The Best Laid Plans....

[3BPercherons]

It's been unseasonably cold here in the Bluegrass, and we've gotten more snow than is normal for this time of year. To top it off, the weather guessers are calling for a snow/sleet/freezing rain storm starting late tonight and lasting through tomorrow midday.

Not to worry, I thought. I made my plan yesterday; today's chores were to mount the pto generator (powers the house) on the tractor, gas up the portable generator (powers the barn), put the chainsaw in the heated shop, and generally prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.

So, there I sat this morning, enjoying a cup of coffee, browsing TBN and psyching myself up to go feed horses in the sub-zero weather when **pfffttt**, the power went out.

Shoot.*

I've got to say, considering we weren't really ready things went quite smoothly. I went out and started the tractor to warm up while I mounted the generator while my bride took care of unplugging the expensive tvs, computers, etc. (yes, they're all on surge suppressors, but why press our luck?). By the time it was all said and done I had power back to the house in under 1/2 hour, and the barn shortly thereafter.

The electric company had a truck in our drive in under an hour, and it didn't take them long to replace the fuse that blew in the transformer that powers our house, barn and our neighbor's house. We stayed on generator for another 15 minutes or so at the request of the service men (to let the transformer warm up under the partial load of our neighbor's house they said). In no time flat I had the power switched back, everything unhooked, and was moving a roll of hay out to the horses - my original plan for the morning.

The moral of the story? Like we say in the military, no plan survives initial contact. But at least we had a plan, and were able to adapt quickly.

And, yes, the generator is still (and will remain) attached to the tractor.

 

[MossRoad]

Good plan!

The only thing that bothers me about PTO mounted generators is the tractor is then tied up for PTO duty and cannot be used for anything else without cutting power to the house. The only reasonable solution would be to buy a 2nd tractor. (sounds more like an excuse for another toy :laughing: ).

 

[3BPercherons]

Good plan!

The only thing that bothers me about PTO mounted generators is the tractor is then tied up for PTO duty and cannot be used for anything else without cutting power to the house. The only reasonable solution would be to buy a 2nd tractor. (sounds more like an excuse for another toy :laughing: ).

I considered that angle and decided that it was a reasonable trade-off. We don't normally get enough snow to make it worthwhile to plow our gravel drive, we have a backup supply of small hay bales in case the boys finish a round bale while the tractor's tied up as a generator, and pretty much anything else I would need the tractor for could wait until utility power is restored.

With that said, I did give serious thought to keeping my B7800 when I bought the M6040, just in case....

 

[czechsonofagun]

You handled it well:thumbsup:

To share a story, last February we got 30" of snow. I had the blade mounted to my Kubota, but since my wife complained about it blocking the parking area with all the snow from before - I moved the tractor right before the storm to a grassy area. Yes, I am a dimvit, but I will do anything to please the little woman

Sooo, when the snow hit us I had to shovel the path 100 feet, 5 feet wide for the tractor first, 20hp Kubota with 5' rear blade and no chains is lost in deep snow. Once I got it to the gravel area, all went well.

 

[MossRoad]

I considered that angle and decided that it was a reasonable trade-off. We don't normally get enough snow to make it worthwhile to plow our gravel drive, we have a backup supply of small hay bales in case the boys finish a round bale while the tractor's tied up as a generator, and pretty much anything else I would need the tractor for could wait until utility power is restored.

With that said, I did give serious thought to keeping my B7800 when I bought the M6040, just in case....

The only reason I mentioned it (besides the excuse to have another tractor) is that it seems any time we have a power outage there is either heavy snow to be removed or there is storm damage that needs to be cleared. But I also like to maintain as few engines as possible, hence the many attachments for the tractor. :thumbsup:

 

[sandman2234]

Good plan!

The only thing that bothers me about PTO mounted generators is the tractor is then tied up for PTO duty and cannot be used for anything else without cutting power to the house. The only reasonable solution would be to buy a 2nd tractor. (sounds more like an excuse for another toy :laughing: ).

That is why I put a 10kw generator on my lawn mower, lol
David from jax

 

[3BPercherons]

The only reason I mentioned it (besides the excuse to have another tractor) is that it seems any time we have a power outage there is either heavy snow to be removed or there is storm damage that needs to be cleared. But I also like to maintain as few engines as possible, hence the many attachments for the tractor. :thumbsup:

Sure - I understand that those are issues for many. For us, not so much. And I'm like you; the fewer engines the better. Although it would be nice to have an automagic backup generator (in case y'all are looking for a Christmas gift idea for me....).

 

[3BPercherons]

You handled it well:thumbsup:

To share a story, last February we got 30" of snow. I had the blade mounted to my Kubota, but since my wife complained about it blocking the parking area with all the snow from before - I moved the tractor right before the storm to a grassy area. Yes, I am a dimvit, but I will do anything to please the little woman

Sooo, when the snow hit us I had to shovel the path 100 feet, 5 feet wide for the tractor first, 20hp Kubota with 5' rear blade and no chains is lost in deep snow. Once I got it to the gravel area, all went well.

Oops.

:laughing:

 

[Financegal]

We were expecting 1-3 inches and got 5. Sitting here now, I am only "half ready" for a storm - only have about 12 gallons of gas on hand. In a truly called for major storm I can store up to about 32 gallons of gas easily with all my containers. Unless there's a really major storm, we tend to not lose electricity. In a full up storm I can be comfortable up to 3 or 4 days if I turn off the generator at night while we sleep). We'd then sleep in front of the gas fireplace for warmth if absolutely necessary and restart generator during the day if need be. I hate snow though and would really rather not think about it! Ugh!