Welcome to 2024! And by all accounts we are off to a pretty good start! Some intermittent rain, warm weather, and as of this morning the GDT going in the right direction, it’s all positive news!
We hope that you managed to get a little R&R over the holiday season and reward yourself for all your hard work in 2023, the roads were flat out and plenty of boats and Jet Skis getting towed around so crossed fingers this was you 😊 Most of our team got to squeeze in a few days here and there, but everyone is just about back on deck now ready to back you up on the farm.
2024 is going to be a big year for us, with some major projects in the pipeline and lots of exciting news to come, so make sure you join us for the ride. We are currently locking in Field Day sites and demo programs to ensure we stay connected with you all, and undoubtedly more ideas will pop in our heads as the year progresses. If there’s anything in particular that you would like to see or test out this year make sure you get in touch with the team and we will see what we can do.
Here’s to an awesome New Year!
This machine is perfect for just about every farm duty without breaking the bank!
With only 6185hrs, 165hp. STOLL F51 loader, good rubber and having been really well looked after.
This is a steal at just $57,500+gst!!!
Currently located at our Matamata yard PH: 07 888 6292
Plugging in your car these days to ‘top up the tank’ is a fairly well accepted idea. It’s not unusual to spot a Tesla at the shops with a charging point dangling from its rear. While many of us still aren’t exactly ‘sold’ on the idea of an electric vehicle, most of us will admit that the car industry seems to be getting it together when it comes to the capabilities and longevity of the mechanics hidden under the battery hatch.
But what about tractors?
Well, Fendt have made their first foray into the ‘E’ world so let’s take a somewhat skeptical look at what this little green machine is capable of.
Ok let’s get straight to the main point, this tractor is a specialty tractor, designed for vineyards, orchards, council operations and the horticultural industry. It’s not a 140hp tractor for the Dairy farm or a 300hp tractor to run your triple mowers…. yet.
This new machine from Fendt is called the Fendt e100 Vario. For those of you that are familiar with the Fendt 200, the E100 is based on this series but the driveline has been replaced with a 100kWh battery and an electric motor coupled with Fendt’s Vario transmission.
The end result?
55kw (73hp) of continuous power.
347 NM of torque.
A battery life of between 4 and 7hrs depending on load.
Zero fuel emissions.
Zero Diesel costs.
Minimal sound ‘pollution’.
While this machine may not be useful to many of our customers, for certain segments of New Zealand’s Ag industry it could be a game changer. Operations such as municipal work in public spaces where noise pollution is a factor, or for hot house operations where diesel emissions in a confined space could make for some blurry days at work. In these situations, the e100 comes into its own.
The big question marks around electric vehicles and especially electric tractors has always been how long will it last and how long to charge it? Well, while it may not be up to many of our expectations it has definitely evolved to a point where an electric tractor in this ‘horsepower’ segment is certainly worth considering.
The e100 will last you roughly 5hrs, say between 4 and 7hrs and its all dependent on the operation you are performing. If you are just driving from farm to farm with no PTO operation engaged then maybe you will see that 7hrs of operation, if you have a mulcher on the back mulching heavy pruning’s you will most likely be around that 4-5hrs. I don’t know about you but in my mind that’s not too bad, you can cover a fair chunk of ground in 5hrs… and all the while you have zero diesel costs.
When it comes to charging, as with cars there’s a bit of a knack to it. If you use a DC quick charger, then you will get the 100kWh battery from 20% to 80% in about 45 minutes. That’s enough time to grab some lunch or rip the grease gun out and do some maintenance while you fill up with fuel, and definitely not so long that it will throw your days plans out.
The e100 even has a start-stop function to conserve battery life and a dynamic operating mode which measures load and energy consumption and optimizes the tractors performance based on how hard you are pushing it.
There's a couple of other things that I really like about what Fendt have done with this machine. The easiest way to conserve battery life would be to pull all the tech stuff out, right? Well thankfully Fendt have left in the full Fendt ONE onboard operating system and in the e100 you even have options of heated seats, heated glass and even climate control for in the summer.
The big question for me is where does this go to from here? We are all aware that there are some serious restrictions around battery life and the size of the battery required for higher power demands.
For instance, the size of the battery required to rival something like a Fendt 900 series with 300HP would be immense. Realistically, the battery required to give any meaningful amount of battery life for a tractor of that size would be so large, that the tractor would have to tow a trailer with its own battery onboard.
However, a few discussions I’ve had with people in the know at factory level have certainly implied that tractors in the 140HP, maybe even 160HP range are not only achievable but would also be a practical option in the near future.
This certainly isn’t the answer for everyone, but it is interesting. And regardless of your stance on the whole EV evolution and all the politics around the requirements to source the required materials and manufacture these ‘clean, green’ battery powered machines, you have to admit it is pretty neat to watch the engineering as it develops, and machines like the e100 going into mass production for niche markets.
I don’t remember this being on an episode of ‘Beyond 2000’ you missed that one Jeff Watson!
INSTAGRAM!!!
We love seeing what you all get up to during your days, and having you being a part of our business, so if you have any great stories or photos to share, please make sure you send them through to us!
Either text it through to the number below, send us a message on Facebook or Instagram or email us at:
marketing@piako.co.nz
PH - 021985142
