PTO generator for YM2210

edjones72 · Mar 14, 2009

I'm in the market for a PTO generator for my 2210. Does anyone have experience with this? I've looked at Northstar and Winco. Any opinions would be very welcome.

Eric

lens12 · Mar 18, 2009

Don't get to big of a generator. you don't want to lug the tractor.

edjones72 · Mar 19, 2009

What about running a PTO generator in a different PTO gear to run the tractor at lower RPM's. Anyone have experience with that ?

Eric

lens12 · Mar 19, 2009

That is a good way to lug the tractor. Peak pto hp is near full throttle. If you get a power surge at low rpms, the tractor will not be able to handle it as well as at high rpms since you'll be so low on the hp curve. Also ,since this is a 2 cylinder tractor, at low rpms, generator output will not be smooth. It won't hurt lights & heaters, but it won't be good on motors & especially electronics. I had a neighbor that used his 2 cylinder JD60(top rpm 1200) to run his generator. You could see the lights flicker.

nostep · Mar 19, 2009

If you buy a generator, make sure you know what it's supposed to spin at. They are usually 3600 RPM for small engine generators, but you may find some 1800 RPM ones. If you put a higher RPM generator on your 1200 RPM PTO, you can definately wreck speed sensitive motors you are powering. You will have to spin up the generator with a chain drive or a double belt. If you do that you'll also have to make sure the internal bearings can handle the side load. Many direct drive generators out there rely on the bearing of the motor driving them direct (no side load). You will need to provide a bearing block to carry the side load.

Or, you can buy a small generator for a few hundred bucks and carry it with the Tractor

edjones72 · Mar 23, 2009

I realized Thursday why I do not need to rely on a PTO generator for home back-up. While tilling, my water pump seized. If this had happened while running a PTO generator unattended, I would be the sad owner of a seized or badly damaged engine. There is something to be said for oil and temp protective devices on unattended engines. I'll probably still buy a small PTO generator for welding and pumping up one remote well pump but never unattended. Thanks!

Eric

Tom_Veatch · Mar 25, 2009

edjones72 said:
I'm in the market for a PTO generator for my 2210. Does anyone have experience with this? I've looked at Northstar and Winco. Any opinions would be very welcome.

Eric

I have a 12KW Winco for my 2220. I bought it for insurance against power outages, and it has worked quite well for that. In the 7 years, more or less, that I've owned it, we've not lost electrical power for more than a hour or two at a time. Excellent insurance, but little actual experience using it.

As a general rule of thumb, your tractor needs to produce about 2 Engine HP for each KW generated. Since you have 22HP at the PTO, a little more at the engine, you should be able to handle up to a 12KW generator with your tractor.

Don't even think about trying to run the tractor at a lower rpm and higher pto setting. It's all about power. You have to develop enough power at the PTO to run the generator. You might be able to do it with one of those triple-articulated railroad locomotive sized tractors, but if you're thinking about doing it with a 2220, you can figure on getting no more than 2 or 3 KW out of your generator no matter what it's rated to produce. Your tractor simply won't develop enough power at a high idle RPM to produce more electrical power that that.