Rollerman 290 #1 Posted April 8, 2009 A couple weeks back I picked up a Sears Electric rider on the way to visit Duke. I bought it cheap minus batteries & it was a gamble since the trans was not working. I had a hunch I could fix it & my FIL had the batteries I needed so I thought why not. The woodruff key had dissapeared on the input shaft when the pulley worked loose...a new bolt, lock washer, & woddruff key, three 12V deep cycle batteries & the E rider was in business. It's a 74 vintage & not to many out there...probably not a collectors item but if gas hits $4 a gallon again like last summer it will earn it's keep. My boy & I drove it around for awile last week & even tested the mower on my neighbors shaggy lawn...it holds a charge good pulling me & mowing. Still like to find a Wheel Horse Elek Trac...I know of a few a may look into later this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,345 #2 Posted April 8, 2009 Stephen, About how long will it hold a charge when in use? And how long does it take to fully charge the batteries? Your son looks too relaxed to mow grass! :omg: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #3 Posted April 8, 2009 Terry here in Millersburg are town lots are pretty small. I played around over at the neighbors place like I mentioned (he only mows 2 or 3 times a year...grass was still tall from last year)...mowed it, hit my front yard where the grass was tall enough to cut. The Taylor & I tooled around on it all afternoon after dark with the lights on. It slowed down, but never died. It does take some time to charge it....I should be able to plug it in after I use it & let it charge over night...it has a built in charger under the seat. Here is a little history on them. http://www.searstractor.com/news/jerryElser917.25790.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 19,595 #4 Posted April 8, 2009 Your kid outa love that one. He can yak on the phone and hear the conversation and still be mowing! Very cool machine . Mike........ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #5 Posted April 8, 2009 Your kid outa love that one. He can yak on the phone and hear the conversation and still be mowing! Mike....I'm confused My kid only uses his phone to text & only drives the tractors around. I didn't know they could talk on a phone or actually do work. :drool: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHC-125 4 #6 Posted April 8, 2009 Your kid outa love that one. He can yak on the phone and hear the conversation and still be mowing! Very cool machine . Mike........ Stephen, great find but what if you leave the key on? I bet replacing batteries will get expesnive. And Mike, he can hear the power of that electric motor though :omg: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #7 Posted April 8, 2009 Stephen, great find but what if you leave the key on? I bet replacing batteries will get expesnive. Chris my FIL gets a good supply of takeout batteries at work...so I guess I'm set there. The motor does make some noise & you would know it if the key were left on. An E rider may seem impractical to some....but so did spending $8 dollars for 2 gallons of gas last summer. :omg: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CasualObserver 3,406 #8 Posted April 8, 2009 Stephen you've got my curiosity up.... how accurate is that article? Is your little rider there a one of "half a dozen or so" ? ? And did you get it from the guy in the article? He stated he had the only one in the world? Just curious if this is really that rare of a piece. Neat one no matter what. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #9 Posted April 9, 2009 Jason I actually inquired about it before I bought it on MTF in the "Craftsman" section....one of the resident Sears/Roper/Craftsman experts posted the link to the story. I'd bet there were far more than a dozen sold...but never caught on & not very popular. In fact the guy mentioned in that article as haveing the "only one in the world" also said he picked up one at a garage sale for parts. I guess I'll have to do some further digging & see hom many were made/sold? :omg: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
