How much electrical power can I get out of a riding lawn mower?
If I got in a pinch during a power outage and connected a 12 volt to 110 volt power convertor to the battery of my lawn tractor (via a cigarette lighter connection that I can install), how much power would be available? I have a typical $900 Lowes lawn mower with a 15.5 HP Briggs engine. And I don't have the power convertor yet, so I can buy any size.
Engineering - 2 Answers - 2010-07-23 17:36:43
Best answer: Well that's a good source of power ..but its not very much... the charge rate is about 5amps...maybe a little more right after cranking so lets just say its 7amps...and has a 10amp fuse in there somewhere..7 amps at 12 volts is 84watts ..Now the little battery in the lawn mower is good for about 120amps for about 60 seconds...then it melts...or it can put out 12amps for 600 seconds or 6 amps for about 20 minutes...so if you can run what you need off the battery plus the charging rates your in business..However if your really wanting to use the lawnmower to its absolute best..you might find the drive belt and make an adapter so you could run a 12vdc alternator which charges a deep cycle battery that in turn is connected to an inverter and get a good 1200 watts at 120volts for quite awhile..They really were made to cut grass though..if I could just get my kids on it...Oh well!..From the E
All answer: Answer 1 your lawn mower has a magneto, not a generator. It is designed to maintain about a 2 amp charge to your battery, thats all... 2010-07-23 17:43:06
Answer 2 Well that's a good source of power ..but its not very much... the charge rate is about 5amps...maybe a little more right after cranking so lets just say its 7amps...and has a 10amp fuse in there somewhere..7 amps at 12 volts is 84watts ..Now the little battery in the lawn mower is good for about 120amps for about 60 seconds...then it melts...or it can put out 12amps for 600 seconds or 6 amps for about 20 minutes...so if you can run what you need off the battery plus the charging rates your in business..However if your really wanting to use the lawnmower to its absolute best..you might find the drive belt and make an adapter so you could run a 12vdc alternator which charges a deep cycle battery that in turn is connected to an inverter and get a good 1200 watts at 120volts for quite awhile..They really were made to cut grass though..if I could just get my kids on it...Oh well!..From the E 2010-07-23 17:57:35