PTO Generator Questions

[ponytug]

Three thoughts: If you want to power your three phase pump, you probably need a three phase generator, but that may involve trade offs for everything else as most three phase is three phase "Wye" that produces 208/120, rather than "Delta" which can produce 240/120. Or get a variable frequency drive that accepts single phase and outputs three phase and keep it plugged in to keep the capacitors good. In both cases, check what your pump needs.
Second not every air conditioner works well with soft or hard start units, so check your particular model before going down that path.
Third, it is probably worth doing an energy budget for what you need to run and what you want to run. It may be quite different from what you think. e.g. our house idles along at about 200W, so the microwave (1500W) is a big draw, and the furnace is only 500W. The big, big, user is our AC, which we decided not to run without grid power. As a result, we can get by just fine on a 4000W generator, though our 6500W diesel generator handles the microwave and motor (booster pump, furnace) start up loads much better. This definitely a YMMV item.

All the best,

Peter

 

[chamjoe]

Three thoughts: If you want to power your three phase pump, you probably need a three phase generator, but that may involve trade offs for everything else as most three phase is three phase "Wye" that produces 208/120, rather than "Delta" which can produce 240/120. Or get a variable frequency drive that accepts single phase and outputs three phase and keep it plugged in to keep the capacitors good. In both cases, check what your pump needs.
Second not every air conditioner works well with soft or hard start units, so check your particular model before going down that path.
Third, it is probably worth doing an energy budget for what you need to run and what you want to run. It may be quite different from what you think. e.g. our house idles along at about 200W, so the microwave (1500W) is a big draw, and the furnace is only 500W. The big, big, user is our AC, which we decided not to run without grid power. As a result, we can get by just fine on a 4000W generator, though our 6500W diesel generator handles the microwave and motor (booster pump, furnace) start up loads much better. This definitely a YMMV item.

All the best,

Peter

Thanks. I’ve got lots to run. I’m just going to ignore the 3ph irrigation pump as that’s the only thing running it. Last question. Should I get a 540 or 1000 RPM gen? They have the same tractor hp requirements so while my gut says to go with 1000rpm I’m not sure why. Btw, I’m leaning on the 27.5kw winco.

oh and my estimated max run load is ~15KW but the cost increase to go more to 25kw isn’t much so I figured why not.

 

[ponytug]

Personally, I would get a 540 on the thought that you could throttle down a 1000rpm PTO to 540 for a quieter, and slightly more fuel efficient generation, especially if you aren't using the full 15/25kW of demand most of the time. I would get an inexpensive frequency meter that you can read from the seat of your tractor to set the rpms/ frequency accurately. Wincos have a good reputation, but I haven't personally used one in decades.
I would also take a quick look at Craigslist / eBay/ auctions for used diesel standby generators. They can go for really cheap, and they are usually very lightly used, but it depends on your local market. Here Craigslist is pricey, but auctions are cheap.
Finally, before you pull the trigger, have a look at other generators one last time. (Propane, gasoline...) Sometimes I can get so far down a path that I forget to double check the alternatives.

All the best,

Peter

 

[chamjoe]

Personally, I would get a 540 on the thought that you could throttle down a 1000rpm PTO to 540 for a quieter, and slightly more fuel efficient generation, especially if you aren't using the full 15/25kW of demand most of the time. I would get an inexpensive frequency meter that you can read from the seat of your tractor to set the rpms/ frequency accurately. Wincos have a good reputation, but I haven't personally used one in decades.
I would also take a quick look at Craigslist / eBay/ auctions for used diesel standby generators. They can go for really cheap, and they are usually very lightly used, but it depends on your local market. Here Craigslist is pricey, but auctions are cheap.
Finally, before you pull the trigger, have a look at other generators one last time. (Propane, gasoline...) Sometimes I can get so far down a path that I forget to double check the alternatives.

All the best,

Peter

Thanks for the tips. You might be right on the 540. I’m definitely worried about noise so I will be keeping on the Htz. I’ve even looked at directly buying mil surplus gens but I’ve got 3 meters on-site and I’m about to have a fourth so the idea that I can plug and play at different locations without adding a new motor to service myself seems like a winner especially for ~$3k.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Thanks for the response. What HP and KW you running? Does it really strain your lower HP tractors?

Like was already said, the generator doesn't turn hard without a load on it. As the load increases, you need more HP to keep up with the load.

For light loads, I run my Winco 15kw pto generator with my 12.5 pto hp tractor. If I want to run a bigger load, I just run the generator with a bigger tractor.

At 12.5 pto hp, I can easily pull 6,000 watts out of my generator, and that's more electricity than I "need" to run my whole house during an outage.

SR

 

[Larry Caldwell]

If you have HP to spare, a 540 rpm generator on a 1000 rpm shaft lets you reduce engine speed and save fuel. If you are pushing the engine, there's no difference. My little Kubota has to run at 2200 rpm to generate 15 kw, but a 60 hp tractor might only have to run 1100 rpm on a 1000 rpm PTO.

Plus, every tractor has a 540 rpm PTO. 1000 rpm not so much. If you buy a 1000 rpm generator, you limit the tractors that will run it at any load.

 

[workinonit]

I have a 25 kW Winco. I mounted it on a trailer with a distribution load center and a 100 amp welding recepticle setup with a matching one in my shop so all I have to do is plug and kill the mains on my 2 200 amp panels. I have an LED wired to the top of the meter base so I know when grid power is back on. I ran that generator supplying my whole house on my old JD 5310 (55 HP) using economy PTO at 1700 RPM. Never had it bog down at all. My new tractor is a 5090 so there's no issue running it now. Mine has a frequency/volt meter installed on it. I check it with a Fluke everytime I run it to make sure the meter is still in cal. My 5310 didn't vary the voltage at all when I loaded the gen up. Good governor I guess.