3-Point Hitch Fuel Consumption with PTO Generator on Mahindra 2538

[tracydj]

I have a WinPower 50kW pto alternator that I use for occasional standby power and way off distance electrical needs (like for an electric power washer to spray trees with or running my welder remotely). Believe me, you will probably NEVER come close to needing 15kW of juice. I usually run mine from a 35 hp JD 1070 and also from my tired 20 hp JD F-935 diesel lawnmower via the mower PTO and a 3:1 reduction gearbox. Neither machine even grunts when it gets to feel a starting load from the A/C compressor.

Fuel consumption is lower than 1 gal/hr because: 1) you probably will never be at engine full power output even though you will be at 540 pto rpm which is required to give you 60 Hz voltage. 2) You probably won't need to be running all the time anyways. Get water pressure, get heat or A/C, charge batteries, check the internet to get power restoration estimate, heat some food, save the strip steaks in the freezer. Then you shut down and wait a while. Buy some candles or oil lamps if the zombie apocalypse is forming. 3) may not be a good idea to run a lot of lights at night to remind the powerless that you have power. Strange things can happen if you advertise.

Best accessory is a Kill-A-Watt (costco or ebay) to measure volts and frequency instead of depending on an engine tachometer pointer. It just plugs into one of the AC outlets on the back of the alternator.

Just because the alternator is rated at 15kW, you don't need 30 hp to run it. Only if you need to draw 15 kW full time (like powering the entire ceiling light display at a Lowes or Home Depot or Menards). Check your electric bill to calculate how much juice you are actually making use of. Heck, you might need a bigger tractor !. Now watch how many replies will tell me I need a JD 4020 at 110 hp to keep my cell phone charged by means of my 50 kW Winpower. Right...

I am still a little confused on how to break down my electric bill. It will show my daily usage so I assume I could just divide that by 24 to get my hourly usage. Dividing by 24 wouldn't be completely accurate because of the majority of the usage happening during the day. Any thoughts?

 

[RNeumann]

My home is all electric and we live in the country so natural gas is out. I could potentially put a LP tank in but I plan on installing solar panels in the near future and want to try to stay away from non renewable gas if possible. I have a heat pump which pulls a huge amount of watts to start which is why I wanted to step up for the 10,000 watt unit.

We are in a very similar situation as I have a heat pump as well. Your machine will do it but it's a two person job-IMHO. One person will be on the tractor ready to adjust throttle and the other turns the heat pump on. If you don't do that the increased load will cause a decrease in RPM which causes a voltage drop. A momentary voltage drop (like being on shore power) is not great but the AC compressor/condenser can usually handle it. However repeatedly or for more than momentary periods will significantly shorten the life and or cause a failure.

The same thing (voltage drop) will happen when the water heater or range kicks on although those loads aren't as finicky. The motor loads from an oven with convection, refer, dryer etc also don't the voltage swings.

My plan is to use the wood burning stove and 120v electric heaters in the house to keep the chill off. I don't plan to run the AC/Heat Pump with the generator. I also have propane for water heater and oven/range and generator.

I see the savings with the PTO gen. If that's the route you want to go I'd get a governor for the tractor. I've never researched them but a google search would go a long way. I'd also call Winco directly. They have a good tech department and govern about every motor that leaves the place. I'm sure they could get you going fairly easily. Also verify the gen is 2 phase- I'm assuming at that size it is..... but verify as the heat pump, dryer, well (probably) and oven will need that for sure.

If you are going solar check out the Tesla batteries. They have dropped in price...however still pricy. I believe it's 2 phase, uses lithium batteries and is stepping the voltage DOWN instead of up-meaning the wiring and infrastructure is a reasonable size. Then you would only run the generator to charge the batteries, which is a consistent load....set it and forget it!

 

[bindian]

I never could understand why a PTO generator. Using it makes your tractor unavailable for storm debris cleanup or other storm related tasks. That is why I bought a 10hp diesel generator. It can run on biodiesel if needed,, but smells like french fries.
hugs, Brandi

 

[90cummins]

