My Elec-Traks - Farming Attachments


G.E. partnered with several manufactures to provide high quality farming implements to the Elec-Trak owner. They chose well. Brinly has been making farm implements for tractors since 1839 and still does today. Haben was the king of sickle mowers for many years and Hudson, also still in business today, has been well known for their sprayers tracing their roots back to 1905.



Haben Sickle Mower (AM48):

A four foot swath of grass is eliminated in a single pass with this attachment. A word of caution, wear good hearing protection, unlike most electric attachments, this thing is loud! It can make the machine lean to the right as well since all the weight is all on that side but you can’t get much cooler than a sickle mower! Like most other attachments this too was powered by a G.E. mower motor. I got mine from Pennsylvania from a G.E. engineer who refurbished it and it runs like a champ. I use it to trim heavy brush along the sides of our property to keep things looking tidy as well as will be using it out in our small orchard. The standard mower decks are reserved for the lawn and around the out building areas. This attachment originally connected to the Rear PTO Kit (KP36).

Associated Publications:

Haben Sickle bar mower

The Haben Sickle Mower (AM48)



Hudson Electric Sprayer (AK70):

I had never seen one of these in person nor knew anyone who ever had one. I did stumble across a "pre-release" brochure with a photograph along the way and Harold Zimmerman actually had a photocopy of the near identical "final" brochure. Both stated it was made by what today is the H.D. Hudson Manufacturing Company, still famous for making sprayers. After a little detective work I think I found out there was a good reason why although brochures were produced, no units seem to exist.

Although a picture of a prototype unit appeared as early as Sept. 11, 1972 in the Dealer Meeting Presentations of that year as part of the new Elec-Trak I5 Tractor roll-out, the unit seems to have been first introduced to dealers as a real product a year later at the October 1973 Dealer Meetings also held in Schenectady, N.Y. It was stated it would only be offered in the 1974 product year if they had enough orders (see bottom of the pre-release brochure). 1974 started out well with a Dealer Letter dated January 21, 1974 announcing production had begun and the sprayer would be available in April. However, it was soon follwed with a subsequent Dealer Letter dated March 29, 1974, all orders for the new (AK70) Sprayer attachment had been canceled for the year due to an announced late delivery by the vendor as well as a lack of orders. Just a few weeks after that G.E. sold the entire Elec-Trak product line to Wheel Horse and thus more than likely if one does exist today it is merely one of the original prototypes. Incidentally, other products introduced at that October 1973 sales meeting that appear to have never made it to the market included the Elec-Trak E11 Tractor and the Electric Bagger/Shredder. The one product that did seem to make it to market that was announced at that meeting was the Elec-Trak ER8-36 Tractor. It was actually available immediately for orders in October, 1973 however the first one did not come off the assembly line until February 4th, 1974. (See the bottoms of all those pre-release brochures)

With that information in hand, finding one still existing was pretty much out of the question. Searching on Craig’s List I actually found the Hudson Company sold quite a few gas versions of this sprayer in the early 1970's powered by a 2hp Briggs and Stratton engine. They were identical to the brochure photo except they sported a gas engine instead of the mower motor used on the Elec-Trak version. I found a guy near Cleveland, OH who had a working one for sale and it even had the optional 4’ boom mentioned in the Elec-Trak brochure! It seems some guy owed him money and couldn’t pay him so offered him the unit which he took reluctantly thinking no one in the world would ever pay anything for it. Well one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. I've decided one day I'll have a base fabricated with stabbers for the rear end of a large frame tractor per the picture on the brochure as well as a motor mount made up. I'll then attach an Elec-Trak mower motor and hopefully I'll end up with a "replica prototype" of my very own! I'll post any progress I make on this project on the web site as time goes by.

Associated Publications:

Hudson Sprayer

A gas version of the Elec-Trak Electric Sprayer (AK70) complete with four foot boom.



G.E. Rototiller (VV100), Tiller Mounting Bracket (VV101), Optional Tiller End Cover Kit (VV102):

Brinly actually made these attachments for G.E. and painted them yellow to match the Elec-Trak paint scheme. The tiller is a real beast weighing 230lbs, heavier even than the Elec-Trak snow throwers. It can only be lifted with the Elec-Trak Rear Electric Lift (AP59) and very slowly at that. As far as performance the tiller works great, never met a person who has had one who would say otherwise. It will cut a row 30" wide and up tp 6" deep with the tines rolling 120 rpm. One brochure states it can till 20,000 sq. ft. at a four inch depth on one charge. That's equivalent to a garden plot that is 200' by 100' - now that's moving earth! The one downside, if there is one, is you will often find the unit must be lifted up at the end of each row before turning around which takes a little patience due to its weight and the slowness of the rear lift. For fresh ground I would recommend using the Brinly plow, disc, and cultivator shown below to break up the soil the first time and then in subsequent years the tiller is great at working up the soil in the spring. We are putting in a vegetable garden, berry patch, small orchard and a vineyard that we will use it in and I can't imagine it failing to perform. The Elec-Trak Tiller is one of the most sought after attachments made for this family of tractors. It also had optional Tiller End Cover Kit (VV102). It was highlighted on Page 6 in the Elec-Trak Attachments and Accessories brochure.

Associated Publications:

Tiller

The much sought after Elec-Trak Tiller (VV100)

Tiller Bar

The Tiller Mounting Bracket (VV101) is needed for attachment to the tractor.

