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Choremaster, the one wheeled wonder tractor If you have been to a general interest tractor show no doubt you have seen a Choremaster. Many of them are used to pull passenger carts. The Choremaster’s inventor was Carl Van Ausdall of Union County, Indiana, who started out selling Chevrolets at his father’s Liberty, Indiana dealership. Van Ausdall built and tested the Choremaster prototype, powered by a 1 hp Clinton engine in July 1946, Van Ausdall applied for a patent, which was granted in December 1950. Van Ausdall took his inventions to people’s gardens to test their operation. He then took the tractors back to his shop, evaluated their performance and made alterations as needed. Van Ausdall was reported to have personally tested each new tractor model and implement before it was put into production. VanAusdall made arrangements with Lodge and Shipley of Cincinnati to manufacture his tractor beginning with the 1947 models. Many people think Lodge and Shipley invented the Choremaster. Van Ausdall received a royalty for each tractor produced. His invention was the first product of Lodge and Shipley’s Special Products Division to bear the Choremaster name. In 1947, only the 1-1/2 hp model Choremaster was offered for retail sale. The pre-season 1947 catalog lists such attachments as a snow blade, a universal mower that converted push mowers to a front-mounted attachment, a breaking plow, a grader plow for soil and snow, and a rear tool bar for mounting a variety of cultivating tools, sweeps and hoes and an 18-inch reel mower. A mercury clutch (centrifugal clutch) of Van Ausdall’s design that allowed the engine to be started and run at less than 1,600 rpm without the sheave turning was used on both Briggs & Stratton and Clinton engines. In 1948, few visible changes were made. One model was offered – the same 1-1/2 hp along with all the 1947 implements plus an expanded line of cultivator shovels, hoes and hillers. A sickle bar mower also was listed in the 1948 catalog but no price was given; it may have been available later that year. Many Choremaster dealerships opened as the popularity of the tractor grew. In 1949 Choremaster began outsourcing many attachments to meet customer demand . Parker Company of Springfield, OH, built the sulky and the utility cart; Empire Plow supplied the disc attachment and Campbell Hausfield furnished the air compressor. Lawn mowers came from Great American Lawn Mower Company, Coldwell Lawn Mower, and Pincor Gen-E Motor Co., and Mow-Ez. More models were added in 1949 with increased horsepower to handle attachments, including sickle bar and a 24 inch rotary mowers. The model A, a 1 hp unit weighing 104 pounds, sold for $132; model B, a 2 hp unit weighing 108 pounds, sold for $138, and model C, a 3 hp unit weighing 117 pounds, sold for $165. Adding a centrifugal clutch cost an additional $10. All tractors offered a choice of ground grip or traction tread tires. By 1954, the Clinton 700 series engines and Briggs & Stratton model 6 engines were being used on the 1-1/2 hp models, which sold for $149.75, regardless of engine manufacturer. The 2-1/2 hp units used either a model 900 Clinton or a B&S model 8 engine, and the 3 hp used the Clinton 1100 series. A centrifugal clutch for any of these tractors, as in the past, added $10 to the price. However, there were signs Choremaster sales were declining. Van Ausdall sold all manufacturing rights and patents for the one-wheeled tractor to Richard Wyman of Framingham, MA in 1958. Wyman redesigned the Choremaster and continued selling it under the name Wyman’s Little Brute Power Hoe. Choremaster one-wheel tractors were made through 1957 then the name was gone from the marketplace.

That reminds me about a true Story. 20.june 1969 in Munic where also 1 cm Snow. Whenever my grandpa hear it‘s a „ extreme weather situation“ he mean‘s - pah, that is nothing special we never ever had. I myself can not remember that, but i Knew this because my Grandfather was allway‘s in the need if he took a Picture to get it immediately. He fiiled the rest of the film in a hurry at once with any picts just to get this one wanted Picture as quick as possible. He tooked on my 2.th Birthday a Pict with my Birthdaypresent in front of his new VW Bug - it was a sleight because he buy it for extremely cheap in Summer while no season. At this timeline the Picture needed to be developed at a Photo Company and that depends 3-4 Day‘s to be ready. ( mostly Kodak here) and the Company allways Stamp a Date on the Backside of the Pict with the Development Date. The Pict was developed on 24.june1969 He told me the Story behind this Picture when i was about 18 and see this Picture on his desk and asked him about the Story behind. After my grandpa travells over the Rainbow Bridge, i saved this time document at my side like my own eyeball. One of my biggest memory to my best mentor in my whole Life. Won a lot of bets because the known story behind that Picture, even with a Friend who work in a Weather forecast Company. In Grandpa’s timeline it was „just a dang cold Summerday“, today it becomes a Sensation in biggest letters in the News „The dramatic Clima change has arrived“. Different times - different meanings.

