Comparison What's best for standby power?

[Rod in Forfar]

The 7.2 KW Baumalight:

My first impression of the unit was that it was covered with a coil of very heavy cable which I chose not to purchase. Apparently the previous owner kept it safe in an outbuilding and connected it to the house with this 100 foot cable so it wouldn't be exposed to the weather. I thought my existing rubber generator cable was heavy, but it's nothing like this one. Underneath the coil of cable was a layer of dust, likely not the previous owner's fault.

Thinking of the Northern Tool reviews which I read exhaustively yesterday, I looked for evidence of oil leaks. Nothing. When we put it on a little John Deere, unlike the Brand X machines it spun up very quietly, and when I put a 15 amp load on it there was no twisting or vibration on the trailer even though the dealer hadn't bothered to attach a hitch ball to the tractor. It just sat there and purred.

The other clear difference between it and the Northern Tool clone is weight. The NT model claims to weigh 110 pounds. This one's a bit over 300, not counting the trailer and shaft.

Another gadget attached to the tongue of the trailer reminded me of one of those curb finders my uncles used to like to attach to their cars in the '50's. This one folds upright when needed, and serves as a caddy for the coiled-wire connector which defeats the seat interlock mechanism on a JD tractor. The vendor suggested I could likely design something using the opposite end of what looks like a dead-man switch from an outboard motor. The gadget looks well designed and built.

So my overall impression of the machine's backstory is that it was owned by a meticulous individual who was no dummy. I think it should be o.k.

BTW: If anybody has a simple fix for the tractor seat interlock problem, I'm all ears. My wife's patience will grow thin quickly if I make her sit on that seat whenever we need power.

 

[newbury]

BTW: If anybody has a simple fix for the tractor seat interlock problem, I'm all ears. My wife's patience will grow thin quickly if I make her sit on that seat whenever we need power.

Maybe a radio with good music and a little wine bar on the hood?

I'd just throw a sack of feed in the seat, or a couple of concrete blocks.

 

[cqaigy2]

Maybe a radio with good music and a little wine bar on the hood?

I'd just throw a sack of feed in the seat, or a couple of concrete blocks.

The the switch can be bypassed, but i like newbury's 1st suggestion.

 

[aczlan]

BTW: If anybody has a simple fix for the tractor seat interlock problem, I'm all ears. My wife's patience will grow thin quickly if I make her sit on that seat whenever we need power.

Get a Kubota... The seat switch on our L3830 came from the factory set so that if you flip the seat forward onto the steering wheel with the parking brake on, then turn on the PTO the engine stays on. Handy for chippers, generators and other things that use the PTO for power without someone in the seat.
Check your owners manual and see if you have a similar setting.

Aaron Z

 

[Rod in Forfar]

Get a Kubota... The seat switch on our L3830 came from the factory set so that if you flip the seat forward onto the steering wheel with the parking brake on, then turn on the PTO the engine stays on. Handy for chippers, generators and other things that use the PTO for power without someone in the seat.
Check your owners manual and see if you have a similar setting.

Aaron Z

Aaron:

You're right. The manual has a section on Stationary P.T.O. which explains the procedure exactly as you have written above. My tractor seat (which has been looking nervously at the wire cutters) thanks you.

So here's one area where Kubota one-ups the green machines.

(Oh, why did I do that?) <gr>

Rod

 

[aczlan]

So here's one area where Kubota one-ups the green machines.
(Oh, why did I do that?) <gr>

I think Deere has a similar setting, I just happen to know the Kubota procedure...

Aaron Z

 

[arlen4720]

Aaron:

You're right. The manual has a section on Stationary P.T.O. which explains the procedure exactly as you have written above. My tractor seat (which has been looking nervously at the wire cutters) thanks you.

So here's one area where Kubota one-ups the green machines.

(Oh, why did I do that?) <gr>

Rod

On most Deeres, you can start the PTO when you are off the seat, and it will run. If you start the PTO when you are on the seat, then leave the seat, it will kill the engine.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

My electrician friend and I hooked up the new PTO generator to the house generator panel today and it ran very well in conjunction with the Kubota B7510. Then we switched some extra breakers into the panel to provide a few things for comfort along with the survival basics. Foremost of these circuits was the one labelled "Computers."

 

[farmer2009]

My electrician friend and I hooked up the new PTO generator to the house generator panel today and it ran very well in conjunction with the Kubota B7510. Then we switched some extra breakers into the panel to provide a few things for comfort along with the survival basics. Foremost of these circuits was the one labelled "Computers."

Can you give some more specs on the generator.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

Can you give some more specs on the generator.

It's a BAUMALight TX 7, 7.2 KW, single phase, 60 Hz PTO generator. It has a surge output of 14 KW, requires a minimum of 5 hp to operate at 50% or 11 hp to run at 100%. Output's 30 amps. It weighs 300 lb., including standard trailer and drive shaft.

A dealer in Kingston, ON, quoted me a price around $4K for a new one. He also immediately tried to upsell me to a 12 KW for about the same price on the grounds that the TX 7 is too small. I also saw an American price online of around $3100 USD.

Why I wanted this small size: I already have a 30 amp generator panel installed in 2000. The 10 gauge cable can't handle more than 30 amps and it runs through rocky ground and several feet of concrete. I have a couple of small diesel tractors which can power a small generator relatively economically. One or the other is likely to spend winter nights next to the wood stove in my workshop to aid starting in cold weather.

My neighbour picked a much larger BAUMALight as backup power for his new automated dairy barn. As far as local dealers are concerned, BaumaLight is a made-in-Ontario (from Japanese components) product.