This is an updated video about the Ryobi 40v Powered Electric Riding Lawn Tractor conversion from my first video. I was unfamiliar with video editing at the time I made it, so hopefully this one is more watchable. The mower has been in use on my 2 acre property, mowing once a week for a whole season. It costs nearly nothing to operate, and my lawn has never looked better. Nothing has went wrong, and it has exceeded my expectations. It has had some minor upgrades, such as a mulch kit, automatic belt tensioner, deck wheels, electric 3-speed drive switch and reverse switch.
It started off as a MTD 42" Lawn Tractor that I found in a scrap yard. It had a single speed transmission with a shift-on-the-go variator. The variator was removed, as were all the original pulleys. Also the 420cc motor was removed and parted out. The drive system is a 40v Brushless Ryobi Push Power motor, with a 2.25 inch pulley, and a 30 inch belt. A steel plate was fabricated to hold the motor in the rear under the seat. It is controlled by a 36v-48v 1000 watt e-bike controller with a basic finger throttle, which is activated by moving the original transmission speed control. The blades and original spindles were removed from the deck. They were replaced with 2 of the same 40v Ryobi motors, which directly drive a Ryobi 21 inch blade. Getting them to attach to the deck was surprisingly simple, as it only required a slight elongation of the factor deck holes and a ridge on the edge being ground off. Each blade motor is controlled by its own original Ryobi Push Mower controller with the wiring and switches modified to fit. The battery holders were made by taking apart a battery charger, removing all the electronics, and soldering 10 AWG copper wire to the connectors. Probably excessive, but it works. A 4th battery slot is available to power 12v items, such as the headlights and a power socket in the back for towing a 15 gallon chemical sprayer.