Optional Tiller End Cover Kit

The rather rare Optional Tiller End Cover Kit (VV102)



Electric Rear Lift (AP59):

The Elec-Traks Electric Rear Lift (AP59) is a must when using the tiller but it also comes in handy for other jobs and attachments. It uses a similar lift motor as is used in the front lift of the tractors which is not fast by any means but it is effective and eventually gets its job done. This attachment is rare and always fetches a good price on the market. Pick one up if you can. It was highlighted on Page 4 in the Elec-Trak Attachments and Accessories brochure.

Associated Publications:

Rear Electric Lift

The Rear Electric Lift (AP59)



"NOS" Manual Rear Lift (AP58):

The Manual Rear Lift (AP58), while not as rare as the electric version, is still pretty sought after. It was pretty much designed for use with the Brinly farming attachments. Due to its seven to one lift advantage it's perfect for lifting the plow, disk, cultivator or other tools. It fits into the stabber holes on the back of the tractor and also bolts to the sleeve hitch below in order to attach to implements. It can be set at four different heights and through leverage can make lifting an otherwise very heavy piece of machinery a breeze. It does have its limits and when you get equipment as heavy as a tiller you really do need to go electric. Along the way I have ended up with four of these as they were bundled in with other purchases. Not all were in great shape but I was able to pick up one that was "NOS". It was also highlighted on Page 4 in the Elec-Trak Attachments and Accessories brochure.

Associated Publications:

Manual Rear Lift

"NOS" Manual Lift (AP58)



"NOS" Sleeve Hitch (AP50):

The Sleeve Hitch (AP50) attachment is required when using any traditional farming implement such as plows, discs, cultivators, and tool bars. The implement itself attaches to the sleeve hitch and either the Electric or Manual Rear Lifts allow you to raise or lower the implement to adjust depth and for transport. Somehow I ended up owning five of these as many were "thrown" in with other purchases however two of them I found were "NOS" still in their original boxes! Guess I'm good on sleeve hitches and manual lifts for a while! The (AP49) sleeve hitch was made for the E12M and the (AP50) was for use with any of the large-farmed tractors. Essentially the (AP49) had two sets of holes drilled in the connection rods, the ones further in were for connection to the E12M tractor. The model pictured below is strictly a (AP50) model. It was highlighted on Page 3 in the Elec-Trak Attachments and Accessories brochure.

Associated Publications:

Sleeve Hitch

"NOS" Sleeve Hitch (AP50)



"NOS" Agricultural Tires and Rims (AP77):

The Agricultural Tires and Rims (AP77) were offered by G.E.for a short period of time for E20 tractors but were not big sellers for them. G.E. sold Goodyear Super Terra Grip Agricultural tires as their offering in this space. I was able to buy a pair of "NOS" tires at a tractor show in Pennsylvania that were in mint condition.

Associated Publications:

Agricultural Tires and Rims (AP77)

Elec-Trak Agricultural Tires and Rims (AP77)



"NOS" Moldboard Plow (PP510):

The Brinly Moldboard Plow (PP510) was the standard plow offered by them for many makes of garden tractors. It attaches to the Sleeve Hitch (AP49) or (AP50) and uses either the Electric Rear Lift (AP59) or Manual Rear Lift (AP58) for transport. They came in different sizes however G.E. sold the 10" model for use with their family of Elec-Trak tractors. I picked mine up in Kansas along with some other Brinly attachments from Kansas Wind Power who used Elec-Traks themselves for many years. It has some rust here and there on it as you can see but it was "NOS" and had never been used in the field. With a refresh paint job and new decals I picked up off eBay it will look brand new once again. It was highlighted on Page 6 in the Elec-Trak Attachments and Accessories brochure.

Associated Publications:

Moldboard Plow

"NOS" - The famous Brinly (PP510) Moldboard 10" Plow



Dual Disk Harrow (DD500):

Brinly's Dual Disk Harrow is used to essentially cut up the sod that was turned over with the 10" plow. I picked my (DD500) model up on a trip through Pennsylvania where a fellow had still been farming a twenty acre patch of ground with it! He had finally decided he needed something a little larger as he was spending all day in his field with the thing- can you blame him! Its 11" discs are adjustable from a 29" to a 39" width. Although the attachment was well used for a number of years it is still in remarkably good shape outside of some surface rust. It actually still had the Brinly decals on it despite all the use it had gotten over the years. With a little sand blasting, some new paint and new decals I hope to have it looking new again soon. They made many versions of the Dual Disk Harrow but this was the only one I have been able to find that exactly matched the picture on Page 6 in the Elec-Trak Attachments and Accessories brochure.

Disk Harrow

Brinly's (DD500) Disk Harrow



The Brinly Cultivator (CC500):

My Brinly (CC500) Cultivator I found on Craig's List way up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It too had been used for many years but was still in excellent shape. A little new paint and a new decal is all she will need to get her looking like new again! The implement is adjustable from 6" to 42" wide. Like the other farming attachments it was also highlighted on Page 6 in the Elec-Trak Attachments and Accessories brochure.

Associated Publications:

Cultivator

Brinly's (CC500) Cultivator



"NOS" Brinly Tool Bar (TT100):

The Brinly Tool Bar (TT100) was an all purpose implement offered by them for many different makes of garden tractors. It attaches to the Sleeve Hitch (AP49) or (AP50) and uses either the Electric Rear Lift (AP59) or Manual Rear Lift (AP58) for transport. They came with different attachments you could add to it depending on the task you needed it to do. Mine had cultivator tines that came with it. I also picked this one up in Kansas along with some other Brinly attachments from Kansas Wind Power. Although a little beat up from being moved around a warehouse throughout the years it had never spent a single day in the fields- "NOS"! It like the others was highlighted on Page 6 in the Elec-Trak Attachments and Accessories brochure.

Associated Publications:

Tool Bar

"NOS" Brinly (TT100) Tool Bar