Lessons from this year's snowmageddon

[RalphVa]

Not a massive snow, but a very wet 9 inches that downed A LOT of trees and limbs. Power and internet were both out for just over 3 days.

Here are some lessons learned:

o Generator tank is only good for 50 gallons, not 60 that I thought we had. Ran out of fuel after 70 hours this morning. Managed to only get 50 gallons back in before full to the top.
o Hugh fuel consumption in really cold weather with 2 heat pumps running (not the big 4 ton one) vs. earlier usages through 159 hours. Now have 74 more hours on the near 10 year clock. Early fuel consumption in non heat/non AC weather was only 0.23-0.3 gph. This recent rate was about 0.67: higher than the 0.6 gph on the JD 2025R, but the Isuzu is only about 20 hp. It's all in loading.
o Gotta remember to leave one carriage house door disconnected from power lifter. Have a cable gizmo with a key to remove and pull cable to disconnect it, but far better to have had it disconnected in "up" position before the storm. Big mistake in building the carriage house was not providing a people door to the main floor.
o Also a good idea to leave screen out and the one window unlocked.
o Had to make 2 trips to get 35 gallons of fuel today in 7 containers. We're getting too old for this. Gotta research other ways of getting fuel. Still like diesel over propane alternative.

Ten year maintenance is coming up this little 12.5 kw Isuzu. Gotta get all new filters. Have M1 0w30 ESP ordered for the oil change. Be a challenge to get the old coolant out from rad and engine block without spilling a lot on the adjacent garden area. Sucked the oil out with an oil extractor at 50 hours.

 

[Doughknob]

A couple tesla power walls would help u out

 

[RalphVa]

A couple tesla power walls would help u out

I don't think those go for 74 hours. Think they're only good for around 4 or so.

 

[Ken45101]

Check with local farm fuel suppliers, they will deliver reduced tax diesel to your place but they may have a 100 or 200 gallon minimum.

Ken

 

[s219]

I use a 55 gal transfer tank to shuttle diesel to my generator (and the rest of the time it's used for tractor and RTV).

 

[japody]

I use a 55 gal transfer tank to shuttle diesel to my generator (and the rest of the time it's used for tractor and RTV).

You have a diesel gen? Is it whole house? Can you provide details? I'm looking into a 20kw system alternatives.

Thanks.

 

[RickB]

He said it was a 12.5kw Isuzu powered unit coming up on 10 years old.

 

[5030]

My 30 KW diesel draws off my 500 gallon bulk tank. It's a Generac with a JD diesel engine., 3 phase and single phase.

 

[RalphVa]

You have a diesel gen? Is it whole house? Can you provide details? I'm looking into a 20kw system alternatives.

Thanks.

Got the little gem Isuzu 12.5 kw generator from Central Maine Diesel. Will be contacting them again this year to get coolant and filters for the 10 year maintenance.

Had plenty of data from how much a 4.4 kw generator would run before we bought this one. Bought a GenTran 200 amp panel with transfer switch. It also has 4 circuits with some external circuitry to only allow them to come on if there's room in the generator. Works great to allow use of hot water heater and clothes dryer. Ran 2 heat pumps without electric coil backup allowed to come on. One (the ductless one) does not have a backup.

Have a second 200 amp panel that isn't on the generator that normally runs the carriage house and 4 ton heat pump plus a few other minor circuits.

An electrician installed the Isuzu and moved circuit breakers around between those 2 panels. Figuring out those 4 Gen Tran circuits was tricky. Had to call Gen Tran 2 or 3 times about those.

Ours is a 4,400 sq ft all electric house. You'd have to have a huge house to require 20 kw unless you want everything on it to run.

We had a couple "whole house" generator people come out. They wanted to put in a 30 to 40 kw diesel generator. Would use a huge amount of fuel and mostly would sit and might go into wet stacking. Our normal average usage is about 2.5 kw. In this very cold weather, it was obviously a lot higher than this, probably closer to the 12.5 kw max on the Isuzu.

 

[RalphVa]

Thinking about getting a pallet and some bolt-on pallet forks (maybe get pallet forks with new tractor planned for this year). Put sides on the pallet. Use grounding straps at service station to put on each 5 gallon container on the pallet to ground to metal on the truck while fueling in bed of the truck. Use pallet forks to lift out of back of truck and carry to fence where generator is. Use 12v or hand pump to transfer from containers to diesel tank. LOTS less expensive than buying anything else.

Would just remove and redo the pallet on my carryall that I seldom use now since I don't have the big garden down below to haul mulch to. Picture attached.

Got a Terra pump on order from Lowes. Wasn't in yesterday. Not sure it has a long enough line to get from fence to generator. Also have a 12v oil extractor pump bought from Northern Tool.

 

[Oaktree]

I don't think those go for 74 hours. Think they're only good for around 4 or so.

Nor do they do much if the sun isn't shining.

 

[Ken45101]

You have a diesel gen? Is it whole house? Can you provide details? I'm looking into a 20kw system alternatives.

Thanks.

