ASABE Initiates a Standard, Revises Another

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has initiated a project to establish a standard for testing battery capacity for electric tractors and self-propelled ag equipment.

The project, X651, Electric Tractor Battery System—Test and Performance Requirements, will establish, under repeatable and controlled loading, a protocol for testing the storage capacity of both primary (internal) and exchangeable battery packs.

Because electric-tractor implementation depends on work capacity, characterization protocol of primary and exchangeable battery packs is fundamental to creating a fair industry standard.

ASABE also has revised its earlier adoption of a standard. The revision is ANSI/ASABE AD6489-3:2004 JUL2017, Agricultural vehicles—Mechanical connections between towed and towing vehicles—Part 3: Tractor drawbar. It clarifies the drawbar length for Type 1 PTO and adds the following: drawbar for Type 4 PTO, specifications for drawbar uploading, maximum drawbar pin dimensions, and clarifications of clearances for tractors equipped with tracks.

ASABE members with standards access and those with site-license privileges can access the full-text via electronic download on the ASABE online Technical Library at elibrary.asabe.org. Others can obtain a copy for a fee directly from the library or by contacting ASABE headquarters at OrderStandard@asabe.org.