Massy Harris

2011 - Volume #35, Issue #5, Page #20

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Massy Harris "Pony" Converted To Electric Power

“It runs quiet and costs very little to operate,” says 79-year-old Dave Benoit, Quailcum Beach, B.C., who converted a 1948 Massey Harris Pony tractor to electric power. It’s complete with a 6-ft. long, 4-ft. wide, 18-in. high plywood dump box on front.
   There’s no gas or oil in the tractor, and no engine, belts or pulleys. The transmission is built into the tractor’s housing.
  “I made the conversion a year ago for a local hog farmer who uses it to clean manure out of brood pens inside a confinement barn,” says Benoit. “Sows don’t like to hear noise or smell fumes and can get so agitated they eat their young. Electric tractors work great in confinement barns, because you can work with no noise or exhaust fumes or fuel. He has used the tractor for a year now with no problems.”
  He took everything off the tractor’s housing and hooked the electric motor up to the stub shaft coming out of the transmission.
  Four 12-volt batteries are stored in a metal box under the home-built frame. He mounted a sprocket on the driveshaft coming out of the transmission and installed a DC electric motor on it.
  The electronic components out of an old golf cart, including relays, a rheostat, switches, and throttle, are used to control the tractor’s speed and to charge the batteries. The rheostat controls the voltage on the DC motor and is activated whenever the driver presses down on the golf cart’s accelerator pedal.
  A winch and cable and pulley system acts on a pair of 2-ft. long telescoping sq. metal tubes that are used to raise and lower the dump box. A mercury switch on the box limits how far the box can be raised.
  “The customer I built it for loves it,” says Benoit. “I used a Massey Harris Pony tractor because the transmission on it is built into the rear end housing. In high gear, it’ll go 22 to 23 mph.
  “The four 12-volt deep cycle batteries will run for several hours on one charge. A 48-volt charger is used to recharge the batteries overnight.”
  Benoit paid $150 for the electronic components from the golf cart. “I decided to go this route after checking out the cost for commercial switches, relays, and throttles. It would’ve cost about $5,000 which I think was ridiculously high,” says Benoit.
  When building the plywood dump box he treated the wood with a sealer, adding paint to the sealer to “waterproof” the wood. “The customer uses a garden hose to wash the box down. Even after a year spent hauling manure, the box still looks like new,” notes Benoit.
  Benoit bought the DC motor at and electric supply store. He says he’s willing to build for others.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dave Benoit, 1140 Chatsworth Rd., Quailcum Beach, B.C. V9K 1V6 Canada (ph 250 752-6062).

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Massy Harris Pony Converted To Electric Power TRACTORS Conversions “It runs quiet and costs very little to operate ” says 79-year-old Dave Benoit Quailcum Beach B C who converted a 1948 Massey Harris Pony tractor to electric power It’s complete with a 6-ft long 4-ft wide 18-in high plywood dump box on front There’s no gas or oil in the tractor and no engine belts or pulleys The transmission is built into the tractor’s housing “I made the conversion a year ago for a local hog farmer who uses it to clean manure out of brood pens inside a confinement barn ” says Benoit “Sows don’t like to hear noise or smell fumes and can get so agitated they eat their young Electric tractors work great in confinement barns because you can work with no noise or exhaust fumes or fuel He has used the tractor for a year now with no problems ” He took everything off the tractor’s housing and hooked the electric motor up to the stub shaft coming out of the transmission Four 12-volt batteries are stored in a metal box under the home-built frame He mounted a sprocket on the driveshaft coming out of the transmission and installed a DC electric motor on it The electronic components out of an old golf cart including relays a rheostat switches and throttle are used to control the tractor’s speed and to charge the batteries The rheostat controls the voltage on the DC motor and is activated whenever the driver presses down on the golf cart’s accelerator pedal A winch and cable and pulley system acts on a pair of 2-ft long telescoping sq metal tubes that are used to raise and lower the dump box A mercury switch on the box limits how far the box can be raised “The customer I built it for loves it ” says Benoit “I used a Massey Harris Pony tractor because the transmission on it is built into the rear end housing In high gear it’ll go 22 to 23 mph “The four 12-volt deep cycle batteries will run for several hours on one charge A 48-volt charger is used to recharge the batteries overnight ” Benoit paid $150 for the electronic components from the golf cart “I decided to go this route after checking out the cost for commercial switches relays and throttles It would’ve cost about $5 000 which I think was ridiculously high ” says Benoit When building the plywood dump box he treated the wood with a sealer adding paint to the sealer to “waterproof” the wood “The customer uses a garden hose to wash the box down Even after a year spent hauling manure the box still looks like new ” notes Benoit Benoit bought the DC motor at and electric supply store He says he’s willing to build for others Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dave Benoit 1140 Chatsworth Rd Quailcum Beach B C V9K 1V6 Canada ph 250 752-6062

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