It is 2021 and I still have the E15 I bought new in 1970! Also have most attachments. Most reliable item I have ever owned. Smooth, powerful, quiet and inexpensive to operate.
Good on ya! We had an E15 too. Loved it except we had 100 trees and busted those mower casters more than a few times. Even though the tractor was heavy enough for snow blade, we also threw chains on the tires.
I just became proud owner of an E15 & E14. The 15 is operational. 14 just needs some wiring fixed. I love it so much I don't even like using my gas tractor anymore!
My uncle bought the E20 around 1972 and I mowed with it and snowblowed. It was super fast and could mow about half his 1.5 acre yard on a charge. I remember he liked the quiet operation and not having to get gas for it. I think it was 50 years ahead of its time. I think it would sell well now. The machine was 100 percent steel panels. I think the wiring looked pretty crude. It had a multi speed auto trans that kept ramping up speed. My uncle won his neighborhood tractor race in his every year.
$1500 or so I think for the E15. That's about $12K now. Plus accessories. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. A VW Beetle that the time was roughly $2000. I only spent ten seconds on the Beetle price research so I could be wrong.
There are alternatives but none are as affordable as a used GE Electrak that has been renovated with a little TLC. Mowed this weekend for the first time this season. Flipped the switch and went to work.
These tractors are still in use and have a cult following. The good news is that with advancements in batteries, outdoor equipment manufacturers are now making battery powered equipment. A few of them are now making electric riding lawn mowers. Ego is coming out with an electric zero-turn in the spring of 2021.
Thank you for posting this, very good, promotional video. I'm in the U.K. and would love a modern version of this machine. Capable of most tasks you could reasonably ask and battery powered. I think any new machine should also be able to lift light forks as well, they wouldn't have to be heavy duty but forks & pallets are so useful. (the weight of the batteries at the front should help) As I only have 5 acres I can't justify the massive cost of a 'proper' tractor but a good solid Garden tractor would be a huge help. Alas proper GTs never came over here in any numbers and the few old ones that come up on ebay are insainly expensive.
I'm mowing about 4 acres with an E15. I also have an E12S that is in pretty fair condition but doesn't run. I'm considering rebuilding it and adding a Curtis controller for modern controls and fine speed control. Honestly I think these machines are buy it for life machines as long as the rust is kept away and the maintenance done regularly.
Hi, I have used these in the UK for over 15 years. I have a top end ElectTrak Model I5 (the industrial version that can take a front fork lift attachment) for sale on ebay. Its bodywork is the best of the ones and is excellent I have and I've decided to reluctantly put it up for sale since I use others as my workhorses.
The narrator sounds like the mayor (?) from the Andy Griffith Show. Still mowing with our 1972 E15. Batteries are getting tired (~6 years old). Probably last year for them, but thinking about upgrading to lithium next time. The FB and email groups both report longer run times and slower battery aging. Still, I was able to mow a couple of acres with the old batteries this past weekend. Just alot slower than when the batteries were new. Love this old machine.
This is BRILLIANT Ben, thanks for posting it. I'll predict this will earn lots of views for you, over time. I LOVED that the editor slipped in a cheese cake shot at 0:04. It's like GE was the Tesla of the 70's. I don't understand why it didn't take off. I hope some one revisits this and makes a small cabbed tractor that can handle all facets of a 10 acre spread. I'd be interested.
I’m pretty sure the image of the woman is actually used for color calibration. It shows skin tone, and she is wearing a colorful outfit. That, or it’s the producers wife.
I had one of these in 1980. It came with a house I bought in Pewaukee. I didn't take it seriously at the time and sold it cheaply to someone smarter than me. I would love to have that baby back today and put Li-Ion batteries in it. I did recently find a newly designed commercial zero turn mower that is all-electric with Li-Ion batteries, but cost is around $20K. Also of interest to me is an all-electric ATV. Looks like a polaris but is Li-Ion. Cost is not bad at $7k.