When I purchased it prior to Y2K I did a basic fuel consumption test for 8 hours.
My wife was doing laundry and using the electric clothes dryer 5.5kw along with most of the lights on (pre-cfl) and it used 5 gallons in 8 hours.
I have no idea what the actual load was but it was likely over 6kw.
I purchased a pto generator because it can sit indefinitely with no issues and my tractor is always serviced and operational.
I also have a large supply of diesel on hand so I could run for weeks if needed with no power limitations.
My generator is directly mounted on a 3pt hitch carrier that can be easily mounted or removed and I can use the tractor with the generator mounted by unplugging it.
I'm not concerned with the generator making my tractor unavailable, if it's stormin outside I'm inside.
All diesel tractors have constant speed governors and they will maintain speed as load varies.
Some are better than others but most would maintain the generator within acceptable limits of 58 to 62hz.
I set the speed or hz at 62~63hz with no load which puts the hz between 58 and 60 loaded.
For those that use cheap portables during power outages you would be surprised how poorly some generators maintain speed and voltage. Anyone using a generator must have a kilawatt neter to check voltage and hz to avoid damaging home electronics.
Running a pto generator with a compact tractor is more fuel efficient than a comparabily sized propane generator although not as convienet nor automatic.
I enjoy working on small diesel engines and generators and have built or aquired more generators than any sane person could need so I know the fuel consumption benefits and reliability of using small portable diesel generators.
Some people may be concerned about running up the hours on their tractor when in reality diesel tractors (engines) are built to run several thousands hours or more when properly maintained.
90cummins

 

[nybirdman]

When I purchased it prior to Y2K I did a basic fuel consumption test for 8 hours.
My wife was doing laundry and using the electric clothes dryer 5.5kw along with most of the lights on (pre-cfl) and it used 5 gallons in 8 hours.
I have no idea what the actual load was but it was likely over 6kw.
I purchased a pto generator because it can sit indefinitely with no issues and my tractor is always serviced and operational.
I also have a large supply of diesel on hand so I could run for weeks if needed with no power limitations.
My generator is directly mounted on a 3pt hitch carrier that can be easily mounted or removed and I can use the tractor with the generator mounted by unplugging it.
I'm not concerned with the generator making my tractor unavailable, if it's stormin outside I'm inside.
All diesel tractors have constant speed governors and they will maintain speed as load varies.
Some are better than others but most would maintain the generator within acceptable limits of 58 to 62hz.
I set the speed or hz at 62~63hz with no load which puts the hz between 58 and 60 loaded.
For those that use cheap portables during power outages you would be surprised how poorly some generators maintain speed and voltage. Anyone using a generator must have a kilawatt neter to check voltage and hz to avoid damaging home electronics.
Running a pto generator with a compact tractor is more fuel efficient than a comparabily sized propane generator although not as convienet nor automatic.
I enjoy working on small diesel engines and generators and have built or aquired more generators than any sane person could need so I know the fuel consumption benefits and reliability of using small portable diesel generators.
Some people may be concerned about running up the hours on their tractor when in reality diesel tractors (engines) are built to run several thousands hours or more when properly maintained.
90cummins

Well put,my sentiments exactly.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
I purchased a pto generator because it can sit indefinitely with no issues and my tractor is always serviced and operational.
I also have a large supply of diesel on hand so I could run for weeks if needed with no power limitations.
My generator is directly mounted on a 3pt hitch carrier that can be easily mounted or removed and I can use the tractor with the generator mounted by unplugging it.
I'm not concerned with the generator making my tractor unavailable, if it's stormin outside I'm inside.
All diesel tractors have constant speed governors and they will maintain speed as load varies.
Some are better than others but most would maintain the generator within acceptable limits of 58 to 62hz.
I set the speed or hz at 62~63hz with no load which puts the hz between 58 and 60 loaded.
For those that use cheap portables during power outages you would be surprised how poorly some generators maintain speed and voltage. Anyone using a generator must have a kilawatt neter to check voltage and hz to avoid damaging home electronics.
Running a pto generator with a compact tractor is more fuel efficient than a comparabily sized propane generator although not as convienet nor automatic.
<snip<

Also in my area there are far more well maintained tractors around than well maintained portable 12KW generators.
I've two tractors I can swap out to run the generator.

 

[zzvyb6]

I never could understand why a PTO generator. Using it makes your tractor unavailable for storm debris cleanup or other storm related tasks. That is why I bought a 10hp diesel generator. It can run on biodiesel if needed,, but smells like french fries.
hugs, Brandi

You can't pull a pin and pull out a plug and then clean up your gigantic pile of massive movable storm debris just to flush a toilet ?

 

[bindian]

You can't pull a pin and pull out a plug and then clean up your gigantic pile of massive movable storm debris just to flush a toilet ?

Not with a generator running. You can do one at a time, not both. What does flushing a toilet have to do with this thread?
hugs, Brandi

 

[dickfoster]

Not with a generator running. You can do one at a time, not both. What does flushing a toilet have to do with this thread?
hugs, Brandi

He could be on a well and with no power you have no water to flush with. One of the reasons I added some storage tanks that can use gravity alone to supply some water to the house. Enough to flush toilets, take a navy shower run the dishwasher, wash some clothes etc.

 

[buickanddeere]

Diesels, boilers and gas turbines are most efficient at or near full rated capacity . A small emissions diesel would be approx 13 to 15 HP per gallon of diesel per hour.