Generator Generator options

Brian Miller · Jul 30, 2011

Hi,
Up where I live power outages are becoming more frequent so I'm looking to get a pto generator. To power up the house I doubt I would need more than 10Kw. However used 25Kw generators are readily available. I have a MF 1529 with about 26 pto hp. Is there any disadvantage to getting one of these generators? Will the generator still produce clean power. As I understand it I will get about 13Kw of power & no more. This would be more than enough for me.
Thanks

Travelover · Jul 30, 2011

Nothing wrong with a bigger PTO generator. You will have more inertia and will have less voltage loss with a surge load.

Do a search here - this has been discussed many times at length.

Brian Miller · Jul 30, 2011

Thanks.
I did do extensive searching but between that & talking with sales people, I was getting conflicting info.
I appreciate the response.

grsthegreat · Jul 30, 2011

what kind of price are you looking at for a pto generator???. I have a fixed , mounted 10k Onan propane generator that only cost me 1400 (used) about 14 years ago. Still works great after all these years. Its nice not to have to go and get the tractor out to run power to the house.

The 10K unit more than powers my house (4200 SF) incl lights, refer, freezer, gas furnace (fan) garage door openers, tv room. I DONT have a well or electric heat so 10K is plenty large.

Ive used PTO powered gen sets in the past, and they work fine. Have as clean of power as a motor operated unit. But i just prefer to have mine wired into a generator transfer panel that the wife can easily operate in a power outage. Im not sure how much tractor PTO is required per KW of generator power produced....there must be a chart somewheres out there.

crazyal · Jul 30, 2011

I think the biggest question you need to ask yourself is if you loose power can you split duties for the tractor between generator and storm clean-up. I know if it's a bad enough snow storm I'll need to keep my tractor free. Also you'll need a place to store the generator out of the way when not in use but close enough so you can get to it when needed. Of course a PTO gen doesn't have it's own motor or the servicing that goes with it.

I can make due with a 4.5K generator but I have to be careful and shut breakers off. I can run the well pump but if I buy something to replace my portable gas gen it would most likely be a 10k unit. If you can get a 25k cheap enough then I would but if you never think you'll use it I wouldn't pay any extra.

WilliamBos · Jul 30, 2011

grsthegreat said:
what kind of price are you looking at for a pto generator???. I have a fixed , mounted 10k Onan propane generator that only cost me 1400 (used) about 14 years ago. Still works great after all these years. Its nice not to have to go and get the tractor out to run power to the house.

The 10K unit more than powers my house (4200 SF) incl lights, refer, freezer, gas furnace (fan) garage door openers, tv room. I DONT have a well or electric heat so 10K is plenty large.

Ive used PTO powered gen sets in the past, and they work fine. Have as clean of power as a motor operated unit. But i just prefer to have mine wired into a generator transfer panel that the wife can easily operate in a power outage. Im not sure how much tractor PTO is required per KW of generator power produced....there must be a chart somewheres out there.

How much propane will it use in a certain time frame??

gmbracing · Jul 30, 2011

I have a 17kw propane generator wired into the main panel thru a tranfers switch. it came from northern 2 years ago for $3600 had everything but the battery for starting, sure is nice when the power goes out and the house comes back to life by itself. uses 1.3 lbs/ hr at full load.

grsthegreat · Jul 30, 2011

WilliamBos said:
How much propane will it use in a certain time frame??

mines hooked up to a 500 gal propane tank, but im not sure exactly what it uses. i used to run it for about 6-8 hours on a 5 gal tank when i was framing my house, but it wasnt running at full load much. the fuel burn depends on the load. but im sure i can run mine for a heck of a long time on 500 gal of propane.....:licking:

now a 25k genset will EAT the fuel.

I install alot of generators and transfer switches (did one just this week), but i personally didn't want an automatic transfer switch on mine. If I'm not home, i don't want it running ....the freezer and frige will keep nicely for 24 hours without power.....why waste the fuel. Some people, especially those with elderly or infirmed in the house NEED the automatic transfer setup.....go for it. They are nice units out there. I also wire a majority of the new houses i do with a transfer capable panel (made by Siemens). the owner can add a generator with either a manual or an automatic option at a later time without replacing the panel. A regular 200 amp panel costs about $110 and the generator ready panel about $240.00. so its a low cost option for the future.

WilliamBos · Jul 30, 2011

grsthegreat said:
mines hooked up to a 500 gal propane tank, but im not sure exactly what it uses. i used to run it for about 6-8 hours on a 5 gal tank when i was framing my house, but it wasnt running at full load much. the fuel burn depends on the load. but im sure i can run mine for a heck of a long time on 500 gal of propane.....:licking:

now a 25k genset will EAT the fuel.

I install alot of generators and transfer switches (did one just this week), but i personally didn't want an automatic transfer switch on mine. If I'm not home, i don't want it running ....the freezer and frige will keep nicely for 24 hours without power.....why waste the fuel. Some people, especially those with elderly or infirmed in the house NEED the automatic transfer setup.....go for it. They are nice units out there. I also wire a majority of the new houses i do with a transfer capable panel (made by Siemens). the owner can add a generator with either a manual or an automatic option at a later time without replacing the panel. A regular 200 amp panel costs about $110 and the generator ready panel about $240.00. so its a low cost option for the future.

Thanks for the info. I did not realize the price difference was that close. A worthy upgrade for sure.