Homemade Solar-Powered Picking Cart

Using parts from a power wheelchair, Randy Graham’s Homemade Solar-Powered Picking Cart works like a zero-turn riding mower, with the front wheels swiveling as the rear ones control the turn. The Conway, SC, vegetable grower made the two-seat machine out of 1-inch-square tubing, which features two gear-reduction motors, wire harness, and joystick controls from off the wheelchair, with a roller chain connecting the motors to sprockets on a pair of drive shafts. The rig is powered by four 6-volt golf cat batteries (above the drive wheels) hooked in series for a 24-volt setup. Electricity generated by two 12-volt, 80-watt solar panels on top runs through a 20-amp, 24-volt charge controller to keep the batteries charged. A metal rack just above the riders’ legs houses the buckets that hold transplants or the harvested crops.

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Impairment Category: Back, Lower extremity, Strength/endurance, Upper extremity