p.t.o. generator

anybody out there have one of these?
I'm looking for a Genny and have several tractors.
But keep thinking that a Genny with its own small motor would make more sense.
Any stories out there????

A friend of mine just setup one of these I won't know how it works until the power goes off.

he found online a neat way to get around those expensive switches to switch between the generator and local power co. Its a slide bar on the panel that will only let the generator work if the main switch is off.
Walt

Not much to say, but I have two and so do all my farmer neighbors. If you already have a tractor that you know will start when you want it to, the PTO generator is great. No extra engine to get running after sitting for over a year or more, unused.

Only downside? Don't revv up too much? Use more fuel for small jobs? One of my kids hit the throttle way up once while the house was hooked to it, and the lights got real bright. TV and computers still survived, though.
All of my PTO units have volt meters on them and you just set the thottle to get the volate and hertz cycles correct.

For emergencies they're great. But, if you need remote power with small loads, a load-sensing portable inverter genset will use less fuel. But, if gas or even worse - propane - a diesel tractor can do just as well at certain loads.

I've got a PTO unit. Kinda handy for the welder too. I have a platform on the back of the trailer for it so I can set the welder on it and use it in the field if I need to.

We have one and I like it better than messing with yet another small engine. It just sits in a corner of the shop until the power goes out or we need some juice in a remote area. Since you already have the tractors you can get a lot bigger output unit for the same price as one with its own motor.

They are used every winter during severe snow/ice storms in this area.It takes 2 hp/kw to run one at full capacity.I know some people who require smaller amounts of power,they hooked a 1000 knuckle on the shaft to a 1000 pto on the tractor,than run them at half throttle to save fuel.A set up like that requires an awfull amount of supervision for obvious reasons.We have a 50 kw one we can run with a 75 pto hp kubota without any trouble,but it's still not running at full load.We can run a 7 hp milk pump,2 5hp coolers and all the lights like the power is stll on.

Agreed.

I have a 12hp Coleman with a 6800 KW generator but wish I had a PTO unit instead. For the most part you run your tractors enough to know they will start and run when you need them. That little engine sits year round (even with stabile) and when you need it most you'll be cleaning the carb hoping it will start.

Depends on your use for it. There are different manufacturer's sites online that have tables of the loads different things require that will helpyou size a generator, whichever way you might ultimately go. In sizing one you have to keep in mind two things, in my book. One is that things like furnace burners and blowers, fridges and freezers, water pumps, anything with a motor, put an extra load on the genset while they're spinning up. As you look at them, you'll see running and surge wattages. Be sure to allow for the startup surge of any motors you might have. That leads to the second point, which is to decide how much you're willing to rough it some in an outage. Basics like heat, water and food storage are a given, and can be handled with an affordable moderately-sized unit. If you add in things like electric hot water or kitchen range (clothes driers are a killer, don't even think about it unless you want to go WHOLE hog!), you can go bigger, or you can decide to switch things off. For instance, I don't heat water unless I'm going to need it. We have an electric range, and there's no notion that we're going to heat water and run the range at the same time.

Powering a house to keep the lights, heat and food storage going, I'd go with the portable, dedicated unit.

Once you've got a grip on how big it needs to be, initial price, how often/much you'll use it, and fuel consumption will be your biggest considerations. The small engines on the usual genset are sized to run efficiently as they can at half-load and will use more at higher loads. And as well as mine runs and uses fuel, it's still going to do better for fuel consumption ( a consideration if you don't have a farm tank and the regional outage includes the gas stations) than hooking up a PTO to my SuperC, which will need to run at full speed to maintain sufficient RPMs for voltage and frequency. I've been aroud both and you can hear the governor grab on either one for startup or heavy loads.

