New Electric Tractor - Monarch

[Urbish]

This is interesting. I can't see it being used for any real field duty, but might be useful for light tasks near the barnyard (so you can get it back to the charger before it dies).

https://www.thedrive.com/news/38032/the-50k-electric-monarch-tractor-can-plow-a-field-without-you-and-run-for-10-hours

[Jim Becker]

A few observations:

I have never hooked a PTO up to a plow.

They state US built. But it may have a large Japanese content.

I always try to look at what they don't say in those sales pitches (the video). They say 40 hp and they say 10+ hour run time. They never say it can do both at the same time. I don't think Nebraska tests are required any more for anything below 100 hp. So it may be buyer beware.

[Barnyard]

The ad states, "It even has generator capabilities to provide an on-site electrical supply." So, in theory, can you plug this tractors charger into the generator and get perpetual motion?

[Urbish]

The ad states, "It even has generator capabilities to provide an on-site electrical supply." So, in theory, can you plug this tractors charger into the generator and get perpetual motion?

Sure, you can buy several and charge them in a circle!

[Jim Becker]

The ad states, "It even has generator capabilities to provide an on-site electrical supply." So, in theory, can you plug this tractors charger into the generator and get perpetual motion?

My first thought on the "generator" comment was that maybe it had an APU to recharge, like a hybrid car. Of course, that would make a mess of some of their other non-polluting claims. Then I realized they were essentially saying it could be used as a big portable battery pack.

I wonder how well they protected all the electronics up in the ROPS. A small narrow tractor like that is going to be pretty easy to upset, particularly when used in side-hill vineyards.

[Urbish]

I wonder how well they protected all the electronics up in the ROPS. A small narrow tractor like that is going to be pretty easy to upset, particularly when used in side-hill vineyards.

Sort of related: I don't think they covered it in the video, but it looks to me like the ROPS collapses telescopically. Note the cable chain at the left rear of the tractor carrying all the wiring up to the roof.

[Urbish]

I also enjoyed in the video the emphasis that only because it is electric, it can have all the autonomy and technology. If only traditional tractor manufacturers were able to somehow figure out how to generate electricity onboard, they might be able to have some technology too.

[Jkopp]

Non-polluting is an interesting term. I worked in a non-polutting electrical generating plant my entire career. Our primary fuel source was coal.

[Jim Becker]

Non-polluting is an interesting term. I worked in a non-polutting electrical generating plant my entire career. Our primary fuel source was coal.

Several years ago, I saw somebody's comment that rechargeable electric was a really great way to make cars run on coal.

I am also under the impression that the MPG equivalents that are reported for electric cars are based on energy content conversion between gasoline and electricity. The electricity isn't docked for the efficiency of the generating plant or the line loss the get electricity to the point of use.

[ajhbike]

We are going to convert an old junker Loboy to electric just for the fun of it. There is a guy who has some youtube videos in CA that did several and he has sent us the plans for it and talked to us about it. He referred us to a guy in VT who supplies the power kits. If we ever get around to it, I think it could be used for mowing and plowing the driveway and we will put a 3 pt on it to move stuff around the yard.
We have seen some other videos of electric tractors that have a place on small hobby farms for cultivating and spraying and such although they look like "normal" compact tractors with FEL's as opposed the narrow looking one in this thread.
Should be an interesting project.

[Urbish]

We are going to convert an old junker Loboy to electric just for the fun of it. There is a guy who has some youtube videos in CA that did several and he has sent us the plans for it and talked to us about it. He referred us to a guy in VT who supplies the power kits. If we ever get around to it, I think it could be used for mowing and plowing the driveway and we will put a 3 pt on it to move stuff around the yard.
We have seen some other videos of electric tractors that have a place on small hobby farms for cultivating and spraying and such although they look like "normal" compact tractors with FEL's as opposed the narrow looking one in this thread.
Should be an interesting project.

If you're so inclined, we would love to see a build thread. I'm all for vehicle electrification if taken in measured steps. If the auto industry switched over to building all electrics in 5 years without an accompanying (enormous) renewable generation & distribution grid, we'd be in a lot of trouble. There are already parts of the country that struggle with electricity demand during peak hours.

[Don McCombs]

I think they missed a big opportunity for "autonomous" operation by not putting photovoltaics on the canopy for self-recharging.

[Eugene]

Interesting video. Combined existing tractor/farming technology with a battery powered motor.

Not mentioned in the advertising is the battery or batteries; type, life expectancy, replacement cost. Was the cost of the battery charger include in the purchase price for the basic tractor? What else wasn't included in the basic price?

Noticed the tractor was operating in a nice clean environment. What happens when the sensors or optics gets covered with debris?

[Indy4570]

I have always watched the hypocrisy of so called "green" technology. As many of you stated in this thread, most of the energy used to achieve this green state was derived from fossil fuels. the most glaring example is huge wind generators, built using fossil fuels, transported, erected, maintained, and after 15 years, dismantled, and huge graveyards dub out of the earth using fossil fueled powered machines to bury the dead components that cant be recycled. Oh Look, we can power a small town with these! if they ever did a complete analysis I think the return might be negligible at best.

one of the sadder aspects and the source of more hypocrisy is how for decades the media has shown all the animals injured or killed when there is an oil spill, ( haven't heard about too many of those anymore). But we seem to be hiding all of the birds killed by wind generators and in fact there is a legal exemption even in place for these monster turbines to allow them to kill so many a year with zero fines while oil companies pay thousands for each animal. Oh well the beat goes on....

Cool looking tractor, I bet I can get 4 bags of feed in that lil spot on the hood. I always like to ask so called environmentalists how many bales of hay can you haul on your prius...

I do find it interesting like another poster, that this thing is way tall and my little low pasquali was actually designed and made for vineyard use.

[Jim Becker]

. . . But we seem to be hiding all of the birds killed by wind generators . . .

I suspect that particular story to be fake, made up by someone with a pro-coal bias. Otherwise somebody would have shown us a pile of dead birds under a wind generator by now.