Final report for FNC24-1419
Project Information
My wife and I are beginning farmers who have been running our own farm since 2021. We run a 1 acre diversified vegetable farm. We currently rent land at an incubator farm with 15 other small scale farmers. We originally discovered our excitement for organic farming through a farmer training program in Central Oregon in 2018 and have been farming ever since. The mission of our farm is to develop reciprocal relationships with our soils, food, and community through raising chemical free, nutrient-dense vegetables. We hope to continue to gradually expand our farm and eventually focus on growing storage crops and winter growing so that we can strengthen the local food system of Minnesota during our "off season". We hope to purchase our own land in the next 2-3 years. My wife is the main farmer while I work part time for our farm as I also have an off farm job. Through my off farm job I have developed and refined a variety of skills that helped me succeed in this grant project. The first of these skills is mechanical "know how", meaning I am able to take apart machines, identify problems and issues, fix those problems, and then put everything back together. I do not come from a mechanical background so to learn these skills I have read manuals, watched Youtube videos, called other farmers, and used discussion forums to gradually build these skills. I still do not identify as a mechanic, but I have successfully repaired and maintained over 12 different machines for the last 3 years with no major issues at my current job. The second skill that helped me succeed with this project is that I am an educator. In my current job, I teach beginning farmers how to use equipment, build irrigation systems, prep their vegetable fields, and many more farming specific skills. Most of the people that I work with do not speak english as their first language so this means that I have also learned how to use plain non technical terms when explaining different topics. This is a key teaching method that I used in my videos as I want the material to be understandable for anyone watching. I am not as familiar with electrical knowledge which is why I have recruited two mentors to help with this section of the project.
There are two problems that this project addresses. The first problem is currently there are no easy to understand guides on how to convert this type of weeding tractor from gas power to electric power. This may seem like a very specific problem but it becomes more important once you understand how common of a tractor this is on diversified vegetable farms. For example, in a 100 mile radius from my farm I currently know of 5 other established vegetables farms that use this same exact tractor to do the majority of weeding on their farm. Along these same lines if you look at the current Youtube videos (which only show people using these electric tractor and not how they completed the conversion) they have nearly 22,000 views which tells me that there is interest in an electric version of these tractors. The second problem this project addressed when it was completed was that there were no affordable electric weeding tractors on the market. As of June 2025 a company called Tilmor has now manufactured an electric weeding tractor that starts at $19,500. For my project a farmer would only need to spend around $9000 to complete a electric weeding tractor. For this project we completed a "How To" video that includes step by step instructions of how to remove the gas engine, assemble all the electric conversion parts, and attach the conversion parts to the tractor. The video also includes a detailed parts list and budget so that individuals can source similar parts. The video is available on Youtube and as of February 2026 it has about 240 views over 2 weeks. In addition to the video I also hosted one on farm event for the other farm teams at the incubator farm that we farm at. As of February 2026, I do not specifically know of other farmers that have used my video to do the same conversion but I hope that it will help folks into the future.
Solutions-Demonstration and Education project
For this project I created a video that shows a "step by step" process of how to complete this electric conversion. I also include a supplies list with sourcing information, a budget of how much everything costs, and a detailed tools list of what tools you need to complete the steps in each video. I use plain, non technical language in the video so that no prior mechanical knowledge is needed to understand the conversion. The intended audience for this video is other small to medium sized vegetable farmers who want to move away from fossil fuel use on their farm while still having the efficiencies of tractor cultivation. Ideally, I hope that this video will empower other farmers who do not usually attempt a DIY project due to lack of resource or access to a mentor. This video is posted on Youtube so that it is free and easily accessible to anyone interested. In addition to posting the video I hosted one on farm field day for other farmers, specifically those at the incubator farm where we currently rent land (usually 15-20 farm teams each year), to test drive the tractor and get some hands on experience with it. I was hoping to also present at a local conference about the conversion but was not able to do this yet.
Objectives
1) Successfully demonstrate and record the entire conversion of an Allis Chalmers Model G tractor from gas to electric
2) Publish a 5 part video series that provides "Step by Step" guidance, including budgets, supplies lists, and tool lists
3) Host one field day during the season for other farmers to learn about and test drive the new electric tractor
4) Present the results/final process of the project at the annual Sustainable Farming Association Conference
Research
We purchased a conversion kit for this project from a company called ampRevolt. At the time of that purchase they only offered a lead acid battery converison kit so we substituted some parts of there kit so that it would work with our lithium battery. As of February 2026, ampRevolt know offers a lithium conversion kit that includes all the parts needed for the conversion. The kit from this company includes the majority of the electrical parts needed as well as the mechanical parts needed to connect the electric motor to the original tractor. If someone wanted to source the electrical parts themselves then I would recommend that they still purchase the mechanical adapter that allows you to connect the electric motor to the original tractor from Neikamp Inc. discovered a new resource for this project that goes into detail about the conversion process using lithium based batteries that was completed in 2023. Here is the link to this resource in case others find it useful (https://www.instructables.com/Electric-Tractor-Conversion-Allis-G-Cultivator/).
To help complete this project I also visited two farms that have electric G's. Here is some advice that the farmers told me during our visit:
- Lithium based battery bank uses less batteries so the tractor will weigh less and have less traction. If you are only doing light cultivating this should not be an issue but if you were trying to plow or do heavy cultivation you may have to add weight to the tractor.
