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Single E-Motor Powers Multiple Implements
Bill Bayer has a slick way to drive powered implements with his battery-powered garden tractors. He uses a single Motenergy ME0708 permanent magnet motor, rotating it between implements as needed. So far, he’s used his single-motor system on a wood chipper, a front-mounted brush hog, a trailing 48-in. deck mower, and a pressure washer. Recently, he added a tiller to his collection of converted implements.
“I use a receiver hitch system to easily attach and remove the motor,” explains Bayer. “I mount receiver hitches on the implements and a shank that matches them on the motor. I attach a pulley on the motor for the belt-drive implements and direct-drive the pressure washer with a Lovejoy coupler.”
The ME0708 is a brush-type, permanent magnet DC motor that can pull 100 amps at 48 volts. It’s capable of 4.8 kW continuous power or up to 15 kW for 1 min.
“Motenergy used to be part of Briggs & Stratton, and in the 1970s, their motors were made for little tractor conversions,” explains Bayer. “They spun at 3,600 rpm, the same output as the old Briggs & Stratton engines. They didn’t even require a controller. Just turn them on and use them. The ME0708 is a descendant of those early motors.”
Powering the motor is no problem for Bayer. When converting his garden tractors, he equipped them with substantial batteries and high-voltage cables front and back (Vol. 49, No. 1).
When using the motor with a belt-driven implement, Bayer relies on a built-in tensioner.
“I have a threaded tab on the motor’s shank and a tab on the receiver hitch,” he says. “After attaching the belt to the pulleys, I insert a bolt in the threaded tab until it pushes against the tab welded to the receiver.”
Once the belt is tight, Bayer tightens two bolts in threaded holes in the receiver hitch. These bolts act like set screws to lock the motor down.
When Bayer set out to convert a belt-style PTO tiller to electric drive, he used the same mobile motor system.
The tiller was designed to mount to the back of a small Allis-Chalmers garden tractor. Bayer adapted it for “Artie,” his 4-WD articulated Cub.
“I had to make a rigid support bracket to mount the tiller to the tractor instead of 3-pt. lower links,” says Bayer. “I used my boom pole attachment with its electric actuator to raise and lower the tiller. I could have down pressure with the boom pole, but instead of a rigid connection, I used a short length of chain to hang the tiller. For more depth, I just add a link to the chain.”
Bayer used a 10:1 gear ratio to reduce the rpm from 1,750 on the drive pulley motor to 170 on the tiller blades. He notes that the motor requires a lot of energy to drive the tiller.
“I have half my battery storage available for the tiller,” says Bayer. “I can till with it for about an hour if I start out with a full battery.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bill Bayer, 250 Buffalo Bottom Rd., Linden, Tenn. 37096 (ph 931-589-0001; bluharo@yahoo.com; YouTube: @billbayer5526).


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2026 - Volume #50, Issue #2