anybody mount a electric generator?

[rmcconnell]

I've seen belt driven generators for sale that generate 10,000 Watts. These are connectable to tractors. Has anybody bought and adapted a generator to run off the PT hydraulic system?

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

rmcconnell, I think this may be what your thinking about

PTO Generators

 

[MossRoad]

No one that I know of. There would be a few issues to overcome.

Most standard tractors come with a setting on the tachometer that indicated 540RPM on the PTO shaft. PTO generators are meant to run at that RPM, so they would work well in that setting... just crank up the engine and adjust the throttle to 540 RPM on the PTO and off you go.

To get a hydraulic motor to turn at the proper RPM (or turn something to get the proper RPM) that the generator needs to run at would require either a tachometer on the shaft of the generator or a frequency meter on the output of the generator.

One thing that comes to mind is that every time we have a major power outage, we have wind damage or lots of snow. I don't want to tie up my tractor with a generator in those situations. That is about the only thing that I don't want my Power Trac to do for me. It has replaced just about everything else as a power source, though. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[BAGTIC]

Personally, I would be reluctant to depend on a PTO for general backup power.

When it is in use the tractor is effectively unavailable for use.

Power outages are generally unplanned. Unless the tractor is hooked up whenever it is not being used there would be a delay in getting power restored while hooking it up. With my luck it would happened during a blizzard.

Hours spent generating power are hours off the effective life of the tractor engine.

For the cost involved one can buy a dedicated back up power plant.

go

 

[rmcconnell]

I was in a wedding a few months ago that was held at the grooms parents' house. The transformer on the utility pole failed just as it was getting dark. They hooked up a tractor with a shaft driven generator and saved the day. When I saw the 10KW (max) generator for $400 I thought I could adapt it (or something similar) to the hydraulic lines on my PT422. It would have to be designed for the PT422 hydraulic flow rate.

However, for about the same cost I should be able to get a stand alone (although not as high a KW) and not worry about hours on the PT422 or the need for it elsewhere.

 

[MossRoad]

Ahhh, the old 10KW for $400 toy. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

It could be done. You'd need a hydraulic motor and some hoses and fittings.

They make hydraulic motors with PTO shafts sticking out of them. Then you'd need a driveshaft to go between them.

The most complicated parts would be figuring out what size hydraulic motor will get you in the ballpark of 540RPM at the rated flow of the PT, which should be something like 8GPM @ 2500PSI. If you go too low RPM, you will not get the proper frequency out of the generator. Too high RPM and you could throttle back, as long as it still puts out enough torque to turn the generator under load.

I would still get some sort of meters to measure output. It can be done, just might cost almost as much as a new generator. Hydraulic motors aren't cheap.

Anyone rememeber that post with the 3pt hitch with hydraulic motor drive for skid steers to allow 3PT shaft powered implements to be used on a skid steer? Could be worth a search to satisfy your question. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif