Zak’s Electric Tractor Conversion

The 10k goal fundraiser is intended to fund all electrical components of the conversion AND equipment for the tractor to use in the field.

Once the tractor is running on electrons, funding will go toward updating its cultivation tools and other equipment for stale seedbedding, compost spreading, etc...Scroll to the bottom for links to the various conversion components and tractor equipment!

Additional information about me and the project:

Many of you will know me, but for those that don’t — I am Zak. I have been working for the last 5 years growing food full time on a variety of scales. Working on less than an acre to more than 12. I have farmed in every major climate in the continental United States. This has given me a diversity of climatic experiences in order to better understand the strategies necessary to grow food in an increasingly hostile environment. This experience has changed who I am, how I experience the world, and a lot of the ways I used to think about our food system. Having exploded my repertoire of physical or trade skills from essentially none (I was an athlete and a philosophy major) to being the main mechanic and field manager of a farm that feeds thousands of people, I am now looking to take the next steps. Right now that means learning about how to make farming at a larger scale more sustainable. And in the context of this fundraiser, it means converting a tractor from gas to electric power but let me give you some context.

I am hoping that you can help me further my education within farming and sustainable energy. This will also allow me the opportunity to trial some of my many ideas. The tractor I am converting is an Allis Chalmers G, and its no new thing to convert it to electric power. This makes it a great candidate for me to learn on while also providing me with a prototype for a machine I would hope to work with down the road. The G is light weight and modular, back in 1950 it was manufactured with an engine that has less horsepower than the electric motor I will be installing. This is because the G isn’t intended to work soil hard. And the electric G will be no different, ideally it will become a key component of a mid sized no till farm that is heavily compost based, sequestering rather than emitting carbon each year. It’s only a part of my project, a project that I can only dream of with the help of many, those who have taught me, those I work with everyday, and those I feed.

For me part of that means trying to come up with ways to grow food, particularly vegetables at a scale that can make them affordable but with practices that are regenerative. In order to do that I moved to Wild Hope Farm where medium scale crimped no till was being trialed. Now this conversion project will enable me to explore the scaling up of additional no-till systems of vegetable production such as but not limited to deep compost mulch systems with my own various twists. These systems have been highly successful at a small scale. The techniques are nothing new really as indigenous cultures around the world have made use of them in complex and ecologically rich agricultural systems for millenia!

If you’re at all interested in this project, please consider donating. Any amount helps, and I will keep you all posted as the conversion goes underway.

The tractor is here at Wild Hope and the gas engine is already off. Next step is to build a battery platform, order batteries, secure the motor and start wiring!

For those curious about the ways the G is integrated into that system or how that system intends to function reach out! Thank you for sharing this time with me, this work is truly at the core of my life. Please reach out and say hello and give support in anyway you can. Let’s talk soon.

Major Electrical Components and Tractor Equipment:

Battery and charger:

https://bigbattery.com/products/kit-48v-bdgr-nmc-120ah-6-3kwh/

Electric Motor:

https://www.cloudelectric.com/product-p/mo-es-33.htm

Contactor, controller, and misc electronics:

https://evdrives.com/albright-sw182-style-reversing-contactor-12v-24v-36v-48v-72v/

Flame weeder:

https://curlysag.com/flame-weeders/?v=7516fd43adaa

Tilmor basket and finger weeders:

https://www.tilmor.com/en-us/products/8/basket-weeder?sc=KIT-1003-0A0

https://www.tilmor.com/en-us/products/292/package-...

Compost spreader:

https://millcreekspreaders.com/product/precision-m...
allis chalmers g conversion resources:

https://farmhack.org/tools/electric-tractor-conversion

https://projects.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/910807converting-an-allis-chalmers-g-cultivating-tractor-into-an-electric-vehicle.pdf