- They found that their run time on the tractor was about the same as the lead acid batteries (about 1.5 hours doing cultivating) but the recharge time is much faster with the lithium batteries. With lead acid they had to wait about 8-10 hours for the batteries to fully charge so they could use the tractor again. With the lithium batteries, it only takes 1.5-2 hours for the batteries to fully charge. This means they could use the tractor 2-3 times per day rather than just once.
- some routine maintenance includes: cleaning battery connections, cleaning brushes on the electric motor, replacing display gauges
- When they switched to lithium they found that they needed a new controller, they had to reprogram their charger, they needed heavier duty fuses and switches throughout their system
- One farmer actually purchased two lithium batteries with the intent of switching batteries out when one died and letting it charge while they used the other one. This farmers noted they have actually never switched out the batteries as the recharge time easily completed during a lunch break.
- One farmer has had to replace the belt that connects the electric motor pulley to the original tractor (approximately 10 years of use)
- One farmer ran his weeding toolbar with hydraulics. The hydraulic pump that controlled this was powered by an additional deep cycle 12 volt battery because he used a single 48 volt battery for his system
I also found a useful online resource to help guide me in this project.Here is the link to this resource in case others find it useful (https://www.instructables.com/Electric-Tractor-Conversion-Allis-G-Cultivator/).
Here is a more detailed parts list:
Battery and charger: 48 volt 160 AMP LiFePO4 battery from Allied battery, this type of battery is typically used for golf cart conversions, but it works great for this applicaiton. Weight is about 165 lbs, it comes with a battery percentage indicator and a bluetooth app, the battery cuts off power when it reaches 40 volts to protect the battery cells from damage, some batteries cut off lower than this but it is not good for the longevity of the battery, cost was $2989
Motor: 48 volt motor from D&D motor, model#170-002-0003, class H motor, continuous rating of 125 amps, 2925 RPM, 6.1 horsepower, peak rating of 400 amps, 5100 RPM, 14.4 horsepower, 45 ft lbs of torque, cost $1100u
Motor controller: Alltrax 48 volt motor controller, model SR48300, set up for 0-5k ohm throttle potbox (3 wire), cost $640cnectric G tractor kit", this kit includes all parts needed to mount your motor, motor controller, and contactor to the transmission shaft and bell housing of the tractor, cost $1470
48 volt to 12 volt converter: Allied battery 48 to 12 volt converter 30 amp max, this was used to connect to our contactor and on/off switch, this would also be needed if you had 12 volt lights or other 12 volt accessories, cost $68
Contactor: Rincon power 9-36 volt coil, model REC35P1KX, cost $125
Throttle control: Curtis PB-8 potbox, 0-5k Ohn throttle, cost $165
Wire: 1 AWG copper stranded battery cable approx. 12 feet generally used for all 48 volt connection, cost $60, 16 gauge copper stranded wire approx. 10 feet, generally used for 12 volt connections, $5
20 Amp toggle switch, $7
20 Amp atc/ato inline fuse, $7
48 volt, 250 Amp ANN fuse, $90
Quick magnalug, 1 AWG tin platted copper cable lug, $4 each
Hydraulic Crimping tool, $70
3/4 inch heat shrink tubing, 24 inches, $20
1/2 inch plywood (would recommend 3/4 inch) 4'x4', $15
2 inch by 2 inch angle iron, 3/16th thickness, approx 9', $110
1 inch wide, 1/4 inch thick steel bar, approx 5', $20
Miscellaneous nuts, bolts, washers, and metal drill bits
Tools needed for conversion:
Set of allen wrenches
Set of sockets and wrenches
miscellaneous flathead and phillips screwdrivers
pliers
electric drill and driver
welder
grinder
crimpling tool
propane torch
jack stands and floor jack
grease gun
5 gallon bucket and funnel
knife and wire stripping pliers
Total cost: approx. $7300, this does not include purchasing the tractor which will generally cost $1500-5500 depending on condition
Time to complete our conversion: 15-20 hours, this time does not include research and time spent purchasing parts, this project was completed by 2 people
We completed our conversion in May 2025. Our "How to" video was completed and posted to Youtube February 2026. The video has three parts to it. Part 1 is removing the gas engine and preping the tractor for the conversion. Part 2 focuses on assembling the electric components, and Part 3 includes installing the electrical parts and a review of all the wiring. So far the tractor has worked very well for its normal function. We have used it for general weeding and hilling potatoes. One benefit of the electric conversion is that I can control the speed much more than I could when it was gas powered. This has been the most useful when weeding young plants so that I can drive very slow and not bury them with soil or cut them with the tools. So far the video has about 240 views after being posted for about 2 weeks. I hope that many more folks will watch this into the future and find it useful when completing a similar conversion.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation summary:
Two education activites were completed for this grant. One was an on farm field day where farmers could look at and interact with our converted tractor. We had 5 farmers come to this event. The main activity for this grant was creating the "How to" video for Youtube. So far this video has 240 views and has been posted for about 2 weeks.
Learning Outcomes
This project went really well for us. It challenged our DIY skills and really forced us to understand all of the details of the project so that we could teach others in our video. We were successful in completing our tractor conversion and did not run into many barriers. Two items of note are designing a new frame to mount your battery and the exact wiring of all the components. For the battery frame you have to take into account the size of specific battery you plan to purchase and there are only 4 main points to connect a new frame. As you might see in our video we sized our frame to fit our battery well but we wish that we would have made it slightly larger so we had more room for our other components. With the wiring it took some time to review each products manuals and ensure that everything was connected correctly. If someone purchased the exact same parts as us they could follow along in our video. However if they purchased different parts then they would need to read each manual to understand how that individual component connects to the others.