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eBarrow Kit turns existing wheelbarrows into motorized load-haulers

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The eBarrow Kit is presently on Kickstarter
eBarrow Kit
The eBarrow Kit is presently on Kickstarter
eBarrow Kit
Metal bumpers help protect the electronics case, which is IP67 waterproof (that means it can withstand being briefly submerged to a depth of up to 1 meter/3.3 ft)
eBarrow Kit
Moe Power and his creation
eBarrow Kit
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Just because it's easier to transport a heavy load in a wheelbarrow, doing so can still be a lot of hard work. That's where the eBarrow Kit comes in, as it quickly adds an electric boost to your existing wheelbarrow.

Invented by appropriately named American entrepreneur Moe Power, the eBarrow Kit is currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign.

Reportedly compatible with all US-sold wheelbarrows in which the wheel is mounted to the frame with four bolts, it consists of a waterproof electronics case that gets bolted onto that frame, along with an attached front wheel that replaces the existing one. A hard-wired throttle lever runs up to one the wheelbarrow's handles.

Swapping the whole thing in is claimed to take less than four minutes.

Metal bumpers help protect the electronics case, which is IP67 waterproof (that means it can withstand being briefly submerged to a depth of up to 1 meter/3.3 ft)
eBarrow Kit

The wheel is driven by a 350-watt hub motor, which delivers 50 Nm (37 lb ft) of torque. That motor is in turn powered by a 10-Ah lithium-ion battery (in the case), one charge of which should be good for at least several days of usage, depending on factors such as load weight. A display on the case lets users monitor the charge level.

Assuming the eBarrow Kit reaches production, a pledge of US$349 will get you one. Power tells us that the planned retail price is around $500, which is still a lot less than most purpose-built electric cargo-hauling carts.

It's demonstrated in the following video.

Read more...

Sources: Kickstarter, eBarrow Kit

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8 comments
Spud Murphy
Gave up on wheelbarrows years ago, moved to a Gorilla cart, they carry more weight, are stable (good as you get older), can do zero point turns, and also have a tipper mechanism.
Treon Verdery
Really awesome, I do not know physics, but because at the wheelbarrow is motorized the motor does some of the work. Would placing an 4-8 kg mass directly above the wheel shift the center of gravity so the person using their arms to lift the handles of the wheelbarrow had to lift up the handles.

Smokey_Bear
Not a bad price, a lot cheaper then Makita's powered wheelbarrow. I agree with Spud, Gorilla carts are a better option for most people, but for trades that need wheel barrows daily, like concrete, I'd be pretty tempted to pick one up.
vince
A good idea but an even better one would be to have the motor mounted in the wheel itself. Eg, a replacement powered wheel and then it would have regeneration as well so almost never needs charging.
Smokey_Bear
vince - It's a hub motor...it IS in the middle of the wheel, you have to replace your current wheel with this. The side portion is the battery and some other electronics.
Gordien
On ungroomed land, a single wheel would have a good advantage. Two powered wheels could make a powered handcart. A chains on a single wheel might be used as a snow pusher, or maybe a powered shovel. I think they have something here - might need forward, reverse, and brakes. This might be the tractor I can afford (oh yeah, farm implements!).
Gordien
On Kickstarter it mentions a 10ah battery. He says he charges it weekly, which means that it's not a lead/acid battery, because leaving a lead acid battery partially discharged for periods of time will ruin the battery. I wonder what kind of battery it has. Lithium phosphate batteries are expensive, but they could handle intermittent charging.
Gordien
And it does mention lithium ion battery in the New Atlas article. Thank you.