During hurricane Gustav we were out of power for 3 days and I used a 15KW Generac ultrasource portable gasoline generator to power house. I ran central AC's, water heaters, stove, freezers etc. I did not have any trouble with the power it produced but and noise and fuel consuption were horrible. It produced a very annoying pitch that would fluctuate and keep me up all night. It burned about 1.5 gallon per hour. I sold it right before Hurricane Ike when the demand for generators was high. I then borrowed a 22KW IMD pto generator during hurricane Ike that was much better in both areas. The tractor runs at a constant rpm no matter what load is being put on the generator or what appliances are on in the house. The noise produced is not nearly as loud and aggrivating as the generac. The tractor burned about .85 gal per hour. I just fill up (2) 55 gallon plastic drums before the storm and always have plenty left over. I use a hand pump to fill the generator/tractor. I feel better having diesel around a generator than gasoline. I guess i ran the generator about 12-15 hours a day. I ran it all night to run the AC's and than a few hours during the day. The best thing about using a big whole house generator vs a portable one is using the house wiring and not having to plug and unplug extension cords to power different things. This way whenener you need something just turn on the switch. I feel safer then having extension cords running all over the house with kids around.
Generator 15KW PTO Generator Harbor Freight
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Soundguy
Old Timer
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- RK 55HC,ym1700, NH7610S, Ford 8N, 2N, NAA, 660, 850 x2, 541, 950, 941D, 951, 2000, 3000, 4000, 4600, 5000, 740, IH 'C' 'H', CUB, John Deere 'B', allis 'G', case VAC
Did the generac's rpm really vary? was it an inverter generator.. or did it's rpm really stay the same, and when under load it just worked harder and got louder to maintain same rpm.
remember.. on a gen head.. rpm=frequency..
soundguy
remember.. on a gen head.. rpm=frequency..
soundguy
soundguy,
I believe when the load on the generator would change (more or less) it would take some time (approx 5 sec) for it to adjust and during that time it would pulsate. Kind of like when a motor is running out of gas but not quite that bad. It was just enough to wake you up in the night and keep you up listening to it. It is the same high pitched sound that any other portable contractor grade generator makes but just with a 27hp motor instead of a 10hp.
I have 2 Honda EU2000 generators that I use when camping and those units put off a nice quite hmmm that will put you right to bed. I recommend the Honda EU series to anyone. Costly but well worth it.
I believe when the load on the generator would change (more or less) it would take some time (approx 5 sec) for it to adjust and during that time it would pulsate. Kind of like when a motor is running out of gas but not quite that bad. It was just enough to wake you up in the night and keep you up listening to it. It is the same high pitched sound that any other portable contractor grade generator makes but just with a 27hp motor instead of a 10hp.
I have 2 Honda EU2000 generators that I use when camping and those units put off a nice quite hmmm that will put you right to bed. I recommend the Honda EU series to anyone. Costly but well worth it.
Soundguy
Old Timer
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2002
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- Central florida
- Tractor
- RK 55HC,ym1700, NH7610S, Ford 8N, 2N, NAA, 660, 850 x2, 541, 950, 941D, 951, 2000, 3000, 4000, 4600, 5000, 740, IH 'C' 'H', CUB, John Deere 'B', allis 'G', case VAC
I'd still question the issue about taking 5 seconds to come up to speed / rpm.
If that is true.. then during those 5 seconds your frequency was wrong.
If the engine is taking tht hard of a hit on rpm.. then IMHO.. it or the genny is sized wrong for the application.
remember.. motor start wattages can be double or in some cases, tripple rated wattage...
soundguy
If that is true.. then during those 5 seconds your frequency was wrong.
If the engine is taking tht hard of a hit on rpm.. then IMHO.. it or the genny is sized wrong for the application.
remember.. motor start wattages can be double or in some cases, tripple rated wattage...
soundguy
Heres the verdict: I ended up buying a Torq 15K PTO generator off of ebay for $800. It was used as a demo at a trade show and only had 45 min on the time meter. So far I am pleased with the unit. I am going to test it out some more in the next few days. It looks like it is the same unit as the one at Harbor Freight but with a different name on it. I will let you know if it turns out to be junk.
Treemonkey1000
Veteran Member
If you have a voltmeter plug that into it and look at what happens when you have no load and then a large load on it like a big motor or something. More than likely something that big isn't going to give you too much grief.
Treemonkey,
It has an auto voltage regulator that keeps the voltage/hertz pretty much in line. The digital meter on the unit tell you what the levels are. I set it at 60Hz with no load and then turned on central AC unit and a 18000btu PTAC unit and the Hz did not budge off of 60.
It has an auto voltage regulator that keeps the voltage/hertz pretty much in line. The digital meter on the unit tell you what the levels are. I set it at 60Hz with no load and then turned on central AC unit and a 18000btu PTAC unit and the Hz did not budge off of 60.
Treemonkey1000
Veteran Member
That does sound like a nice unit. I am always leary of accuracy of those meters installed on equipment. But for your applications give or take 5 volts is no big deal. I test electronic equipment accuracy in a laboratory for a living. Sounds like you will be ready to rock and roll with that generator.
Soundguy
Old Timer
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2002
- Messages
- 52,238
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- Central florida
- Tractor
- RK 55HC,ym1700, NH7610S, Ford 8N, 2N, NAA, 660, 850 x2, 541, 950, 941D, 951, 2000, 3000, 4000, 4600, 5000, 740, IH 'C' 'H', CUB, John Deere 'B', allis 'G', case VAC
I question the issue about the auto voltage reg correcting freq.. that's REAL hard to do ( can be done ).. in almost all cases.. freq is a function of rpm.
I think you just had plenty of hp driving a nice large genny with lots of reserve, and the rpm stayed where it needed to be under load... ( just like it should under good conditions ).
800$.. that's a steal.. I paid 999$ for my 12.5kw head..
soundguy
Soundguy,
The sound of the tractor never changed when the AC kicked on. I guess thats why the Hz stayed the same is the RPM stayed the same. The tractor has 35hp at the pto so I guess this size tractor and generator is a good match for the amount of power being drawn. This unit came with the 3 point hitch and pto shaft so I also thought that $800 was a good deal.
The sound of the tractor never changed when the AC kicked on. I guess thats why the Hz stayed the same is the RPM stayed the same. The tractor has 35hp at the pto so I guess this size tractor and generator is a good match for the amount of power being drawn. This unit came with the 3 point hitch and pto shaft so I also thought that $800 was a good deal.