3-Point Hitch John Deere 3-point hitch 10 KW PTO Generator

[mfreund]

I would love to own it but I would first have to buy a small city and line up a semi tanker full of fuel!!

I looked at PTO generators for my house but the wife would never be able to get it hooked up and set right when I am at work. I am saving up for a whole house one that comes on automatically and runs on propane.

 

[qni51]

For my 2 cents. I have to have emergency power for my EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS station. the PTO unit will be great for around the micro farm but for home and EMCOMM I have a Onan 5.5 KW which is like the ones used for motor homes. Caution. Get the lowest RPM you can. Their life span is much longer.

I was stationed off the coast of Korea during the war and our 2.5 KW Genset powered by a 1800 rpm B&S 5 HP cast iron block engine which ran 24 hours on/24 hours off for 18 months with practically no maintenance and was running great when I left. We alternated between "A" unit and "B" unit. A 2400 or 3600 rpm generator would have a much shorter life span.

 

[Nuru]

This is a good thread. I am considering getting a 15 - 20kw generator to cut in when we experience outages. I did not know about the low rpm preference. I did realize they do require some level of maintenance - yearly I guess?

 

[qni51]

Nuru

Are you going to be the only one running it? Will your wife need to be able to hook it up and start it. Will you need the tractor during power outages for other things. Do you want to put that kind of hours on the tractor for a possible extended period of time.

In that power range, if you are considering a power unit then I suggest you think about a diesel generator. I think they generally run slower. Some of the big diesels run as slow as 316 rpm as I recall. Maintenance on them will vary with time running.

I think Onan has a small diesel about 8 kw but apparently you want something larger than that.

 

[Nuru]

Nuru

Are you going to be the only one running it? Will your wife need to be able to hook it up and start it. Will you need the tractor during power outages for other things. Do you want to put that kind of hours on the tractor for a possible extended period of time.

In that power range, if you are considering a power unit then I suggest you think about a diesel generator. I think they generally run slower. Some of the big diesels run as slow as 316 rpm as I recall. Maintenance on them will vary with time running.

I think Onan has a small diesel about 8 kw but apparently you want something larger than that.

I am actually not looking at a tractor powered model, but a self-powered diesel model with a 20 hp engine. And I think I will get one that is mounted on a trailer, transfer switch, etc. So if I am not home, the switchover is just automatic. If I can scrape up the funds, I will also get another tank for fuel storage and fill my tractor and the generator's tank off of that storage tank.

 

[sunnyside360]

I am actually not looking at a tractor powered model, but a self-powered diesel model with a 20 hp engine. And I think I will get one that is mounted on a trailer, transfer switch, etc. So if I am not home, the switchover is just automatic. If I can scrape up the funds, I will also get another tank for fuel storage and fill my tractor and the generator's tank off of that storage tank.

I took the plunge a couple years ago and bought a new 15 KW Generac Home Standby Generator on the internet. Think it was around $2900 and shipping was either included or not very much. Prices are probably a little higher now. Mine runs on LP gas but there are others that run on gasoline, natural gas or diesel fuel. It was fairly easy to install.
There is no manual intervention involved -- all automatic. It even starts itself once a week and runs for 12 minutes to exercise itself. When main power goes off we have power from the generator in about 15 seconds which runs everything in the house except clothes dryer and A/C unit.
Power outages are not uncommon out where we live so we're not without many conveniences for long when it does occur.

 

[kennyd]

I took the plunge a couple years ago and bought a new 15 KW Generac Home Standby Generator on the internet. Think it was around $2900 and shipping was either included or not very much. Prices are probably a little higher now. Mine runs on LP gas but there are others that run on gasoline, natural gas or diesel fuel. It was fairly easy to install.
There is no manual intervention involved -- all automatic. It even starts itself once a week and runs for 12 minutes to exercise itself. When main power goes off we have power from the generator in about 15 seconds which runs everything in the house except clothes dryer and A/C unit.
Power outages are not uncommon out where we live so we're not without many conveniences for long when it does occur.

I have the same 15kw Generac burning LP for 4 years now, And it now has about 80 hrs on it (I added a Hobbs meter to it)I also installed it myself. I highly recommend them.

 

[Rob-D]

I'm just finishing up my solar system here. I have a stream and good wind. I had thought about a three point generator but I really don't need it now except to run the Miller 210 MIG and the plasma cutter.
We lose power often enough that it is worth it for me and my bills will drop considerably when the system is up but it's not cheap!
I bought a small diesel generator as a back up but it's noisy so I don't use it much ( I hate noisy machines). I have a little Honda EU2000 I think is the number. Now that's a sweet little bugger. Easy to move around and quiet.
I don't like the idea much of running my tractor hours up and the fact that you lose the tractor when you may need it most during storms and power failures. The farmers around here have several tractors so they don't have the single tractor problem and when you have a barn full of cows that need milking you better have power to do it!


All that said back up power is a good idea regardless which way you go.

Rob

 

[mfreund]

I have the same 15kw Generac burning LP for 4 years now, And it now has about 80 hrs on it (I added a Hobbs meter to it)I also installed it myself. I highly recommend them.

kennyd and sunnyside360,

How did you size your generator?? I am looking at the Generac 17kw but am not sure if it is overkill. I have a 1000 gal lp tank.

I have a well, Geo-thermal heat, electric water heater, and electric stove. I think they would require more capacity than normal houses.

 

[kennyd]

I used some online calculators, as well as my budget to determine size. When I bought mine, the 15kw was the largest air-cooled unit they made. The next step up was a 20kw water-cooled unit and the price went up dramatically. You also have to look at the number of circuits available in the standby panel sine the Generac's do not include a "whole house transfer switch", but rather a separate breaker panel that you rewire the circuits you want protected to.

My water heater, range, dryer, and backup to the heat-pump are all LP, so my only major draw is the well pump. I also have a 1000g LP tank.