Investigating the performance of electric mini tiller

Abstract

Mini tiller is one of the agricultural machineries used for a secondary soil tillage for narrow fields. In general, it is equipped with a 4-stroke gasoline engine. Internal combustion engine is considered as one of the contributors to carbon emissions in the world, so it is necessary to find alternative energy uses. One of the famous alternative energies is electricity. Nowadays, the utilization of electrification in human life is widespread, for example, for an electric vehicle. However, the implementation of electrification in the agricultural sector has not been extensively adopted. This research investigated the performance and energy consumption of a local brand mini tiller (Cakar Baja) coupled with a Honda electric powertrain. Results showed that applying an electric mini tiller on flat and dry land can smoothly plough the soil. Furthermore, the field capacity of this electric mini tiller showed 0.11 ha/h with an effective field capacity of 0.07 ha/h. During performance testing, it showed a field efficiency of 80%, which means low energy use costs. This electric mini tiller demonstrates the opportunity to use it as future agricultural machinery for a household with a small agricultural ground.