PTO Gen for bx2670... Does this work?

[gogojuice]

After being without power.... again...

I'm looking into getting a generator for the house. I am going to go for the PTO style because I will also use it away from the house and I may as well try to do both with one generator.

I was thinking about getting a WINCO 10KW
Winco W10PTOS - 10 kW Tractor-Driven PTO Generator 515 RPM

I don't think my little bx will power much more than that?

It says it is 515rpm. Is that a problem since my pto is 540?

Any other options I should think about.

I would love to find a used one.. but I can't find anything up here in Canada

 

[Sawyer Rob]

It will work just fine for you, to get 10KW out of that generator, you need 20 pto hp...

IF, your tractor is smaller, no problem, you can still pull power out of the gen set up to the pto hp of your tractor.

There should be a meter on the gen set, you adjust the throttle on the tractor until the meter is in the green, that's all there is to that...

I love my Winco generator, it works perfectly every time I get it out...

SR

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

I know pretty much zilch about this so FWIW questions/comments:

1) unless this is an inverter generator the PTO RPM presumably gets set so it generates 60Hz. If your tractor can make sufficient power for your requirements when hitting that mark (and 515 ~ 540 so it's in PTO RPM range) you should be OK

2) PTO generator sounds great until you need to plow snow/haul firewood/dig trenches at the same time that SWMBO wants her TV and internet (or the Mr. wants to watch rasslin' when SWMBO needs the tractor...) Just sayin'

I've been running a Honda 6500 inverter generator this season. Very nice and all the electronics like it. OTOH, it's about double what that PTO gen goes for.

Z.

 

[Soundguy]

Buy a cheap inverter and let the Mrs watch tv on battery while the tractor plows snow.

Simply amazes me that son people dont grasp the concept of 'backup' power generation during an emergency.

You know.. Conserve fuel, limit usage. Vs burning all circuits 24/7...

Those will likely be the first targets/ victims after the real shtf event occurs, or if not, gross miss management of resources will cause them to expire early.

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

Roger that. Gets a little tricky for us since no power = no water (at all) and it's pretty hard to get much remote work done w/no internet. Not real crazy about the salmon, halibut, and veggies in the freezer thawing out either. Worst case was two 5-day outages a few days apart w/a foot of snow on the ground.

( I can hear the laughter over a whole _foot_ of snow... but here it's almost unheard of and no-one is ready for it...)

Everyone's got a different situation. I'm half tempted to buy a PTO gen just because...

Z.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I'm always amazed that folks keep saying you will need your tractor for all kinds of things, while it's powering a gen set. In all the years I've owned my pto gen set, I've NOT ONCE needed a tractor for any other job while the gen set was running.

When the power goes out, like it did last week, it was caused from MILES away, I was happy to stay in the house until the bulk of the storm passed!!

Anyway, I waited until I figured it was going to be off a while, (and the news on my batt. powered radio said it was going to be off a while) and THEN went out, got the gen set going to run the sump pump, fan on the heat stove and fridge. The power stayed off 7 hours, I hung out where it was warm and dry until it came back on!

SR

 

[coolreinfarm]

I just bought 2 extra tractors, if ones tied up just get on another....lol

 

[nybirdman]

When the power is out;PTO generator is the priority;anything else can wait.

 

[zzvyb6]

I too run a Winco/Winpower alternator. Mine is a 50 kw unit with 3 phase taps even. Got it cheap at a farm auction. I use it for powering electric power washers and welders way off the grid as well as the house. I use it on my JD 1070 (~35 hp) and my JD-F935 lawnmower (~22 hp). I use a "Kill-A-Watt" device to monitor frequency. Never really found that I needed the tractor for anything else when we are down and out. Where are you supposed to go ? No one else has juice.

You don't need power all the time, just when the house gets too cold for comfort or the horses need water. That's about a 4 -5 hour window around here at worst. My U-verse router has a 2 hr battery backup and I have a spare car battery that can run it for days. All you need to know is when the power is expected to be back on. DTE has an outage map you can view which shows the outage cause, size and expected return to service day and time.

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

Friends, I don't disagree with any of this It's all good info. We all have different situations and expectations.

The power goes out here any time a bug farts in the woods. Tends to go out in multiple locations and we don't usually know how long it's going to take to get to a 2- or 3-home outage (out of many) if it's that scattered.

If it's been 5 days and I need to get out for fuel or food I need the tractor to help get trees or snow off the driveway or the road, or help the neighbors with same, and I'd like to leave the Mrs. with lights and a microwave - I want to have a separate generator. Likewise when I need a 3-hour gen run to make hot water for showers (the neighbors line up with soap, towels, and gas) and I still have tractor chores.