@@asterixthecat855 just put "elec trak mower" in the ebay search change to highest price 1st and you will see 2 ads for these $2700 for 4 and 1 for $1200
@@patrickmckowen2999 I'd argue that these older tractors are made of better stuff. The Sears (MTD) tractor I owned was made of thin gauge metal. I ran the dickens out of it for several years mowing grass for income while I went to college and it was good but lots of cracks and tears in the steel after a while. The GE tractors are just bent sheetmetal of a thick gauge. A lifetime product. No soft edges or sophisticated looks about them. All work and all business. ;)
This is a well thought out design. I am slowly converting to battery yard tools and I am super happy with the results. Planning to sell or donate my gas engine tools since I never use them anymore. How do you like the front mounted mower deck? I've always thought that would be a better design for larger yards. Thank you for posing this film.
The front-mount mower deck is a nice design for cutting the grass BEFORE you run it over with your tires. You can also pull straight up to a building or tree and cut all the way right up to it. The one disadvantage is that it's not great for mowing a tight circle around a tree, because the deck is in front. A mid-mount deck is better for that.
The flooded 6V batteries worked fine. That's what's still used in golf carts. Also, it's usually GOOD for a tractor to have weight, the the mass of the batteries was actually a benefit. Of course, if you put lithium batteries in instead, you can pop wheelies....
I own 2. E15 & E14, coming from a guy who USED to enjoy gas engines....not so much now lol. I can't wait to convert all my attachments from my gas tractor to work on them.
There are still LOTS of these tractors out there, and they have quite the fan following. They commonly show up on places like eBay and Craigslist, but probably the best way to find one is being a member of an online group such as facebook.com/groups/55780309812
One of the finest products to ever come out of Schenigurdy - Sadly, everybody scrapped these many moons ago when the 6 or however many full size car batteries all needed to be replaced at $70 a pop in 1985. =( Edit: Don't censor your comments, *Bum* .
There are still a large number of these tractors out there! They have a cult following. For those on Facebook, check out "Elec-Trak garden tractor fan club"
That was a really cool ad. I presume these things must have been very expensive or had really low run time. Because otherwise that's all we should be using today
Run time was just fine. They were a little on the expensive side. They were made in upstate New York, and there are still PLENTY of these tractors out and about, especially in that area. I know that historically, General Electric employees had a pretty good employee discount and company loyalty. It's my theory that lots of GE employees bought them, as upstate NY seems to have more than anywhere else.
@@BenjaminNelsonX unfortunately here in Ontario, Canada, there aren't many around. The ones that I have found, people want around $1,000 for them with rusted shells and no batteries
@@victorvannatter312 I had to drive a ways (across a couple states) to buy my two four years ago. Bought my tiller attachment from Ben and he shipped it via Fastenal. Both methods will put a GE in your garage. Plenty of them available used.
Where did you find that on the net? It looks /sounds like something made back in the 60's or before. It is interesting. Is that the brand mower yours is? You didn't get the mower with yours did you?
This is a film that I got a physical copy of and had it digitally transferred so that you could all watch it. These tractors were made by General Electric in New York state in the 1970's. I have a pair of them, including the mower deck and regularly mow my lawn with it.
@@BenjaminNelsonX That's cool, Thanks Ben. I knew it was General Electric , the film said so, but I could not remember what the junk mower you bought to fix up was.
Its incredible that these machines came out so long ago and now in 2022 we are just bearly getting something similar and useful. The garden tractor/lawn mower companies should be ashamed how slow they are at building units from the ground up designed for electric drive. Get rid of belts and idlers and give us all electric goodness like this.
@@BenjaminNelsonX Yeah. I have quite a large property and bought a used Husqvarna becuase I was sure it would mean quality. Rather then a cheap new riding mower. Its horrible. The belts and idlers is a horrible design. Ive had it for few seasons now and it always costs me at least 300-400 dollars in parts each summer with downtime. Ive been looking at the Ryobi and the new EGO power, but they are just to pricey for me now.
