Another PTO Generator question

Soundguy · Feb 7, 2006

If we are talking about the JD letter series.. Like a 'B' for instance.. where the motor is tach'ed out at 900 rpm... I still feel that if you are running rated load for the hp available, and the governor on the tractor is holding the rpm steady.. you will have no problems. My B is decently strong.. I have no doubt that it is stronger than my 4 cyl 8n that runs at 2.5x the rpm..

While the lower engine rpm would be a problem in so much that a drop of 10rpm from the engine would be seen as almost 5rpm drop from the pto... If the tractor governor is keeping the rpm solid.. then it's not a problem. No more problem than a 1 cyl gas engine on a portable genny.. like a 3250 - 550 - 6500 watt job you get at a box store....

Soundguy

lens12 · Feb 7, 2006

I'm not speculating on if it will work evenly or not . I have run a generator on a JD60 & know the output is not smooth .

Soundguy · Feb 7, 2006

I'm not speculating either. My B has a rock solid enigine that will hold rpm.. perhaps your 60 wasn't up to the task? Or the genny was too much of a load? As of yet I have not put a full 12.5kw load on my genny.. probably only half that.. and at that level of load, my oscope, freq counter and peak/rms reading VOM say freq is as good as house current, and voltage stabilization ( passive /capacitive no less ) is as good as house power.

When I bought my genny ( a northstar unit ) I was concerned about the cleanliness of the output, and specifically set up some load tests. I use all my 20+ hp gas tractor as well as my big diesel... no noticible difference.

I think the key isue is electrical load. A low load like I was using or like a small 1 cyl lawnmower engin'ed portable generator may not be enough to heavilly load the genny.

Figuring very graciusly.. if you alloted 2 hp per kw produced.. 6kw only uses 12 hp.. and my b put out plenty more pto hp than that. Might not work as good at higher load rates.

At issue is number of generator poles. A unit with more poles will be less sensitive to rpm drop at the pto due to load increase and governor response. I.E. a 1800rpm unit vs a 3600rpm unit. A drop of 1 rpm at the pto is felt twice as much on the 3600 rpm unit...

I'd go with that conditional explanation.. but not a blanket " no 2 cyl engines' on a pto gen set... etc..

Soundguy

Cord · Feb 7, 2006

If you are going to buy a generator for a rainy day, that's nice. Be aware that you need to run the generator every 6 months or so so it won't loose it's magnetism. If it forgets that it's a generator, you'll need either a 110v source of power or another generator to reenergize your dead one. This could be interesting come a power outage. A generator is not something you buy and just throw on the shelf waiting to use.

CarlGlas · Feb 7, 2006

( If you are going to buy a generator for a rainy day, that's nice. Be aware that you need to run the generator every 6 months or so so it won't loose it's magnetism. If it forgets that it's a generator, you'll need either a 110v source of power or another generator to reenergize your dead one. This could be interesting come a power outage. A generator is not something you buy and just throw on the shelf waiting to use. )

And of course you are going to want to let the generator run with a load.

I bought a 15KW Guardian Ultra Source Portable Generator
long before I bought a tractor. But, it sure would have been nice to have a PTO or diesel instead.

Generators can be worth their weight in Gold. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

http://tinyurl.com/al8s4

shvl73 · Feb 7, 2006

Mine is one of the Protran series from Reliance as Norm's link shows. I bought it at CED electrical.

CarlGlas · Feb 7, 2006

( thanks, You wouldn't happen to know the average wattage draw of a well pump would ya? I have no clue what it would draw. Kinda hard to see the tag on it since it is 350 ft down a small hole. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

How Much Electricity Do You Need to Produce?

Wattage Calculator
http://tinyurl.com/8gcbo

Soundguy · Feb 8, 2006

Just a quick update. I emailed my JD tractor buddies about their thoughts on 2cyl's and pto gens. These are the verbatum results I got.

40, 50, 70D, 80, 435, 720, 730D All fine work horses for flicker free genney operation. Note: A few people were running about 10hp more pto power than needed for the generator at full load.

60 / 70 G, Note: they sometimes hunt causing flicker, when the tractor was at partial load. At full load, they seemed fine and solid.

Soundguy

sandman2234 · Sep 13, 2006

Another reason people want PTO generators, instead of a standalone portable one, could be simple...
I have a Steiner lawnmower with a Kubota diesel engine. It gets used pretty much at least twice a month, come rain or shine. I also drive a tractor trailer for a living, and bring it home every night with me. In the event of a major storm, hurricane, or just the power company blowing off steam, I can hook the lawnmower to my PTO generator, and run it for pennies. It will run about a day one the fuel in the tank before I have to start worrying about where to find diesel. Then I use the fuel in the John Deere, another 20 gallons. In the event of a major problem, I am sure my company would allow me to borrow enough fuel to keep it running. That means I have a 250 gallon storage tank in the driveway of FRESH fuel, should the need arise.
How can you be better prepared than that? My PTO generator is a small one, 10KW surge, 7.2 KW continous, but that is what would run on my lawnmower...
David from jax