Solar Charged Lawn Mower
Stripping the old mower HOME Mounting the motor Mounting the blade Battery mounting Electrical Solar charging station Testing

click image to enlarge


Fabricating the Deck

After stripping the mower and removing the engine I was left with a mower deck with a huge hole in it. I went to a local scrap yard and found a couple of small sheets of stainless steel about 1/16" thick. I then cut the steel to the proper size to cover the hole in the deck. Before welding the new stainless steel deck to the mower I drilled five holes; one in the center to allow the shaft of the motor to sit under the deck and four more around the center hole to allow the motor to be mounted to the deck. It was important to make sure the center shaft hole is centered on the mower. If the shaft is not centered when the blade is mounted to the shaft it could rub against the sidewall of the mower. After the holes were properly measured and drilled I carefully welded the steel over the existing hole in the mower. There were still a few spots where rust had eatin through the mower so I cut some additional pieces of steel to weld over the smaller rust holes. These patches can be seen in the image on the lower left.

 

Conclusion

The 1/16" stainless steel worked well for this application. It is thick enough to support the motor and fairly easy to work with when the proper tools are used.

As mentioned in the stripping the old mower section, the whole process of fabricating a new deck could have been avoided by purchasing a mower in better condition. One that allows the engine to be removed without taking part of the deck with it.

 


Jeremy James