No, sorry, I am NOT selling Valence batteries, but I can put you in touch with the guy I did that road trip with. That's Seth Muller. Contact him through his web page. He has batteries for sale. www.mullerindustriesusa.com
It is 2021 and I still have the E15 I bought new in 1970!
Also have most attachments. Most reliable item I have ever owned. Smooth, powerful, quiet and inexpensive to operate.
Good on ya! We had an E15 too. Loved it except we had 100 trees and busted those mower casters more than a few times. Even though the tractor was heavy enough for snow blade, we also threw chains on the tires.
These tractors look awesome. I literally just found out about these.
I have a buddy who has one. Restored it and he uses it every week to mow his grass. Loves it.
"Although X is not recommended, it works"
Good old times...
0:39 I particularly like the scratched paint on the model used for close up!
Dad owned one of these.. great tractor..I mowed our 1 acre lawn with this for 3 years.loved the front mower.
Mr Nelson that is definitely you ... truly i would like one as well ... nice find on the old movie file .☝️
I like watching old product commercials.
When I saw the electric grass shears it brought back memories of doing yard work as a kid.
I just became proud owner of an E15 & E14. The 15 is operational. 14 just needs some wiring fixed. I love it so much I don't even like using my gas tractor anymore!
If I ever hit the lottery I'm going to get all the pieces and have it all professionally restored... Awesome video
You can commonly find these tractors on Craigslist for not a lot of money. You don't have to be rich, just interested in the history and using them.
I want one.
My uncle bought the E20 around 1972 and I mowed with it and snowblowed. It was super fast and could mow about half his 1.5 acre yard on a charge. I remember he liked the quiet operation and not having to get gas for it. I think it was 50 years ahead of its time. I think it would sell well now. The machine was 100 percent steel panels. I think the wiring looked pretty crude.
It had a multi speed auto trans that kept ramping up speed. My uncle won his neighborhood tractor race in his every year.
Haha this is cool to read
Very cool, it must have cost a fortune back in the day, with all the accessories. 😊
$1500 or so I think for the E15. That's about $12K now. Plus accessories. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. A VW Beetle that the time was roughly $2000. I only spent ten seconds on the Beetle price research so I could be wrong.
I cannot believe this concept has not be revived!
There are a few electric lawn tractors available new now, but I think the G.E. Elec-Trac was the best ever built.
There are alternatives but none are as affordable as a used GE Electrak that has been renovated with a little TLC. Mowed this weekend for the first time this season. Flipped the switch and went to work.
How is this still not a product I can buy? This would be incredibly useful, especially with updated technology and safety features.
These tractors are still in use and have a cult following.
The good news is that with advancements in batteries, outdoor equipment manufacturers are now making battery powered equipment. A few of them are now making electric riding lawn mowers.
Ego is coming out with an electric zero-turn in the spring of 2021.
Thank you for posting this, very good, promotional video. I'm in the U.K. and would love a modern version of this machine. Capable of most tasks you could reasonably ask and battery powered. I think any new machine should also be able to lift light forks as well, they wouldn't have to be heavy duty but forks & pallets are so useful. (the weight of the batteries at the front should help)
As I only have 5 acres I can't justify the massive cost of a 'proper' tractor but a good solid Garden tractor would be a huge help. Alas proper GTs never came over here in any numbers and the few old ones that come up on ebay are insainly expensive.
I'm mowing about 4 acres with an E15. I also have an E12S that is in pretty fair condition but doesn't run. I'm considering rebuilding it and adding a Curtis controller for modern controls and fine speed control. Honestly I think these machines are buy it for life machines as long as the rust is kept away and the maintenance done regularly.
Hi, I have used these in the UK for over 15 years. I have a top end ElectTrak Model I5 (the industrial version that can take a front fork lift attachment) for sale on ebay. Its bodywork is the best of the ones and is excellent I have and I've decided to reluctantly put it up for sale since I use others as my workhorses.