FWIW, I bought a Wintec 16kw PTO generator. It can run on any of the tractors although it's normally paired with the Kubota B2710. I don't have to worry about periodic running the generator or maintenance since the tractors get their regular maintenance. Diesel, of course, stores better than gas and I keep plenty on hand for the farm (200 gallon regular tank plus another 200 gallon reserve tank.) I would not want to store 200 gallons of gas!

The tractor/pto generator also gives me a mobile power source for anywhere on the farm. I can run a welder or plasma cutter wherever needed.

Actually this is the backup generator for longer outages. Normal short term outages are handled by a Honda EU3000i

Ken

 

[Larry Caldwell]

We were fine with the wood stove, LED camp lights and a couple Aladdins. Water is gravity feed from a 2500 gallon cistern. Refrigerator food went into coolers in a snow bank, and a little camp generator ran the freezer and router. The camp generator uses mixed gas, and will run 4.5 hours on a gallon. It also uses thye same mix as my chainsaw, which already has more hours on it than the generator. We lost a LOT of limbs. Power was only out for 2.5 days, so there was very little inconvenience.

 

[5030]

We have a 30 KW JD fired Generac 3 phase standby with an automatic vacuum transfer switch and it runs everything and feeds off my 500 gallon diesel bulk tank. It's as plug and play as you can get. I would never have a PTO driven genny. Too much hassle hooking it up and to get 60hz, you have to run your tractor at rated rpm all the time. My Generac is a 4 pole and spins at a leisurely 1800 rpm.

If I need remote power, I put my Champion Inverter in the back of the side by side with an extension cord which is a rare occurence. Honda's are way overpriced.

 

[ning]

Thinking about getting a pallet and some bolt-on pallet forks (maybe get pallet forks with new tractor planned for this year). Put sides on the pallet. Use grounding straps at service station to put on each 5 gallon container on the pallet to ground to metal on the truck while fueling in bed of the truck. Use pallet forks to lift out of back of truck and carry to fence where generator is. Use 12v or hand pump to transfer from containers to diesel tank. LOTS less expensive than buying anything else.

Would just remove and redo the pallet on my carryall that I seldom use now since I don't have the big garden down below to haul mulch to. Picture attached.

Got a Terra pump on order from Lowes. Wasn't in yesterday. Not sure it has a long enough line to get from fence to generator. Also have a 12v oil extractor pump bought from Northern Tool.

I'm not sure that grounding is really needed for diesel (from a practical standpoint). For legal issues it may be necessary.

 

[5030]

If you are even thinking about a new tractor this year, better order it now or you'll be waiting until next year to get it.

 

[Richard]

I would never have a PTO driven genny. Too much hassle hooking it up and to get 60hz, you have to run your tractor at rated rpm all the time.

Question for you/anyone...

Regarding PTO speed. I've wondered about getting a PTO generator. Do I want an IH 1066 screaming outside my window at pto speed? Not if I don't have to (it's got a straight pipe).

I use a hydraulically powered mower behind the tractor. As such, the mower "requires" a 4x "speed increaser" where it jumps the PTO speed up by 4x.

My understanding is the generator has to be at a specific RPM (or maybe a specific range, I don't really know) If the generator kicks in, pulls RPM's down on the tractor, it messes with the 60 Hz thing, I think. I understand that's not good.

With a tractor the size of the 1066, (I think it's 100 hp on the pto, or was it 125? I don't recall)

Is there a way to get a smaller generator than the 1066 would handle (I know you want to match your loads) So if I needed "X" KW and that would use a 75 HP machine (and I'm making up these numbers so please, nobody get all 60 Hz on me lol) Anyway, if generator "X" is good size and it requires 75 HP, if I have 100 HP, would that give me some wiggle room on the wondering of the RPM speed? (would it be more able to maintain a steady state)

Now, bring in the speed increaser.... if I've got the 100HP available AND it will allow me to go 4x on the PTO speed AND my needs are covered in theory by say, the 75 HP machine....

Could a setup like that work? Asking for trouble? Should I just rub some sticks together?

 

[RickB]

1. Figure the max load you want to run with the PTO generator including startup loads.
2. Size the generator for that load with a healthy margin.
3. Calculate the amount of PTO HP that generator will require at full load.
4. Determine whether the 1066 can produce that hp using the 1000 rpm PTO shaft running at 540 rpm. (Good chance the answer is yes)
5. Buy the generator and swap out the 1-3/8" x6 tractor end yoke for a 1-3/8" x21 yoke or a PTO half shaft with the correct 1000 rpm tractor end yoke.
6. Forget the 4:1 speed increaser.
7. Put a muffler on the 10 you will need it even at -+1300 ERPM.

 

[RalphVa]

If you are even thinking about a new tractor this year, better order it now or you'll be waiting until next year to get it.

Wanted to start looking but weather is not conducive to do that yet this year.

 

[Oaktree]

We were fine with the wood stove, LED camp lights and a couple Aladdins. Water is gravity feed from a 2500 gallon cistern. Refrigerator food went into coolers in a snow bank, and a little camp generator ran the freezer and router.

Same here. Though if the power is out, chances are the internet's out too so no need for a router.
During a long outage (we've only had a couple in the 17 years we've been here) I'll run the generator a couple times a day to keep the refrigerator & freezer cold but that's about it. Nothing here that requires it to run round the clock.