Possum Lodge: The lodge from The Red Green Show. A handyman (or woman's) paradise where if it ain't broke, you're not trying and duct tape fixes everything.
Skunk Works: A pseudonym for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Program. Originally a nickname based on the "Skonk Oil Factory" from Lil' Abner, the Skunk Works is the [unofficial] name of Lockheed's research and development arm. The Skunk Works has been responsible for numerous technical innovations, especially pertaining to aeronautics.
What's the Possum Lodge Skunk Works?
This community is dedicated to the best examples of DIY engineering. To the handyman (or handywoman) in all of us. Maybe you're proud of your creation or maybe you're serving up a cautionary tale. Whether mechanical, electrical, or architectural, if you've built something to make your life easier, or just because you could, no matter if it belongs in the Skunk Works hall of fame or in an episode of the Red Green Show, we want to see it.
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What do you do when you have a pretty comfortable swivel chair but want to move it around like an office chair? You bulid a six wheel flatbed trailer for it.
The swivel chair is attached with zip ties so it could be removed any time without damage to the chair. Now the chair has two functions: swinging/ swivelling and moving around. The part underneath the chair can be used as additional storage space as it moves around with the whole contraption.
That was my first attempt at electrifying a gas mower. I used a 2 HP induction motor attached to a mount designed to be a drop in replacement for the engine. The first version used the frame from a Troy Bilt front wheel drive mower. This one only had a single speed transmission and couldn't handle the added weight from the motor. I think I used it for one season before replacing it with Version 2.
If you want to buy a new lawn mower, you can go down to your local big box retailer and find that most of the available options are probably battery electric mowers.
But, not that many years ago, electric mowers kinda sucked. The few choices you had were all corded but more importantly, they were cheaply built and lacked power. They also had none of the features of gas mowers, like being self propelled. After wearing out two of them within a couple years I thought, "This is cannot be that hard. I bet I can build a better electric mower."
A rotary lawn mower is pretty basic. Engine spins blade, blade cuts grass. That's pretty much it. If you wanted to "electrify" a gas mower, you would need a motor that could supply sufficient torque and keep the blade speed within the right range.
I picked up a 2 HP induction motor and mounted it on a frame which would basically serve as a drop-in replacement for the engine. I also built a switch which connected to the dead-man switch/engine brake bar, allowing the motor to be turned on and off.
I quickly learned the importance of selecting the right mower to convert. My first attempt was a Troy Bilt front wheel drive, which did not work well. Electric motors are heavy and the induction motor was substantially heavier than the engine it was replacing. The front wheel drive mechanism was not designed to handle the extra weight and it made navigating difficult.
My next attempt was with a John Deere rear wheel drive. That one was a winner. I ended up building a really solid electric mower that performs nearly on par with a gas mower. The only downside is that it requires a heavy extension cord due to the power draw but once you get used to the cord it's not that bad.
I used this thing for probably 8 years without any problems and no maintenance besides sharpening the blade and greasing the bearings about once a year. I replaced it with a cordless mower last summer but I'm not getting rid of it. It's in my shop getting a badly needed rebuild and a safety upgrade (adding an electric brake). It'll be back on the job, at least part time, whenever I get a chance to put it back together.
More photos in the comments.