A friend had one when i was a kid it was wonderful, wish they made them now.
There's still LOTS of these tractors out there! Keep your eyes open on Craigslist and those types of places.
The narrator sounds like the mayor (?) from the Andy Griffith Show. Still mowing with our 1972 E15. Batteries are getting tired (~6 years old). Probably last year for them, but thinking about upgrading to lithium next time. The FB and email groups both report longer run times and slower battery aging. Still, I was able to mow a couple of acres with the old batteries this past weekend. Just alot slower than when the batteries were new. Love this old machine.
This is BRILLIANT Ben, thanks for posting it. I'll predict this will earn lots of views for you, over time. I LOVED that the editor slipped in a cheese cake shot at 0:04. It's like GE was the Tesla of the 70's. I don't understand why it didn't take off. I hope some one revisits this and makes a small cabbed tractor that can handle all facets of a 10 acre spread. I'd be interested.
I’m pretty sure the image of the woman is actually used for color calibration. It shows skin tone, and she is wearing a colorful outfit. That, or it’s the producers wife.
@@BenjaminNelsonX I wonder who she was? I thought for a moment she was Diana Muldaur.
Congratulations on 70k subscribers!
Thank you!
I had one of these in 1980. It came with a house I bought in Pewaukee. I didn't take it seriously at the time and sold it cheaply to someone smarter than me. I would love to have that baby back today and put Li-Ion batteries in it. I did recently find a newly designed commercial zero turn mower that is all-electric with Li-Ion batteries, but cost is around $20K. Also of interest to me is an all-electric ATV. Looks like a polaris but is Li-Ion. Cost is not bad at $7k.
Way ahead of it's Time & NOW, is the Time !!!!!
I love this old videos!
It's cool to see people still own these.
edit: for $2700 you can buy 4 of them on ebay with attachments.
I can't find any...
@@asterixthecat855 just put "elec trak mower" in the ebay search change to highest price 1st and you will see 2 ads for these $2700 for 4 and 1 for $1200
Might still be cheaper to convert an ICE to electric if u just want it for moving
Cheers
@@patrickmckowen2999 I'd argue that these older tractors are made of better stuff. The Sears (MTD) tractor I owned was made of thin gauge metal. I ran the dickens out of it for several years mowing grass for income while I went to college and it was good but lots of cracks and tears in the steel after a while. The GE tractors are just bent sheetmetal of a thick gauge. A lifetime product. No soft edges or sophisticated looks about them. All work and all business. ;)
Thanks!
This is a well thought out design. I am slowly converting to battery yard tools and I am super happy with the results. Planning to sell or donate my gas engine tools since I never use them anymore. How do you like the front mounted mower deck? I've always thought that would be a better design for larger yards. Thank you for posing this film.
The front-mount mower deck is a nice design for cutting the grass BEFORE you run it over with your tires. You can also pull straight up to a building or tree and cut all the way right up to it. The one disadvantage is that it's not great for mowing a tight circle around a tree, because the deck is in front. A mid-mount deck is better for that.
6:47 now that is impressive, first garden tractor i see that can roll a snowball like a pistenbully.
I've used the snow-thrower and it works quite well.
@@BushImports a snow-groomer, a tracked machine that tills alpine slopes.
@@BushImports you really had to ask in form of a comment instead of spending the same effort googling it.... smh, this is 2019......
Volvo just released battery payloader and mini excavator . I just tried them
Excellent
I guess the only thing it did not have was a good solid battery tech to run on... but glad you fixed that on your one :-)
The flooded 6V batteries worked fine. That's what's still used in golf carts. Also, it's usually GOOD for a tractor to have weight, the the mass of the batteries was actually a benefit.
Of course, if you put lithium batteries in instead, you can pop wheelies....
That's neat!
put me down for one ;)
I own 2. E15 & E14, coming from a guy who USED to enjoy gas engines....not so much now lol. I can't wait to convert all my attachments from my gas tractor to work on them.