Walt mentioned switches down below, and that's another expense to be considered. There are the fancy automatic switches, that can be used with a prtable arrangement, or for a stand-by unit on a slab. The type he mentioned (what I use) works like a lockout. It mounts to the face of your breaker panel, and will be of an odd shape (unique to each make and size of panel) that prevents you from being connected to line and genset power at the same time. It requires installing a double breaker (for 240) that connects only to tan outside receptacle that accepts the generator cord. That receptacle and cord are not cheap, and need to be designed correctly. The expense of the cord is in the copper of sufficient gauge for the job and the ends. You want a male on the generator end of teh cord, and a female on the end that connects to the house. I call it a receptacle, the piece mounted to the house should be in an approved weather-shielded box and have male prongs to conduct current. The point is to NOT have any live prongs anywhere while handling the cord. If the cord is in order, the lockout or automatic switch controlling the connection on the house will keep it dead.

Walt, I would like to know more about that slide bar that you talk about..sounds intersting to switch to the generator..

Walt, according to OR law has to be Automatic, because if local power goes off and remote power comes on while individual is asleep and switch is not activated, it can injure utility worker, OR if one forgets to switch over samething will occur.
Home owner can and will be responsible for injury and medical bills of anyone injured!!!

Keith & Shawn(Gold Medal Winner)

Kieth this slide bar will only allow the power from one source at a time. It is legal here in oregon because of this.
Walt

Try this page it has everything you need to know about the slide bar.
Walt
Slide Bar

I have a really nice ex-military unit to sell. Built in 1959 by hol-gar and only has 71 hours on it. 4cyl. contiental gas ys69 engine. 6.25 KVA and will do single and 3 phase too. These will do more then rated as they are HEAVY DUTY.

ever thought of converting to propane or natural gas on your coleman?I have converted 6 of them for around $200 each.never worry about the gasoline going bad again.Bill M.

Who will be connecting and maintaining the generator system?
Is there currently any sort of transfer panel on your electrical service?
We have had enough questions here with electrical services having grounding problems. To prove that back feeding into a receptacle, in particular a welding receptacle is insane.

http://www.reliancecontrols.com/ProductDetail.aspx?TWB2012DR

The panel slide is legal only with generators using a floating neutral. As a general rule of thumb any portable generator with U-ground receptacles is bonded.
Keep in mind for insurance company coverage, they will find any excuse to drop coverage.

Careful with the portable generators. Every power outage there is always families that have gassed themselves to death with carbon monoxide.
Power cables tend to be too short, generator too close to an open door or window. The wind shifts or swirls and people die.
The occasional person will even place the generator in the garage with the windows open. Thinking all is well and the generator won't get stolen.If the fumes don't get them the fire while re-fueling hot does.

While growing up, we had a p.t.o. generator, we had a dairy farm so we needed enough generator to run milking and feeding equipment. This was connected to our electric service near the meter with a double throw switch which disconnected the farm from the utility and connected it to a lead which plugged into the generator. Some benefits were that it could run any one of our heaviest loads as well as a combination of lighter loads. We could run a welder or other tools out in the field when needed. I suppose it used more fuel than if it was a genset type of unit, but we didn't lose power very often, so that wasn't much of a concern.

My 2 cents. When we lose power its for a week or two with any big ice storm and the farm being on the end of the line.

Last year just before Christmas, we lost power for about a week. Was given a little Coleman 2250 watt job with a 5 hp Tecumseh. 7 years old and never had gas or oil in it. Well, the engine case splits a couple inches above the bottom. The gasket was dried out and was seeping oil. Only ran an hour before it needed refilling with gas and oil. Just used it to run a few lights, the fridge, and the propane furnace blower. Ended up just running it in the evening until the house heated up to above 90 degrees. Did the same thing again in the morning. Eventually got the gasket fixed but it still leaks and bought a new 6000 watt one that is still in the box. Bought it a Home cheapo when they finally got a new shipment in and when we got home the power crew was down to replacing the last 3 poles and so never used it.

Moral of the story is that for the little one or even the big one, there is going to be a lot of trips with gas cans to the station. No barrel at the farm. The farmers I knew with pto generators didn't want to run their tractors and put in gas/diesel 24/7 for a week either. So they did it part time as well.

If money wasn't an object, I'd put in a propane generator and hook into the main tank. They make them for natural gas too.

I wouldn't mind finding a generator and putting a pulley on it and run it off my pickup or the tractor like an alternator.