whfan74 2,068 #1 Posted July 2, 2009 Well I have been working on this deal for a couple of months. The timing was perfect as I am now off for the summer as I am a school teacher and was getting a little restless. I received the phone call this morning and it didn't take me long to go and work out a deal. The tractor is in great shape and needs a little work. There is a mouse nest behind the dash. Tell me what you think of my newly acquired Wheel Horse E-141! I was also lucky enough to receive every single manual for the tractor, deck, charger, etc....Hopefully will be heading back to pick up two rubbermaid bins of manuals, pictures, and keepsakes soon. It is not charging at this moment but it will be before too long I hope. I am pretty pumped about this acquisition and looking forward to giving her some time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duff 206 #2 Posted July 2, 2009 Dang, that is one very clean, sweet looking machine! Congrats! Duff :thumbs2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TJ 183 #3 Posted July 2, 2009 Nice looking tractor. :thumbs2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bo dawg 516 #4 Posted July 2, 2009 Pretty cool! is everything pretty much the same outside of being battery powered? Ok now lets pull the battery out and slap a big Kohler on it :thumbs2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gene_S 93 #5 Posted July 2, 2009 Wow that is in pretty good shape Scott is going Green on power :thumbs2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,249 #6 Posted July 2, 2009 Tell me what you think of my newly acquired Wheel Horse E-141! I think you should sell it to me Seriously, that sucker looks nice. Hopefully it will be easy to get the electrons flowing again. Nice find! Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 22,049 #7 Posted July 2, 2009 Very cool! I bet it will be nice to mow your grass and be able to talk on the cell phone at the same time . If you can, post a video of it while mowing so we all can hear (or not hear) what it sounds like. Mike...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whfan74 2,068 #8 Posted July 3, 2009 Well thanks guys. I did a bunch of reading this afternoon and will soon have a plan of attack to get her going again. Bo---to answer your question........yes and no. Same rear end but as soon as you flip the hood it looks completely different. Dash is a little different since their are two gauges for the batteries. The mower deck shell is the same but the blades are not run by a belt but three seperate electric motors. From the motors comes a pig tail that plugs in to the side of the tractor. This tractor is pretty intriguing to say the least. Mike---I will get video of her purring when she gets to that point. I have heard from others that it is kind of weird to be mowing on one so I am looking forward to the lack of noise. Steve---I hope so to.....it will be fun. Gene---you bet my man I am going green on everyone. Have to protect that ozone ya know???? Thanks for all the thumbs up guys. I will try and make some progress on her this summer. Of course I am waiting for the gentleman to call me again about all of the brochures and manuals he has in tubs. While I was treasure hunting out there I noticed just before I walked out of the massive barn that their is a mint snow cab hanging from the rafters. I am hoping that will find it's way to my house as well. All in all it was a great day! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheel Horse Fan 3 #9 Posted July 3, 2009 Wow, I had no idea they made such a beast. When did they make these and how many did they make? More details please. Good luck and I hope you get it running! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwgdog66 23 #10 Posted July 3, 2009 That is cool!! :thumbs2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chamjack 0 #11 Posted July 3, 2009 Wow, I had no idea they made such a beast. When did they make these and how many did they make? More details please. I am in the same camp as Wheel Horse Fan . I never knew these were out there. Is it powered by deep cycle batteries like a golf cart? I know it costs as much to replace several of those as it does to rebuild a normal Kohler motor. Hopefully yours charges up and hold a good charge. The tractor looks like it was taken care of. Congratulations on the unique find! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suburban 550 28 #12 Posted July 3, 2009 Beautiful tractor, Scott. A real nice, rare find. :thumbs2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whfan74 2,068 #13 Posted July 3, 2009 Thanks guys! I about dropped over when I saw it. Well yes this body style of Electric was made for 3 years I believe. 1981-1983 during the gas crunch. They never seemed to really take off and so production stopped on them. It is a really cool machine. Yes they have 6 deep cycle (golf cart) style batteries. The batteries are supposedly fairly new and I just have to figure out why it isn't charging. After talking to the individual it may be the charger itself. I am planning on charging each battery seperately and then hooking it back up to see if we get anywhere with that first. If so I will be getting the charger fixed. It needs a new seat, some paint work (the entire hood and fenders are plastic) and a new front tire. Thankfully it was always stored out of the elements. