I don't not know yet, what engine the guy selling the plans recommends, and therefore do not yet know if there is a LPG kit to fit that specific engine.
Q1: I'm assuming B&S make a horizontal shaft engine with an electric start. Does anyone know if there is an LPG modification for such engines? i.e. Is there a common carby part number I could give someone that sells the LPG kits, to check it would fit? (Or are the LPG kits available in Australia?)
Q2: I'd also appreciate any thoughts/input from others, on what you think would be the most reliable, cheaper to build, and easiest to maintain over the long term. (i.e. Electric, plain petrol engine, or petrol engine modified to run on LPG.)
Hi Allan, if you look through the active topics, I think it is on page 2 where a member here has nearly finished building a tracked mower for use on steep slopes. I'm sure he would be happy to share some of his experiences building it. So far I think he said he had put a couple of hundred hours into it
That motor is a Chonda, probably less than 5HP given the size of the fuel tank. I don't know that I would like to stand on that little platform with the exhaust pouring out over my left leg and foot. The wheels look to be standard pneumatic wheels from a hand trolley. You can probably get suitable tracks to make one from a snow mobile and a differential drive from either a ride on or a go kart. All in all, a fun project but I doubt the value of it on a rural property, especially uneven terrain as it centre of gravity would be quite high if you are a fair sized bloke like myself.
Hi Allan distance / range I think would be the deciding factor between petrol or electric powered.
I came across these whilst considering trying to copy the track system which is simply 2 old car tyres with the sides cut off and slots cut into the tread. The build itself looks labour intensive and I would imagine that the required parts for the drive train wouldn't be cheap . Using a golf cart motor and battery leaves you with the problem of controlling two tracks for steering (unless of course you were thinking of using the steering arrangement from the plans).Maybe using two hydrostatics out of an old dead ride on would be a simpler cost effective option. As aussietrev mentioned above all other parts look to be readily available from hardware stores and engineering shops.
A hybrid system takes up a fair amount of room , is costly , but would be very handy if you ran out of fuel or had a problem with the engine whilst out and about.
