Questions about YM226

[California]

For small power tools a 12v -> 120v inverter might be sufficient.

I use a small inverter similar to this one to power two chargers for my Ryobi cordless tools, including a chainsaw. Two batteries are on the chargers while a third one is in use. (Operating the chargers can be done with a smaller inverter than one sized for running 110v power tools directly).

 

[jeff9366]

Here is some basic data from TractorData.com:

TractorData.com Yanmar YM226 tractor information

 

[Torx]

Thanks Cali. I want to use a electric chainsaw. I am a recently disabled veteran and I cant lift a gas powered chainsaw or weed-eaters. I also like the idea of having some backup power to my house. No central heat or A/C. Maybe a window unit A/C or a space heater and some household necessities. I may be better off with a gas powered portable weekender style generator.

 

[kenmac]

For small power tools a 12v -> 120v inverter might be sufficient.

I use a small inverter similar to this one to power two chargers for my Ryobi cordless tools, including a chainsaw. Two batteries are on the chargers while a third one is in use. (Operating the chargers can be done with a smaller inverter than one sized for running 110v power tools directly).

You are lucky that you can use a regular inverter,,,,There are some of the cordless batt, charges that will only work with pure sine wave inverters. My Mikata is this way

 

[kenmac]

Don't know what you intend to power up in your home incase of power outage, but you'll have to add up the amps on the items (appliances)you intend to power during a power outage. With a 5500 watt generator , you should have no problems operating your 110 appliances in your home. It will be difficult trying to operate 200v appliances on a 30 amp circuit which is what a 5500 watt genset is

 

[Torx]

Don't know what you intend to power up in your home incase of power outage, but you'll have to add up the amps on the items (appliances)you intend to power during a power outage. With a 5500 watt generator , you should have no problems operating your 110 appliances in your home. It will be difficult trying to operate 200v appliances on a 30 amp circuit which is what a 5500 watt genset is

Thanks for the responses.
I have to go by the old electricians rule of V x A = W volts times amps equals watts. So I guess watts divided volts equals amps and so forth.
My Electric Remington chainsaws info plate says 120vac at 9.5 amps so about 1140 continuous. I'm sure it has pretty bad spikes at startup and during heavy use. Probably get by with a 1500 watt, but like kenmac says it will be hard to figure up different voltage and high wattage home appliances if I want to multiuse an expensive and getting heavier portable generator.
I live in the South and we had a straight line wind storm in August a few years back. Thousands were w/o power and I went 16 days in 100 deg.weather,living out of an ice chest. I had cold water at low pressure to get ready for work and the base had deisel generators so the computer server rooms were nice and cool. But on day 14 I found a generator for sale (finally). I had a small a/c window unit and I hooked it to generator, shut the doors and as soon as I fell asleep, the generator died. Oil was fine, fuel was fine. It wouldn't start, never again. Not a returnable item. It would make a nice boat anchor.
Sorry for long boring story, but I've had a bad feeling for gas powered, weekender style generators.
I wouldn't mind spending the money for a PTO generator and doing the wiring to power at least the 120 volt side of my house. I could fix a 3 point mount or use a small trailer to haul generator, fuel, tools etc. I could power a remote barn I use now to do some daylight hour car and tractor work in, and have an air-conditioning/ heated and well lit barn to hide away in at night. Also could haul it and use electric tools in the middle of nowhere.
Sorry posters, I just didn't know PTO generators existed and at $1500 from what I understand, you get a lot of current for your buck. We had a series of smallish ice storms last weekend that left my house without power for several hours each day and left me scrambling to ice down the contents of my freezer and fridge.
I'm gonna keep my eyes out in the Classified sections and online sales forums, and price new but local models. Also be studying up as much as possible so I know what else might be needed to do what I need to get done.
Thanks for all of your help and if anyone has been down the PTO generator road lately, please chime in.
The links to previous posts and the manufacturers web pages have really been helpful, and y'all's helpful replies are greatly appreciated.
Peace,
Torx

 

[California]

Just thinking out loud here, hopefully somebody has done this and can fine-tune it:

I would mount a pto generator on a carryall, at pto height, behind a quickhitch. Reasoning - because in many storms where the power is out you will need to detach the generator and go use the tractor for a couple of hours to re-open your driveway etc. And the carryall while resting on the ground will absorb the torque from the pto, so you don't need elaborate backhoe-like feet or similar to control torque. A carryall with a big deck for carrying things might be a good idea, if the generator will be driven out to remote areas for projects. Either a minimal size carryall or a big-deck one will store in less space than a dedicated trailer - and it won't have trailer tires as another responsibility to maintain.

