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Replaced Generator On Garden Tractor
Graham Robertson, Westminster, Md.: “When the engine shroud on my old Simplicity garden tractor cut some wires that caused the generator to burn up, I decided it would be cheaper and easier to replace it with a 1-wire auto alternator. The Briggs & Stratton engine had a 1-in. shaft out the front – to drive some accessory I did not get when I bought the tractor – so I figured I could drive the alternator with that. I had to move the original muffler away from the front of the engine, installing a standard 1-in. muffler out the side.
“I needed a large pulley to get enough rpm’s to drive the alternator so I made a drive pulley out of an old lawn tractor transmission pulley. It was originally made to fit a 1/2-in. shaft. I ground it out to fit and welded a small 1-in. shaft pulley to the front of it to hold it to the shaft. The alternator cost $25 and came from an old Chevrolet. Once I got the alternator mounted, the hood would no longer fit so I had to modify the hinges to raise it 4 in.
    “The last thing was to install a 30 amp gauge to allow for the higher output. A side benefit of this conversion is that it works well to jump start tractors and trucks with dead batteries.
    “This is not a show tractor. It’s just an earn-your-keep farm tractor that we like because of its tall deck and huge heavy flywheel, which allows it to deal with pastures a foot or more tall.”



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2015 - Volume #39, Issue #4