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bitten 134 #14 Posted July 3, 2009 I would love to have one of those. I think there was soom made in the 70's by a differant company and Wheel Horse put there name on it. Im not sure what voltage it is but I have a 36 volt charger if you need it. Good luck with her, you have a very cool machine. P.J. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill 4 #15 Posted July 4, 2009 :thumbs2: Very nice looking tractor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buzz 502 #16 Posted July 4, 2009 Great find. They are basically the same as the GE Elect Trak. Geof from Canada has a ton of electric tractors and is very knowledgeable about them. There are several forums for them. He's a member here so if he sees this he might chime in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HorseFixer 2,013 #17 Posted July 4, 2009 Great! Glad ya got it! And????????????????? :thumbs2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whfan74 2,068 #18 Posted July 4, 2009 Thanks you guys for the compliments! Didn't get to mess around with it yesterday as we are hanging out with family at the lake for the 4th. It is a 1981 model. A little surface rust on the deck and needs some touching up but is in remarkable shape. Thanks for the offer PJ I just might take you up on your offer down the road if it comes down to that being the problem. Thanks Buzz for the lead. I will probably look up Geof to pick his brain as well. Well there are 3 more tractors there that they aren't willing to give up yet but we are staying in contact. We will see what comes of it. I know there are some other hidden treasures there so it will be nice to see what comes of it. Have a happy 4th everyone! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boovuc 1,090 #19 Posted July 4, 2009 Hey WHFan74, You probably qualify for an energy tax rebate you bleeding heart liberal! In the IT business, I have replaced many batteries in our large battery backups, (UPS's), we use on our servers and I replace them for a fraction of the cost using outlets such as Willard Battery. They are a chain store on the East Coast. Call them or go online and all you need to know is the amphrs and voltage of the cell, the terminal positions and it's LxWxH and you can find them pretty cheap if they don't charge. My guess is that they won't hold a long charge due to them being discharged for a long period of time. (Sulfication on the plates occur). That is one neat tractor. I remember seeing a gentleman down our way mowing on one a long time ago and I had thought I went deaf when I passed him. Only the buzz of the mower deck. Good Luck with it! Boovuc Mill Hall, PA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #20 Posted July 4, 2009 Scott nice find & looks good. Nice peice of unusual Wheel Horse history you have there. Can't wait to see it in person! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whfan74 2,068 #21 Posted July 4, 2009 Boovuc, Thanks for the info....I will definitely check them out. I can't wait to hear that hum of the deck as well. Stephen, You are welcome down here any time. I would love to show it off (and maybe get some tips along the way) Duke........got your message today, was in eating with the family at good old Bob Evans. I will get with you sometime this week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whfan74 2,068 #22 Posted July 17, 2009 Spent some time tinkering on the tractor yesterday. Did a lot of reading and found the reset for the charger. Turned it like the manual suggested and what do you know..........it turned on as it should. Let it charge for a while and while it was still charging thought what the heck.....let's hit that key. It actually started running and then hit the PTO switch on the dash and the mower started humming. I was ecstatic.........so I left it on charge all night long and came out this morning only to find that the batteries didn't charge at all. So we are back to the drawing board........either that or I am going to have to get a super long extension cord for my whole yard! Well at least I know it runs.........testing the batteries here soon. I will keep you guys updated! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
big mike 13 #23 Posted July 18, 2009 Scott,cool tractor! When I worked at the hardware store I ran into a gentleman from Kalamazoo that has 2 Elek Tracs and he uses one to mow and one for throwing snow.......wish I had gotten a name or phone number but there is a picture of one in my garage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boovuc 1,090 #24 Posted July 18, 2009 Hey whfan74, I'm not shocked by the no charge of the batteries you posted earlier. As I said, they can't sit discharged long before the plates build a sulfer-oxide coating and short out. Newer batteries are much better at this but still will occur if left discharged a long time. Did you have any luck finding a replacement battery? Did you check to see if the charger has an output? Boovuc Mill Hall, PA PS.....I'm really hoping you get her running again. It would make a great human interest article about a decades old tractor technology whose time has come again. (In a big way). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bitten 134 #25 Posted July 18, 2009 Hope it is something simple. The price of good new batterys would be hifty. That is such a nice tractor I cant wait to see it up and running. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