When a GE can smoke a Deere, I'm in! 💪👍
I want one!
There are still LOTS of these tractors out there, and they have quite the fan following. They commonly show up on places like eBay and Craigslist, but probably the best way to find one is being a member of an online group such as facebook.com/groups/55780309812
@@BenjaminNelsonX I will be keeping my eyes open for one now that I know about them.
One of the finest products to ever come out of Schenigurdy - Sadly, everybody scrapped these many moons ago when the 6 or however many full size car batteries all needed to be replaced at $70 a pop in 1985. =(
Edit: Don't censor your comments, *Bum* .
There are still a large number of these tractors out there! They have a cult following.
For those on Facebook, check out "Elec-Trak garden tractor fan club"
Not sure what the reference to editing a comment is, but I promise not to correct the spelling of "Schenectady".
@@BenjaminNelsonX Schenigurdy*
I kinda expected you to give a modern day review of this product.
That was a really cool ad. I presume these things must have been very expensive or had really low run time. Because otherwise that's all we should be using today
Run time was just fine. They were a little on the expensive side.
They were made in upstate New York, and there are still PLENTY of these tractors out and about, especially in that area. I know that historically, General Electric employees had a pretty good employee discount and company loyalty. It's my theory that lots of GE employees bought them, as upstate NY seems to have more than anywhere else.
@@BenjaminNelsonX unfortunately here in Ontario, Canada, there aren't many around. The ones that I have found, people want around $1,000 for them with rusted shells and no batteries
@@victorvannatter312 I had to drive a ways (across a couple states) to buy my two four years ago. Bought my tiller attachment from Ben and he shipped it via Fastenal. Both methods will put a GE in your garage. Plenty of them available used.
@@joeaverager in the states sure. Canada is a bit more spread out. I’ve found a couple but they were scrap, and asking price was for gold
Trim the hedge while driving? Yikes!
Otherwise, I like it! Do they say what type of batteries it used?
These machines were designed to run off of six 6V flooded lead-acid batteries, similar to a golf cart.
@@BenjaminNelsonX Thanks, that is sorta' what I figured.
@@NeilBlanchard There are engineering types in the hobby using electric car batteries too. More initial cost, more range, no acid to manage.
Where did you find that on the net? It looks /sounds like something made back in the 60's or before. It is interesting. Is that the brand mower yours is? You didn't get the mower with yours did you?
This is a film that I got a physical copy of and had it digitally transferred so that you could all watch it. These tractors were made by General Electric in New York state in the 1970's. I have a pair of them, including the mower deck and regularly mow my lawn with it.
@@BenjaminNelsonX That's cool, Thanks Ben. I knew it was General Electric , the film said so, but I could not remember what the junk mower you bought to fix up was.
Its incredible that these machines came out so long ago and now in 2022 we are just bearly getting something similar and useful.
The garden tractor/lawn mower companies should be ashamed how slow they are at building units from the ground up designed for electric drive. Get rid of belts and idlers and give us all electric goodness like this.
The other thing that always amazes me is just how well-built the Elec-Traks are compared to any modern electric mower.
@@BenjaminNelsonX Yeah. I have quite a large property and bought a used Husqvarna becuase I was sure it would mean quality. Rather then a cheap new riding mower.
Its horrible. The belts and idlers is a horrible design. Ive had it for few seasons now and it always costs me at least 300-400 dollars in parts each summer with downtime.
Ive been looking at the Ryobi and the new EGO power, but they are just to pricey for me now.
ben, are you selling the valence batteries on ebay.....if so, i would be interested.
No, sorry, I am NOT selling Valence batteries, but I can put you in touch with the guy I did that road trip with. That's Seth Muller. Contact him through his web page. He has batteries for sale. www.mullerindustriesusa.com
@@BenjaminNelsonX what do you think about BatteryHookup.com?
Wow. ☺️👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👍
that tiller looked like a joke
The one on the back? It weighs a ton...
Won't surprise me if Tesla made something similar.