Confused on PTO generator size

[gogojuice]

I have a Bx 2670, and was thinking about getting a generator to power the house in case of an emergency. The reason I was thinking PTO was that it doesn't have a carb and I already have a tractor. I know some people suggest that I will need the tractor for other things possibly if the power goes out, but in my case.. I don't have any trees near the house and I could leave it in the garage close to the house with a power transfer switch right next to the breezeway.

I know the bx has a lower hp pto 18.. so I started looking at around the 10-12 kw range. I would need to power on the furnace, stove and a few lights in the house. (I haven't done a check to see how much KW I will actually need yet).

However.. when I started to look around I saw a post from a dealer that related that " With your unit having 18 HP at the PTO the largest generator you could go with would be 9kW (9000 watts).

Your tractor does not produce enough power output to the PTO generator for it to produce the proper wattage or the proper Hz/Voltage and if connected to your unit you could damage the PTO generator and the equipment you are connecting it to.

Our smallest unit is a 10kW by IMD and with it being borderline with your tractor output we recommend that you contact IMD to confirm it would work."

I know that I couldn't power a 45 KW gen, but it looks like I won't be able to power anything then?

So Seeking advice I came here

Thanks

 

[brin]

I have a 29 HP NH TC-29 Boomer....it has about 24 pto hp...but I have a 20KW PTO genny...with a 40KW surge and it works just fine powering our house...The rule of thumb is you can power a generator larger than designed for your PTO HP...and it won't hurt the genny or tractor ...you just won't get all the power out of the genny...but it is really better to have a larger one since it helps with a surge when you have a motor or pump kick on and draw a lot...that's what I was told and it has worked for me....See what other say...also if you do a search on this site...for PTO Generator you will find many posts on several threads...

 

[gogojuice]

brin,

Thanks for the quick response. That was also my understanding from reading the various and numerous threads on here too. Seems that this rep was giving different information.

 

[coss]

You might also consider deleting some of your power requirements. An electric stove is a real power hog. As an alternative, could you get by for a few days with a microwave oven plus a propane camp stove? I made a similar choice a few years ago when looking for a stand-alone generator. The price difference between a Cadillac and a Chevy were pretty large, so I decided to save some money by giving up the "nice to have, but could live without" appliances.

 

[BobRip]

I have a 29 HP NH TC-29 Boomer....it has about 24 pto hp...but I have a 20KW PTO genny...with a 40KW surge and it works just fine powering our house...The rule of thumb is you can power a generator larger than designed for your PTO HP...and it won't hurt the genny or tractor ...you just won't get all the power out of the genny...but it is really better to have a larger one since it helps with a surge when you have a motor or pump kick on and draw a lot...that's what I was told and it has worked for me....See what other say...also if you do a search on this site...for PTO Generator you will find many posts on several threads...

In general I agree with the above. My concern though is that the engine speed would drop, causing the frequency and voltage of the generator to drop. I would get a Kilo-watt meter to monitor frequency and voltage and keep an eye on them, particularly when adding a big load. Try to find something else to cook with. An electric frying pan would help here. Also others as mentioned above. I tend to use my gas grill, but you are in Canada and it might be too cold.
Your list of items to run is very short. You will find that you will want to run more items as the outage continues. The hotwater heater comes to mind, along with lights, refrigerator, TV, radio, etc. These are all fairly low power items except the hotwater heater. Nine KW will run a lot of stuff, but you might run only one big item at a time. If you don't know the power of each item, look on the label. It should be listed. There are many threads discussing generators.

 

[gogojuice]

Thanks for the info.

I would like to keep the house running as close to possible as it was before the power went out. I agree.. my list would expand exponentially as the power outage continues lol. I could keep the stove off and use the NG bbq if needed, or a microwave. I do have a sump pump and would like to have the heater and hot water heater on. Electronics would be nice. But my reading here led me to believe that I need to be careful because of the changing frequencies of the loads? Another site recommends 5kw for a whole house and another 5kw for a barn. I don't have a barn that needs power. Perhaps I should be looking at the 10KW variety?

 

[buickanddeere]

18HP will carry a 12.5Wk generator just fine as long as motor starting loads are modest.
A 15KW generator would be a better match because operating electrical equipment at continuous max rated in hot weather is not recommended.

 

[Soundguy]

However.. when I started to look around I saw a post from a dealer that related that " With your unit having 18 HP at the PTO the largest generator you could go with would be 9kW (9000 watts).

Your tractor does not produce enough power output to the PTO generator for it to produce the proper wattage or the proper Hz/Voltage and if connected to your unit you could damage the PTO generator and the equipment you are connecting it toSo Seeking advice I came here

Thanks

ok.. so that dealer quit school early. no problem. not everybody can posess average intellect.

your machine will likely realistically make about 9kw. thus pairing it with a commonly found 7.2kw genny would not let you use all your hp. On the other hand. pairing it with a 10-15kw genny.. you can use your max hp.. figure a rule of thumb.. ABOUT 2hp per KW... that's real world expectation.. the electrical calculation is mouch more favorible.. but not attainable due to losses. As an added benefit.. the genny will have built in heat protection. IE.. a 15kw gen making 9kw won't be saturated or over taxed.

frequency is a DIRECT function of poles and pto speed for a non inverter unit. thus run at the correct speed and load and you will be fine. Lastly. if your machine makes more hp than the 'book' rates it for.. you get to use it if you have the larger generator.. and if you get a larger tractor later...

 

[newbury]

Go thru one of the worksheets on a generator site and determine what:
YOU HAVE TO RUN
You Want To Run
would be nice run

And balance against how often you will use it.

I've got 3 generators:1 KW gas, 6KW gas, 12KW PTO. We rarely have the power go out for long. Only once since 1975 has it gone out for more than a day. Thus I tend not to worry about running A/C or heat. My focus was on frig, freezer, sump pump and a few lights. This is easily handled by the 6KW, I only bought the 12KW PTO because it was a Winco for $600 w/ PTO shaft, and almost brand new.

The salesperson may have been playing it safe so you didn't buy it and return it.

Live on Craigs list for a while, this summer I saw several going in my area for under $1K for 15 to 20KW sized units.

 

[MacTractor]

Hey funny,

I am shopping right now for the same thing with basically the same limitations. I have a JD 2320 with 18 PTO HP and I know exactly the post in the Q & A you got this from and from all my research the answer is wrong. After this XMAS here in Southern NB spending XMAS screwing with a brand new gas gen that would freeze up the crankcase vent (Briggs and Stratton Elite Series 8KW....Junk), in turn poping a rubber grommet dumping all of the oil in the engine, I am through with gas engines and will rely on my JD to light the way.

I am picking a 12/15 KW GEN knowing that I likely will only get 10K out of it. For me I would rather this as I figure when I reach the limit of the load I will hear the tractor RPM change as a sign I am at the limit vs. silently burning out appliances and such with an undersized generator.

The VoltMaster unit takes atleast 6 weeks to get here. The IMD 10k unit once you get the frame and stuff will be $$. The Nothern Tool 13K one is the same as you will need a frame. I think I am going to go with the Value Leader 12/15K unit for $1590 free shipping with a frame that looks like it work with my iMatch and a PTO shaft to boot.

Let me know which one you go with as I am curious.

Cheers,