John Deere 30KW liquid cooled generator

[pclausen]

Ok, so no basement install it is then!

Here's what I got to work with outside:

Another angle:

So perhaps tuck the new one in closer to the corner and then add a sloped roof coming off the cinder block?

 

[RoyJackson]

Any place under that deck would work and, if you add a lockable gate, the generator would be pretty secure yet allow easy access for installation and maintenance.
You'd still want CO monitors at various locations in your house...

 

[newbury]

This has been a pretty interesting and timely thread...

Although I think the genny pclausen is considering (in his first post) is a really nice unit (and tells me he has a lot more money then I do!!), I'd like to present an alternative. Buy a second (used) tractor to run a PTO generator exclusively. A used CUT or UT and PTO generator combination may be quite a bit less money then a dedicated whole house generator. You wouldn't really need 4WD...just a bare bones tractor, which should keep the purchase price reasonable. A tractor with adequate PTO HP to run a 30kW PTO genny is going to require 60 PTO HP (more or less).
This would keep the generator somewhat mobile and, when (and if) it comes to selling the equipment, you'd have more options.

just something to consider...

That was already presented, post 15

Dang, that would be an awesome ser up, but a lot of money. Wondering if at that price a pto gen would be a better option, you already have 2 tractors. And at over 16k$ i would think you can get a top shape use 2wd tractor plus a well known brand pto genny. Than you ll have portable diesel water cool generator with an engine that can last over 5000 hour and an other tractor that have some use when power is not out. Just a tought.

A quick search on Tractorhouse shows a number of 60HP plus 2WD tractors for < $10K, add say a NEW Winco 35PTOC-3 - 35 kW Tractor-Driven PTO Generator for $4K and you've got $2K leftover to build a shed for it. Or buy used, a Winco 35KW was recently on CL for $2,500.

 

[MotorSeven]

PC, you already have a tractor, so why not just get a PTO generator? I have a 24KW Winco that I run with my tractor at about 1800rpm which will burn less than a gallon an hr.

A 40KW will run you only $4K.
40-59 kW 540 RPM PTO Generators @ Electric Generators Direct.com - 50 KW 540 RPM PTO Generators, 45 KW 540 RPM PTO Generator, 40-59 KW 540 RPM PTO Generators, 50 KW 540 RPM PTO Generator, 45 KW 540 RPM PTO Generators, 40-59 KW 540 RPM PTO Generator,

Having a big dedicated diesel engine sitting around year after year with very little use seems to me to be a waste....jmho

 

[pclausen]

I had a 25kw (50kw surge) PTO generator for many years. I had it connected to my JD 4700, which was before they had 540E, so I had to run the tractor almost wot (2400 rpm or so). Noisy and consumed a lot of fuel. Only had a 12 gallon tank on the CUT.

Sold it on craigslist a couple of years ago after I got married and started a family. No way to wife would be able to unhook whatever I have on the back of the tractor and connect a PTO gen and then tie it into the house. If I was still living by myself, a PTO could have been an option, but I need a fully automatic solution.

A more or less dedicated beater tractor w/ PTO genny rigged to autostart and come to just the right RPM after say 30 seconds of warm up might be an option.

Lost power again last night from 7pm until 4am. How do I know? Because I had to nurse my poor Generac though the outage, adding oil and letting it cool down every hour or so. It is just about gone...

 

[murphy1244]

Peter, Can you change the motor in your old one or are you looking more power?

 

[Rainbody]

Don't take down the reef! I took down mine and I've been unable to restart it due to new baby/wife/job/projects.
Hope you get a stable power source. I always wanted one of those low speed yanmars for backup.

 

[murphy1244]

Don't take down the reef! I took down mine and I've been unable to restart it due to new baby/wife/job/projects.
Hope you get a stable power source. I always wanted one of those low speed yanmars for backup.

That is one expensive hobby, I had 10 grand in my tank..

 

[pclausen]

Ok, so I talked to my mother (she also lost power last night), and she made me a deal. I can have her 15KW generator if I take it away and install a new one for her!

Diesel is not practical for her, so it will be another LP powered one. She also has 400A service going to a pair of 200A panels. Budget is around $6k, including transfer switch, etc. It needs to be 20kw to pull everything, so that narrows down the choice to one of these (Generac only has 3 year warranty, the Cummins Onan is over her budget once you factor in a 400A transfer switch):

Kohler 20RESA 20KW Generator + Kohler RXT-JFNC-0400A automatic transfer switch = $6,184.66 (norwall.com)

Or

Briggs & Stratton 40305b 20kw w/ dual 200A ATS 71058 = $5,799.00 (norwall.com)

The Kohler has a 5 year / 2000 hour warranty vs. 4 years on the Briggs. Kohler is slightly louder and consumes slightly more fuel. The new dual 200A transfer switch looks cool on the Briggs. Both have really cool web GUIs and neat features.

So once I get her squared away, I'll have the 8kw and 15kw LP generators at my house. Hopefully I can get them both in decent enough running condition to serve the needs at my house. Like setup the 8kw to run just the 24/7 stuff and the 15kw to come online to handle the 3 and 5 ton AC units?

 

[pacerron]

Earlier on this thread it appears there are a lot of folks like me that just have a 6200 watt range air cooled gasoline engine generator for back up. We had to use ours for 5 days of outage last week from the big storm. It will run the 450' deep water well, deep freeze chest, 2 refrigerator freezers, TV, lights, microwave etc. Of course not the heat pumps for AC. In the winter we have a back-up wood furnace, but in the summer we just try to stay cool in the basement or use the old technique of opening the upstairs windows and the basement door on the main level and let it draw some cool air from the basement.

My main question concerns electronic gear..........
Even though my main pc and the modem to the satellite receiver go through an APC battery back up, which gives me time for a proper shutdown, if we are home when an outage occurs, I have always been reluctant to run the pc and satellite modem off the
generator, so I just turn off, unplug the APC and refrain from using them when on generator power.
It is apparent that "pclausen" runs all his electronic gear, including heat pumps which have electronic circuits as well. Most common appliances have a lot of electronics these days, too.
I'm sure the big generator units he is dealing with have better voltage control than the little standby intermittent use generators most folks have.
I am curious, without trying to steer his thread in a different direction since clean voltage is important in all cases, as to what you other folks do about running computers, modems and other electronic equipment off of portable or even whole house generators and if so have any problems developed in the equipment?
Ron