Well, it was nice today so little man got to drive. Definitely gonna have to make a bolt-on set of footrests. His feet barely reach the pedals, so he can't drive alone yet.... A little timid, but he enjoyed the test drive. ...and I thought I was almost finished with it!

Happy Birthday Mike Hope you have a great day!

Steel toed...

Great story! And this part about getting picture film developed, always makes me think of a Disney Princess singing "Some day my prints will come..."

I have been working on this since last year with a failed attempt because of cheap over the big pond rebuild kit. Want to give BIG thanks to @Docwheelhorse. For picking up this engine for me in January. It was a partial 856. Yes it has been that long. I had to switch over parts from the bad engine to this one witch is a vacuum engine being my first. Been a long good day out side in the sun. I hope you enjoy the picks and one Video. IMG_1467.mov

I would worry about those chains holding the frame. I think they are way too small and may break under the frames weight.

And while you're at it, @Pullstart added some nice peddle extensions for the kids to one of his 's that were pretty slick... maybe he could post up a pic or two...?

Where are his @Pullstart recommended flip flops

Put a drip pan under her keep her filled up and use her until you have time to properly run down the leak. Leaks don't harm the hydro as long as you keep it filled...

Clean the front of the transmission see if it is leaking down from the motion control

I don't think I'd want anything other than proper fluid in there. Only thing down there is the drain plug or the gasket between the case halves. Keep in mind the leaking fluid could be traveling from another location too.

Absolutely NOT!! You will plug up any number of tiny orifices essential to operation.

Have a Great Day Mike

Yes, '88 or '89. 1990 went to the motion lever on the steering wheel. Safety switches prevent start cycle. Check the seat, PTO, neutral on the motion lever switches.

Check the 9 pin engine connector by the fuse block. The pins like to corrode and melt.

I think my old man had one of those one wheel units . It had a mind of it's own , hard starting, difficult to handle and it lasted until it decided to break the pipe on the oil tank and oil went every where.

Now I’m wondering if I should leave the “Work Clothes” on my C-160… That looks awesome !

Excellent Work.👍

We don't have that here. One dusting a year is normal. One decent snow per decade is too. But- of there was a meme of some poor bastard drowning the lawn with Roundup in September, that would be tattoed across my back!

Pretty much done! ...a few things to touch up, but the belt guard turned out sorta ok- got some dimples, but not terrible. The first pic below is what I started out to mimic. This machine actually started as a L157, so everything from the steering wheel back was made to look like 62-64 model as best I could. Anyway- this is the final look. Little rascal drives great. Low range with 8 inch wheels is like time stands still! Of course, before my son can drive it- it'll get safety switches in the pedals, or some form of bolt-on running boards. His legs are shorter than I thought, so he barely reaches the pedals anyway.

Ok! 520H, i cant figure out what year year it is cause the tag is covered up by the steel for the cab. So, the battery’s charged but nobody home when I turn the key to ‘on’, no lights on the gauges… nothing. When you turn it to start… no start. Keyswitch? That’s the first thing i would think of, right?

I need to finish assembly, more to come.

In addition to checking the 9 pin connector, your tractor has several fuses, be sure to check the 30 amp one going to the starter solenoid.

If you had something like 3" flat steel and bent it into a hook on the end, it could slip into the opening in the stirrups, then come down and back. You could simply lift them up and off if you wanted to ride.

Happy Happy Sparky! Can you come and wire up a game controller for me?

It finally warmed up and dried out enough for me to use the 312 to till another section of the garden. Started some tomato and pepper seeds in the house. Looking forward to springs arrival.