I have a carryall that is simply an old plywood panel nailed across a pallet. I carry it with rear forks that I cobbled together one day. (Photo 3 just for fun). It is my most-used implement - example. When I don't need it I stand it on edge out of the way.

Anyhow, that's how I would do it. YMMV.

 

[284 International]

I found a new, in-the-box 10 kW generator head for a very reasonable price on craigslist. I put small diameter sprocket on the generator input shaft, and a large diameter sprocket (3.6 times as many teeth as the smaller one) on a parallel shaft, with a 6 spline male PTO end on the shaft. This let me run the generator on the 1000 RPM PTO setting and obtain 3600 generator RPM.

I built a simple box frame, with the intent of storing a dedicated fuel jug, some extension cords, a multi-meter, flashlights, etc in one place. I mounted the lower pins, set up the top link mounting point so that it would always lift parallel to the ground and not bind the PTO shaft, etc. This all seemed wonderfully clever to me at the time.

What I learned, the one time I needed to use it, was that it was rather obnoxious to have a 3 point implement that is both heavy and fragile, with a diesel jug sloshing around, and so forth in need of connecting to the tractor, when it's dark/cold/rainy or whatever the situation is. When I decide to fiddle with it again, I'm going to find a cheap garden wagon and bolt the frame onto that. Then I can wheel the generator head wherever I need, back the tractor up, connect the PTO shaft, and be done. It's not particularly heavy to move on a wagon. This is a similar unit to what I have: Generator Head - 10,000 Watts Max, Belt Driven A wagon or cart with reasonably large diameter, non-air filled tires would roll the head very easily, and be a lot quicker to put into use for me than a separate implement.

With that said, a quick hitch would make some of that easier to handle, but I was overly ambitious with the scale of my carryall type attachment, and would go simple if taking that route. Depending one what my implement situation was, I would strongly consider building a set of forks that dropped or pinned onto my box blade, then use that to slip under and lift the generator, and run a longer PTO shaft to drive the generator. Then nothing other than popping the forks on and attaching the PTO shaft would be needed.

There are probably multiple good ways to do this, so I'm interested to see what solutions you explore as you look for good/better/best options.

 

[California]

I wonder if a garden wagon or similar would get flipped over by the pto torque. You're applying 20 horsepower that has to be absorbed somewhere.

 

[284 International]

I wonder if a garden wagon or similar would get flipped over by the pto torque.

I was worried about that when I built my setup the first time, and was the reason I didn't do the wagon idea the first time. To be clear, I don't know anything by experience, and negligibly more from thought and calculation.

I didn't notice any significant torque or movement of the generator head when under load. However, I wasn't running just a whole lot, either. 4 full-size refrigerator/freezers and a couple light bulbs at mine and a neighbor's house, and their TV/DVD setup. It may be that there just wasn't much demand on the generator, so the forces were negligible anyway. I did take some steps to alleviate that tendency in my design, though.

I don't remember precise numbers, but when I calculated the forces, 20 horsepower at 1000 RPM worked out to around 100 lb-ft of torque, I think. I built my assembly so the generator head is asymmetrically mounted, and the weight of the head and the distance from the PTO input are such that the torque on the tractor from their arrangement is greater than the torque applied to the generator at full output. Were I to do a wagon, I'd mount the generator on the extreme rear end, with the PTO shaft extending over the left side. That way, the length of the wagon would be able to resist the torsional force from the tractor.

Either way, I think it's definitely important to take safety into account. At the least, we're talking about powerful equipment with exposed, dangerous shafts whirling about. A 540 RPM shaft would obviously have a lot more torque, and will happily beat someone to death when they get tangled up. Safety should be carefully planned for and relentlessly pursued.