Generator 15KW PTO Generator Harbor Freight

[bjmsam]

Here is an interesting read that I bookmarked before buying the PTO generator from HF, which has an AVR (I have not pursued adjusting the voltage regulator since out of the box it generates 249 VAC at 60 Hz as shown in my video above).

Tractor-Driven Generators: Producing Quality Power

I use an APC Line-R power conditioner on my sensitive electronics circuit but not out of any particular concern regarding the output of the generator.

 

[buickanddeere]

Looks good . I just can't recommend loading those "consumer grade " generators continuously above 80% of full rated current .

 

[Soundguy]

I'd agree on that 80% number. Its a safe rule of thumb for long-ER service life.

 

[Soundguy]

Yup, stuff with switching or triac based supplies, in many cases can handle 90-300vac.

Also tv's with h-osc control don't care as much about freq.

I disagree with everyone here who thinks TVs and computers are that sensitive to their input. As a general rule, outside bad harmonics, they use power supplies that really don't care about waveform or voltage/etc. as it's all rectified and regulated to the correct voltage. So, operating on a PTO generator as fine as long as it stays close.

If your tractor is underpowered, you can run into bigger issues. If the generator is able to stall the tractor, or just lug it, voltage and frequency (and, current) output will suffer or fall off as it stalls, which CAN cause problems. You really want it to run and run at roughly the correct speed at all times. The AC is big item, a fridge other than the initial startup current is not. If you find you don't have the power to run everything at once (we're not sure what your needs are or the size of your AC), you may need to shut off the AC breaker while on generator power. Maybe not - 10k is plenty to run my house + AC.

The only thing you can really buy to protect your stuff from brownout/etc. is an online UPS. They are very expensive and I would say completely unnecessary.

I personally have a 20kw PTO generator, and my plan is to put a 100A contractor on a voltage and frequency-sensitive switch, so if something goes wrong it immediately cuts the power.

 

[Bill Stecik]

I bought an old but unused winpower 3 point pro 15kw at a farm auction for my son . It works great and he has used it a couple of times in outages . A must for every small tractor owner .

 

[MattEffinCameron]

bumping this old thread with a couple questions...

first, I have a kubota b2920 which supposedly has 21 PTO HP. What is the best/biggest generator I can run off of that?

another question...I believe I have seen reference in reading through this thread (didnt read through today but know i have in the past) to drawing too much current bogging down the tractor (or stalling it out?) if there is not enouogh power? Can someone tell me how this is possible? I guess in my mind the generator was some sort of simple thing where magnets are being spun in a copper cylinder or whatever. I could understand where to generate more power there might be a larger mess of magnets which weighs more and thus requires more HP to rotate....but would think that if you can rotate the magnets at a set speed, the unit will generate a set amount of electricity...and if appliances draw too much, there will not be enough in the system so you will create a "brown out". This simple (and certainly flawed) understanding of how the generator works does not explain how anything the appliances are doing, could put any additional mechanical load on the tractor to bog it down or stall it or something? Just curious

and finally...the house we bought is prewired with a transfer switch in the basement and a connection outside for a generator...can I connect a PTO generator to this system as I would a "permanent" generator?

Thanks

 

[Sawyer Rob]

bumping this old thread with a couple questions...

first, I have a kubota b2920 which supposedly has 21 PTO HP. What is the best/biggest generator I can run off of that?

another question...I believe I have seen reference in reading through this thread (didnt read through today but know i have in the past) to drawing too much current bogging down the tractor (or stalling it out?) if there is not enouogh power? Can someone tell me how this is possible? I guess in my mind the generator was some sort of simple thing where magnets are being spun in a copper cylinder or whatever. I could understand where to generate more power there might be a larger mess of magnets which weighs more and thus requires more HP to rotate....but would think that if you can rotate the magnets at a set speed, the unit will generate a set amount of electricity...and if appliances draw too much, there will not be enough in the system so you will create a "brown out". This simple (and certainly flawed) understanding of how the generator works does not explain how anything the appliances are doing, could put any additional mechanical load on the tractor to bog it down or stall it or something? Just curious

and finally...the house we bought is prewired with a transfer switch in the basement and a connection outside for a generator...can I connect a PTO generator to this system as I would a "permanent" generator?

Thanks

21 pto hp, with all the loss', will put out 10,500 watt from a gen set... You can hook a bigger gen set on your pto, but pulling more than 10.5K will first start pegging your governor out on your tractor, then over loading it. Pulling more power yet, will slow the engine until it stalls out...

You can hook a much bigger gen set up, but you just won't be able to pull much more than 10.5K out of it. Sizing a gen set a little big, is a good idea though, as the gen set will last longer.

Yes, you can hook it to the same transfer switch that was used to power the house before.....assuming it's a manual transfer switch, or can be used manually...

SR

 

[bjmsam]

An AC generator uses induction to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. The tractor must spin the generator fast enough to alternate the current 60 times per second (or 50 Hz depending on where you live). Adding electrical load to the circuit increases the strength of the magnetic field, which makes the generator harder to spin, thus requiring more power to maintain adequate speed. Excessive demand can damage an undersized generator and stall an undersized tractor.

How Electricity Works - Generators

Common Questions on Generator and Motor Operation - Question No. 7: How do AC generators control vars, voltage, and power?

Example: Overloading old motor

 

[Reg]

bumping this old thread with a couple questions...

first, I have a kubota b2920 which supposedly has 21 PTO HP. What is the best/biggest generator I can run off of that?

another question...I believe I have seen reference in reading through this thread (didnt read through today but know i have in the past) to drawing too much current bogging down the tractor (or stalling it out?) if there is not enouogh power? Can someone tell me how this is possible? I guess in my mind the generator was some sort of simple thing where magnets are being spun in a copper cylinder or whatever. I could understand where to generate more power there might be a larger mess of magnets which weighs more and thus requires more HP to rotate....but would think that if you can rotate the magnets at a set speed, the unit will generate a set amount of electricity...and if appliances draw too much, there will not be enough in the system so you will create a "brown out". This simple (and certainly flawed) understanding of how the generator works does not explain how anything the appliances are doing, could put any additional mechanical load on the tractor to bog it down or stall it or something? Just curious

and finally...the house we bought is prewired with a transfer switch in the basement and a connection outside for a generator...can I connect a PTO generator to this system as I would a "permanent" generator?

Thanks

Additional electrical load translates to additional mechanical load, i.e .there is no "free lunch" or perpetual motion machines would WORK.

As to how/where this all happens ...duhh, I think it all starts out about like;
As you draw more current that produces more back emf. i.e. there is increased electromagnetic resistance to the path of the magnets as they fly past the coils.
Something like that, but it has been a LONG TIME since I had that text book open.

 

[MattEffinCameron]

thanks for the info guys...I think that concept of the electro magnetic resistance increasing with current being drawn and thus making the magnets more difficult to rotate is the missing link in my understanding

So then this is less an issue of how big a generator you buy, and more an issue of how many appliances/devices you simultaneously run off of the generator?

Is there any scientific way to monitor the amount of load you are putting on the system? Or should I just shut down breakers when running off the generator and only turn on those that I am accounting for as I manually calculate load?