Comparison What's best for standby power?

[Rod in Forfar]

My Honda EM5000 wouldn't start the water pump during a recent wind storm, though it was showing 250 volts on the meter. The dealer said the windings are toast and it's not worth fixing. So this raises the question: what should I get as a replacement?

Situation:

Large, double house in Leeds County, Ontario. Small generator panel. 120 v stair climber, two furnaces, two fridges, propane furnace and oil furnace, electric water heater. 5 KW is a bit light for the job.

107 acres, tractors: 37 hp diesel, 35 hp diesel, 21 hp diesel, 17 hp diesel, 30 hp gas

Fuel sources: 250 gallon furnace oil kept full, three 250 lb. propane tanks and one 100 lb. tank. Some gasoline in cans.

We're on site every night except in very rare situations.

Since the infrastructure improvements following the Ice Storm of 1999, power outages have been very rare. I recall two significant outages since 1999, so if past practice is any indicator, the generator will receive very little use.

Question:

PTO vs propane vs portable gas: what's your advice?

 

[cqaigy2]

I have portable gas because of initial cost, carries the load i need, and it's portable, so that works for me. We have outages pretty much every year with the last one being 12 days, four of them no access to or from our area.

Depends on your tolerance to being out of power. Propane would have the least engine maintenance, gas portable probably the least expensive, PTO is interesting but i'd not want to run my, to me, expensive tractor motor like that. I've thought of putting multi fuel carb on my portable gas gen to be able to run propane then gasoline if i ran out of propane. I'd think your biggest worry would be keeping the house from freezing in the winter so putting in supplemental heat might be best for you.

 

[arlen4720]

In your case, I would go the PTO route. I say this because you have multiple tractors, so tying one up during an outage shouldn't be a problem. I think the main advantage with a PTO unit is that you won't have another motor to maintain. It can sit quietly in the corner of a building for years with no maintenance. Looks like you have 2 (maybe 3 if you count the gasser)tractors that could handle a 15KW unit. 10KW might be enough for you.

 

[wolftree]

The question becomes, which fuel type will you have the most of on hand for running the generator during a winter storm? Will you be able to start the diesels in very cold weather?

 

[Gator6x4]

I would probably go for something with a surge of 12000 with a run of 9500 - 10000 watts. Making electricity is a very expensive proposition. I would try to power the well pump, heating sources and refrigeration along with some lights. I would not worry about TV or computers. I can find something to occupy me while the power is off.

I have a Gas 12000 watt run that has been used one time for one hour in the last 3 - 4 years. Maintenance to insure it will start plus the cost of the unit when new are all factors to consider. For example I just replaced the battery and changed the oil and filter. Cost over one hundred dollars.

 

[oldnslo]

In your case, I would go the PTO route. I say this because you have multiple tractors, so tying one up during an outage shouldn't be a problem. I think the main advantage with a PTO unit is that you won't have another motor to maintain. It can sit quietly in the corner of a building for years with no maintenance. Looks like you have 2 (maybe 3 if you count the gasser)tractors that could handle a 15KW unit. 10KW might be enough for you.

I agree with the PTO route. Had one for years on our dairy farm and we always had at least one tractor available to run it when the power went out. Only difference was we were on-site 24/7 so keeping the tractor full of fuel was not an issue. Being off site this could be a concern.

 

[jenkinsph]

In your case, I would go the PTO route. I say this because you have multiple tractors, so tying one up during an outage shouldn't be a problem. I think the main advantage with a PTO unit is that you won't have another motor to maintain. It can sit quietly in the corner of a building for years with no maintenance. Looks like you have 2 (maybe 3 if you count the gasser)tractors that could handle a 15KW unit. 10KW might be enough for you.

I agree with Arlen on a pto genset in your case.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

The question becomes, which fuel type will you have the most of on hand for running the generator during a winter storm? Will you be able to start the diesels in very cold weather?

That's why a small pto unit appeals. The 17 hp Bolens is a garage queen, spending most of the winter snug beside the box stove in the shop. The question is what it could run with its 3 speed pto, and how to get a proper revolution setting without a tach.

Trouble is that the TAFE, the most likely generator tractor, is almost always hitched to a heavy pto appliance, either the snowblower or the bush hog. It's not easy to unhitch, and I'd be unlikely to take the snowblower out of service unless I knew it would be a long outage. The Massey Ferguson's winch is similarly hard to remove. It also produces evil-smelling exhaust. The Kubota or the Bolens are easy to unhitch. Maybe I should size a pto gennie to the 21 hp Kubota. It could run the generator without removing the belly mower. Then the Bolens could run it in a pinch.

Are 7.5 KW 3 pt hitch gennies any good?

 

[arlen4720]

To tell you the truth, I've never seen a pto unit smaller than 10 kW. You can us a volt meter to get the right output. The volts per hertz ratio is pretty constant, so if you adjust for proper voltage, your frequency will be close enough, many volt meters have frequency on it also. Electronics with their switching power supplies are not very picky anyway.

 

[newbury]

That's why a small pto unit appeals. <snip> Maybe I should size a pto gennie to the 21 hp Kubota. It could run the generator without removing the belly mower. Then the Bolens could run it in a pinch.

Are 7.5 KW 3 pt hitch gennies any good?

Your "21HP" Kubota is what? 17HP at the PTO?

If you are buying NEW I'd suggest a 10KW (Winco is a good brand) and make plans to hook a larger tractor to it if really needed.

From my readings the generators usually require 2HP PTO/KW but moderately undersized PTO HP will just produce fewer KW.

I lucked out a few years back and picked up a virtually new Winco 12KW w/ PTO shaft for $600. So far I've only had to run it to test it.

BUT if you are buying NEW your looking at about $1.5K.