I contemplated buying a PTO driven genny but went the other way instead. When we loose power, it's usually in the dead of winter and I didn't want to be fiddling with a PTO unit when it's below freezing anyway.
I actually have 2 standby gen sets, a diesel powered Generac that is plumbed into my bulk diesel tank next to the shop that provides essentially 220 3 phase power and a propane fired Generac 17 KW unit for the farmhouse.
Both are very convenient and totally turn key. Have had them both for 15 years now with no issues other than regular maintenance and no power interruptions except for the 45 seconds it takes for them to fire up and assume the load and both are on vacuum isolated transfer switches and 100% hands off.
I don't want to fiddle with a PTO driven unit and having to hook it up plus I don't need to be running either one of the tractors 24-7 for who knows how long and stopping to fuel them back up and checking the fluid levels. Out here, when the utility fails, it's never a quick deal, usually days at a time.
JMO. What works for me, may not work for you.
I kinda' go with this sort of solution on my farm. But first, I would suggest the OP really look at what they are trying to do. Basically, what is your true emergency load requirement? An old rule of thumb for a whole house was about 80% of your service would ever be in play at the same time (and most times never even close to that).
So...how many 120V circuits could you really get by with? Yep, frig, freezer, microwave, safety lights, a little entertainment room stuff, bathroom. You don't really need much to get through an emergency. Rule of thumb, though, any resistance heater is going to take a full circuit...
Except for your 240V stuff. Heat pumps are heavy feeders, as are electric dryers, water heaters, and stoves. So wait on the clothes and try those delicious microwave dinners. Your water heater will hold heat for a while and there are other ways to heat water in small quantities.
Driving your heat pump will really upsize your generator requirements, though. If that's your only heat, you're gonna' get cold after awhile unless your generator can handle the start up and run load.
But some of us have other ways to heat. A wood stove, a gas heating stove, gas fireplace, gas boiler, etc. For example, this ancient 1840s house runs on several inverter heat pumps normally, but an ancient gas boiler with six zones can fire up and move heat around most of the house with almost no current (circulator pumps only really create a pressure differential to move water to zones). A gas fireplace and free standing gas heating stove back everything else up.
So, I can be quite comfortable with an 8K Generac propane unit I put in myself in 2009 (right after an ice storm had me out at all hours running portable generators - enough). It supplies (8) 120V circuits and keeps this house warm and safe automatically. Use synthetic oil, a battery heater, and block heater on the engine and...in 30 seconds she purrs like a kitten and the lights come on in an outage.
The nice thing with Generacs and others is you get a mandated Transfer Switch and also a "sidecar" add-on breaker box that the generator uses to power up the circuits you choose. All in one package.
And some of you may never need much more than a portable for a few hours (yeah, I have several as back-up). In KY we get ice storms, some severe. And a farm with a few folks on it may wait a long time while linemen take care of subdivisions, replete with lots of heat pumps and kids. And that's fine. And when those poor guys on the trucks show up after days in the cold, no matter if it's 3:00 AM, they get hot coffee, hot chocolate, and something to eat. Really tough job.
I guess what all that means is I really like an automatic generator and you really need to look at your personal situation in terms of need and cost - you can put a heck of a lot of money into something you might not need...
Best of Luck to the OP
