I made an optical inline fuel sensor
Mon 28 September 2020
We could automatically detect whether the racing mower is about to run out of fuel
by shining a light through a section of clear fuel hose with a sensor on the other side. The idea is
that when the fuel has disappeared the received light intensity will change, and we can detect this with a microcontroller. We can then turn on an LED on the dashboard to alert the driver
so that he makes a pit stop instead of spluttering to a halt at the opposite end of the track. Read more
Chassis Design with Finite Element Analysis in FreeCAD
Tue 7 January 2020
Finite Element Analysis is a way to calculate the stresses and strains on an
object in various load conditions. The object is modelled as a series of "finite elements" (in our case triangles), and then we specify the locations
of points that can't move (fixed points), and the locations, magnitudes, and directions of forces that are present. Read more
The 2019 BLMRA 12 hour lawnmower race
Fri 9 August 2019
We raced at the BLMRA 12 hour again this year. Read more
How to make a rev limiter with an Arduino
Mon 22 July 2019
My racing mower has a tendency to
over-rev on long straights. To avoid damaging the engine, we have been lifting off the throttle, but a more reliable
solution would be an electronic rev limiter.
I did buy a commercial rev limiter made by AccuSpark, but was unable to fit
it to my mower because the AccuSpark unit needs access to both sides of the ignition coil, and my ignition coil
is inaccessible, inside a black box with all the other ignition electronics. So my solution was to make a rev limiter with an Arduino. Read more
We entered the BLMRA 12 hour lawnmower race again
Sat 11 August 2018
After last year's poor show at the 12 hour, we
did some much-needed work on the mower and had another go. Read more
I tried to do the BLMRA 12 hour lawnmower race
Wed 16 August 2017
Earlier this year I bought a ride-on lawnmower to go lawnmower racing. I talked Feroz Salam
and James Nicholls into driving it with me, and Matt Game
and my Dad into helping in the pits, and we entered the BLMRA 12 hour endurance race. Read more