in height so:
14s25p or 14s28p

21700
9x5 flat + 6-7 in height so:
14s19p or 14s22p

 

[Logic11]

With cars and such that build up a bit of momentum EV makes sense from a regen point of view.
On something like this (and tractors etc) I spoze electricity is cheaper, less to break and quieter. Anything else?

My point:
IMHO on this type of thing I'd say adding solar is 'The Mod'?
You also get to chill in the shade and stay pretty for longer.

 

[szczur333]

With cars and such that build up a bit of momentum EV makes sense from a regen point of view.
On something like this (and tractors etc) I spoze electricity is cheaper, less to break and quieter. Anything else?

My point:
IMHO on this type of thing I'd say adding solar is 'The Mod'?
You also get to chill in the shade and stay pretty for longer.

I switch from GAS tractor (stiga tornado 2098). Probably I will stay with it for another year if only have grassbasket - 1 hour of mowing, few hours of raking grass and move to corner of land, also I have car/moto/bike and other tools so gas tractor was a last "ICE" tool.

Less maintanance is also one of main reasons to switch - no oil/belts/12V battery etc

Third - gas savings - with frequently mowing - I save about 250-350euro on gas. (even without solar -whole season electricity cost = one tank of gas
(when I buy it, almost 2 years ago, it cost a lot more than now - officially prices are similar, but in my country e-tractors are pretty niche, so dealers want to sell them even with loss after 2 years of sitting and collecting dust. (now electric maybe 100-300eur more expensive than gas equivalent.

PS
This tractor doesnt have regen or brake - when you lift off feet from "gas" (forward) pedal wheels locking immiadaetely - I know this sound is pretty strange and YES it IT IS, at first ride you will say - NA AH , but after few days you will use to it

Solar panel for roof, yes, this is an idea haha, maybe someday


about future mods:

I will try add actuators for cutting deck and grass basket (the highest model - stiga 798e has them)
- cutting desk actuator - I will need only lever + actuator + few screws - also panel from 798e model - one thing which I dont know - my controller doesnt have 6pin connector for actuator - probably if I solder it + maybe some resistors it will work but dont know
still its possible to add it but with some of ardino or relay controller (even cheaper) but not simple

- grass basket actuator - a lot of differences than in manual one - lot of parts but actuator is just 2pin (without potentiometer) so just need two buttons to operate