PTO generator

[crazyal]

A rule of thumb I was told by the well drillers was 3x. What ever the current draw under full load for the motor should be multiplied by 3 to determine the inrush current. If you look at the Generac manual for their generators confirm this. Here's a Generic manual for a 5000w/ 6500w portable generator. In the table on page 7 for submersible pumps they say 1500w for 1/2hp, 2000w for 1hp, and 2800 for 1 1/2hp with an asterisk. At the bottom of the table they have this "* Allow 3 times the listed watts for starting these devices".

I would use their numbers as a rough guide but I can tell you that my 4200w/ 5000w surge generator is at it's limits starting my 1 1/2hp well pump. You can do what ever math you want but in the real world I can hear the engine work hard. If it's at night and I have a light on it'll dim the light quite a bit when dealing with the inrush and then just slightly as it steadies out. Once the pressure switch kicks off you can see the light get a little brighter. Since I had the generator before the well and it's in great shape I'll use it for now. But if I had to buy (or give advice) a generator the smallest I would get would be 5kw for a 1 1/2hp pump.

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/manuals/5623manual.pdf

 

[stonypass]

As long as we are talking generators,I'm considering a portable gas generator for use during outages.My main concern is how much current is needed to start my well pump.I have a 450' well with a 1 1/2HP Goulds pump.It runs fine with a 240V 15 amp circuit breaker.I really don't need to keep everything in the house running all the time,just a little furnace here,or the fridge a little,etc.I just don't want to hurt the well pump.Would be happy to turn everything off just to pump some water.I've been looking at 5500 run/6900 peak or 6500 run/8000 peak units.Would one of these be sufficient?Or simply how many peak watts needed to start my pump?
Yes,I'm asking this on a tractor forum.We rock here!Thank you in advance for your replies.

My pump is a 1 1/2hp 10gpm pump down 500' with about another 30 feet up to the house. The static level of the well is between 50' and 100'. I have a 4200 watt generator and when the pump first turns on it's about all the generator can do. I would say a minimum of 5000 watts would be needed IMO. I use mine and never had a problem but I do have a large storage tank so I don't need to run the pump very often.

Just set up my home with a 12/15KW PTO generator and finding out the actual draw of items in our house was a priority for me.
We also have a 1 1/2hp deep well that's 650' deep with the water at 160', the clamp meter I bought at HF shows it draws 9.5amps when running.
Our well service who installed it said you need 5kw for our set up and I think that's about right considering the start up draw.

After testing I find that with 12KW I can run the well and any other single high usage item (Clothes Dryer, Range/Stove, or 4ton AC Unit) along with lights, fridge, freezer and Electronics with no issues.

 

[Rob-D]

Just set up my home with a 12/15KW PTO generator and finding out the actual draw of items in our house was a priority for me.
We also have a 1 1/2hp deep well that's 650' deep with the water at 160', the clamp meter I bought at HF shows it draws 9.5amps when running.
Our well service who installed it said you need 5kw for our set up and I think that's about right considering the start up draw.

After testing I find that with 12KW I can run the well and any other single high usage item (Clothes Dryer, Range/Stove, or 4ton AC Unit) along with lights, fridge, freezer and Electronics with no issues.

If I had my way I'd run springs over wells.I have several springs here and one that runs even when things dry up, the good thing is that it's above the house so I can gravity feed it, although I also have to dig down about 4 feet to keep it from freezing. My neighbor has one that he lets run constantly so it never freezes. Everything you can do to reduce your usage extends how long you can be without grid power.

 

[sdkubota]

Generally most shallow water is contaminated with something or another...maybe not enough to kill or significately harm you though. Water from deeper wells is generally much better quality. All water should be tested as 80% of all wells have contaminates.

 

[Rob-D]

Generally most shallow water is contaminated with something or another...maybe not enough to kill or significately harm you though. Water from deeper wells is generally much better quality. All water should be tested as 80% of all wells have contaminates.

I don't trust either. We have two filters and UV before the tap.

 

[sdkubota]

I don't trust either. We have two filters and UV before the tap.

Many contaminates can not be removed by filtering. It is well worth the $50 to have your water tested by a laboratory to let you know if everything is good or you need to get a different water source. There are areas with elevated selenium that will kill you dead in short time. You probably don't have that problem since you are still here. children can be much more sensitive to certain contaminants and a parent needs to know what they are drinking.

 

[PineRidge]

Called customer service and after some checking she said the supplier shipped out some with an inappropriate pto shaft. They are going to send me a new one. When I talk with a live person at Farm King they couldn't be nicer...their IT must be a real joy given my email responses.

Glad they are making it right for you.

 

[Rob-D]

Many contaminates can not be removed by filtering. It is well worth the $50 to have your water tested by a laboratory to let you know if everything is good or you need to get a different water source. There are areas with elevated selenium that will kill you dead in short time. You probably don't have that problem since you are still here. children can be much more sensitive to certain contaminants and a parent needs to know what they are drinking.

I had it tested 20 years ago when I built the house but that's a good idea and I'll have it tested again.

 

[Slab]

That's great IF the PTO HP can handle the lack of gear reduction. PTO generators run ~2600 engine speed to 540 gen speed. A PTO HP rating of 25 at 540 rpm from an engine spinning at 2600 rpms has greater torque than the same engine running at 1000 rpms with a PTO of 540. Think of your car trying to pull you up a hill from a dead stop in top gear.

So, are you saying I won't have to run my tractor at 3200 rpm to get the 540 pto speed make the gen run properly.

 

[aczlan]

So, are you saying I won't have to run my tractor at 3200 rpm to get the 540 pto speed make the gen run properly.

Correct, but you will only have 1/2 the PTO HP available to work with.

Aaron Z