I am of the opinion that subsidies and grants are, like democracy, messy but ultimately better than the “other” methods of encouraging development. My work career involved designing mostly software solutions to business problems and I can attest to the corporate reticence about self-investing beyond what leadership thought would give a near certain and relatively short-term payback. But where grant funding or tax savings for an activity was available, even if the results could not remain proprietary, the risk tolerance went up noticeably (the “OPM”, Other People’s Money, phenomenon at work). So often, a great idea will languish until there are working examples--then lots of folks want to be on board. No bureaucratic methodology will ever “fairly” allocate the risk/reward equation for the cost of converting ideas to reality because we all have such different definitions of “fair”, right? Hence we have an amalgam of venture capital, cash flow lending, grants, tax incentives, patents, and outright government investment (e.g. NASA, NSF, and the US militaries) funding advancements of new ideas. The list of things we rely on today that would have taken much longer to be realized without this combined investment is long and includes computers, cell phones, many pharmaceuticals, the electric grid, and sanitary sewer systems.

Going by the maroon hood decal you have a 1988 or 1989 model which use the same wiring diagram.

Well said. I have two E-141's and an A-60 and my experience reflects much of what you say... The A-60 is just fine for what is asked of it. Nothing more than pull a cart or mow an average lawn. Does what it was designed to do. Very well... The E-141 is simply a repowered C black hood, with a few minor chassis modifications to address battery placement. In no way will it perform all day like a gas version, but for it's useable charge battery life it does everything the same... so for my suburban mow, plow snow, pull kids around on the train etc. it is perfect. Quiet, simple, zero maintenance... Just like battery powered hand tools, cars etc. i think these will fill a very large role in the future lawn / yard maintenance sector. Not because of government mandates, but because for many (most?) they really make sense. I have no gas powered lawn care equipment anymore. The 20 v Dewalt line handles three suburban yards every week for me with zero issues and the same batteries my hand tools use. Mower, blower, pole saw, chain saw, hedge trimmer, lopping shears and weed whip. 5th season coming up and literally no issues and no maintenance. All batteries still going strong... Yes, I still use and love my dino-juice C-105. Yes, it will go all day. No, I will not sell it. No, I do not hug trees. But... Simple fact is - I never need it to go more than an hour...

Thanks Eb, but I promise it looks better in the pics than in real life! I've seen that C160, and it does look very nice!

Thanks Mike. Working getting rid of the pulse pump and getting the lever type pump on. Waiting for the rebuild kits to come in. I think this engine will work fine just a few bugs to work out.

Pete I just use Marvel. The ting is the fuel pump now. It is a rebuilt pulse pump. Hard starting when cold. I have few lever pumps but need to be rebuilt. Those are on the way. Thanks for the reply.

Looking like there may not be anymore snow here in northeast Ohio. 🤞 However, I've lived here 50+yrs so I definitely not taking off plow or removing snowblower just yet. We could probably get at least 1 more snow but typically this time of year it snow then melts next day. I'll also leave snow tires on vehicles at least until the end of the month. I did drag out mower decks for the 654 & RJ. I'll grease them, sharpen blades, etc. With the warm weather lately the grass is starting to grow already

Seems Winter is done. time for prep the Field... There can be happen snow on ice saints, but it mostly ends up in just Cold winds. As long as i remember back in several years since it was just 2 times Snow - what a mess... let‘s see what this year provide.

Millineal theft deterrent device?

This is interesting. I had never heard of that tractor. I can see some potential (no pun intended) benefits of an electric Compact Utility Tractor (CUT): net energy savings, cheap operation, minimal noise, refueling convenience, lower maintenance, no fumes, instant starts, etc. I bet it’s perfect in a livestock barn with a manure bucket where there is no virtue of diesel exhaust and haze…of course that environment has its own variety of fumes and haze so maybe nobody cares. This is clearly not for most full-time farms as a machine to be used all day long. The marketing words on their website about battery runtime are specious at best. It’s ideally suited for those who are 5-10 acre property owners who mow once or twice a week and use a loader as a wheelbarrow. For that type of user, it can make a lot of sense. If I had stayed in my old house in the middle of BFE I can see this almost working for me. But this looks like many design compromises were made that probably complicated its mission and perhaps doomed its success. I am going to assume this product is an upfit of an existing diesel powered tractor rather than a clean sheet design. It seems highly unlikely and prohibitively expensive to have designed castings, a transmission, all the mechanical bits, AND a complicated electrical system. it seems that the hydraulic system runs continuously. That seems like a watt waster. Why not a closed center demand type system? Likely a relic of the donor chassis. also, it’s peculiar that the PTO remains driven off the transmission of the unit instead of being independently powered by a dedicated electric motor. In addition to gear drag and concomitant power wasting, it makes PTO speed tied to main drive motor speed which translates into wasting power when either (or both) pto load and tractor speed are low. Again, a chassis limitation. Most significantly, the battery is pretty small. It is only 25 kW-hr capacity. Assuming that’s its usable capacity, that translates into not a lot of run time when working. For instance, let’s guess that it takes 5 hp to move the thing around on flat ground plus run the hydraulic pump constantly and account for losses in the running gear. Throw in a big mower (60”) that might be sucking down a continuous 10 hp for a combined load of 15 hp. That’s about 11 kW of load. With that battery you’re not even at 2.5 of run time. Making some estimations (3 mph x 2.5 hr x 5’ cut x 90% efficiency) , you can mow maybe 3.5 - 4 acres on a charge. Admittedly, that is pretty impressive but it seems like if you need a tractor that big, you’d want more capacity than that. The video achieved around two hours of runtime with a pretty large mower attached, so the math holds up in reality. Anybody expecting “all day” battery life should easily be able to work out their reality before signing on the dotted line. if you’re using it for loader work, then I think the picture is much more rosy. It doesn’t take near as much continuous power for that task. but where would a bigger battery go? Once again, a constraint of the conversion process. This is also an uphill marketing climb. For the most part - and I have no data to back this up - rural people who would need such a machine aren’t really philosophically aligned with electrification of vehicles in general. There is also a general lack of understanding of electric things so there is a lack of familiarity with things like this. This can easily result in a mismatch of real and perceived capacities. Clearly, the engineers who worked on this were limited by the donor tractor chassis that served as the core of the machine. I would imagine if they had scratch designed the whole thing from headlight to hitch there would be fewer compromises and better optimization. I’ve been on a lot of projects like this and the realities of budget and time always inform the final product. I can imagine how much brainpower and effort went into this. It’s too bad it didn’t quite hit the bullseye. Looking back, GE almost nailed it with their Elec Traks in comparison…if they had the batteries then that we do today I’d wager the garden tractor and CUT landscape would be much different than it is now. I really like the concept. I hope this effort hasn’t pooped in the bathtub for future models. Steve

That snowman has become a tradition around here and Jim @WHX?? always requests it about this time of year.

I picked up this sweet old ferd not too long ago. It’s has a 300 6 4spd manual with only 53k miles on it! It spent most of its life in AZ and NV. These pictures are after I buffed it.

Moved a dead one out of the way. Those forks sure are handy.

Except for the handle grip...its done. I went with a gloss black hammered finish, its got a subtle Argent tint to it, not a hard black, but not industrial grey.

They had a recent article about an 8 yr old singing the national anthem at a NBA game but it wasn't near as good as this one. Posted this before but just watched it again and it's pretty amazing for someone that age. Worth a listen as she gives it her all. Impressive

So good!So good!So good!

GZZZZZ just had to say it.

You looked awfully chipper on one... So, I'm in the same boat this dude's in... No one at Wheel Horse will pick up the phone and help me out with questions on my two E-141's or my A-60...!!!

Not exactly gardening but getting in the mood with this springlike weather we're having. Replaced the wore out store built bat house today with one I built. Hopefully the bats will be more attracted to this one.

Thanks for bringing this thread up on my email Eric. We have been in Texas for the last three weeks on ministry meetings and there are SO MANY trucks in Texas. Because of the climate, many of them last for decades and we keep seeing cool examples like these… I loved the patina on this old Ford—just needs a new set of tires, a tune up, and drive it! spied this one across the road while we were out walking! Took the family to the birthplace of Dr. Pepper in Waco, and took a tour of the museum. Check out the old Chebby delivery truck! Visited my buddy Dave’s house earlier this week here in Garland and got a first hand look at his AWESOME 1969 Dodge short box resto mod. 632 CID BBC power rated at about 900hp! Hand built frame, custom 4L80 tranny, 9” Ford rear with 4.11 gearing and two 18.5” tires! Zach was totally into it and now wants to acquire uncle Ken’s ‘69 C20 and start rebuilding it🤔 who here can’t appreciate a square body? Pretty common down here! If I lived down in this climate, I wouldn’t own a vehicle newer than the 1980’s (although I may have a newer power plant/drivetrain)…