(As an aside: doesn't matter how long I can keep my modem/router up. The whole cable system goes out in about 20 minutes. Their distribution back-up batteries only last that long. That's why I have a generator and copper all-the-way to the CO DSL backup.)

Been there... got the T-shirt. That's just me.

Z.

 

[k0ua]

You might not be able to get the full 10Kw out of it with your BX with 19.5 hp at the PTO per tractor data. But you should get pretty close.

 

[Soundguy]

Roger that. Gets a little tricky for us since no power = no water (at all) and it's pretty hard to get much remote work done w/no internet. Not real crazy about the salmon, halibut, and veggies in the freezer thawing out either. Worst case was two 5-day outages a few days apart w/a foot of snow on the ground.

( I can hear the laughter over a whole _foot_ of snow... but here it's almost unheard of and no-one is ready for it...)

Everyone's got a different situation. I'm half tempted to buy a PTO gen just because...

Z.

Good freezer and fridge etiquette can keep frozen foods frozen, and cold foods cold just like you had house power. just run the genny a little while every few hours for the reefer's to cycle and cool, and don't open the doors 5 times a minute and stare into it. when the power is on, let your pump run and pump up your pressure tank.

If you know bad weather is aproaching, use old 2 litre and small bottles of water to stuff the extra space in the freezer. the water freezes and acts as extra thermal mass to prevent food thawing. remember. a frozen full freezer stays cold longer than an empty one. plus you then have emergency water too.

practicing good resource and load management you should be able to keep water pumped up and reefer cold by just running the genny a few hours a day... and doesn't need to be, nor should be continous runs. just a 30 minute run every few hours will keep a froze freezer frozen.

how much water do you use during a disaster to eat? how big is your tank. you should be able to get a few dozen gallons of water pumped up per power cycle to hold till the next one.

remember.. when power is on, fill containers with water. even non food grade containers. fill a few 5g buckets while the gen is running. you can use a big cup to make the toilets flush . can scoop some out for general washing of hands, etc.

can have a bucket in the kitchen to rinse dishes off with. just put a few drops of bleach and dish soap in the bucket and don't put the dishes int he bucket. use a sponge, then wipe dry.

can keep a laundry sink full of water with detergent to do some clothes washing.

all these can be replenished each power up.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Friends, I don't disagree with any of this
If it's been 5 days and I need to get out for fuel or food I need the tractor to help get trees or snow off the driveway or the road, or help the neighbors with same, and I'd like to leave the Mrs. with lights and a microwave - I want to have a separate generator.
Z.

"IF" I had to depend on my tractor to THAT extent, I wouldn't have a tractor, I'd have tractorS!

I pretty much have a "back up" for everything that's important around here, that includes my tractor!

When the power goes out here, I normally start my little gen set first. Only later when I NEED the extra power do I start making bigger power.

I don't need power for water, it comes out of the ground on it's own,

but it's nice to power the pump to take showers and run the freezers at the same time, so running the pto gen set a few hours a day is no big deal, but I wouldn't be afraid to run it 24/7 if needed....

My point is, get another tractor! lol

SR

 

[crazyal]

I'm on the fence on this one. On the one hand you have an engine in your tractor that may not be doing a thing when the power is out so why not use it to power your house. PTO generators are much cheaper than a good diesel powered back up unit of the same size. You only have one engine to maintain vs two. But a good quality gas powered generator of the same size will probably cost the same as that Winco (if you serch around you can find the Winco 10k pto generator for about $1500). Then there's the fact that you are putting wear and tear on your tractors transmission. When running it's pumping hydraulic oil, if it's a hydrostatic then that pump is also working. So you are putting hours on the oil when it's not doing a thing. If it's just an occasional outage you have to deal with then it's not a big deal but 5 days 3 or 4 times a year forcing you to run the tractor for say 12 hours a day, that'll add up.

I currently have an 4800 watt Generac with a Honda. While it works and has never let me down it's too small for our well pump. So I've been debating the same as you. Spend $1500 on a 10k Winco PTO, buy a lesser brand PTO generator for about $800, buy a gas powered unit, or just spend the money and get a nice diesel (Kubota powered) stand by generator for close to $6k. As much as I like the idea of a stand alone diesel I just can't justify the cost. My current generator is about 20 years old now so the argument that a PTO generator will last longer really doesn't hold water in my case. So I always fund myself back to a noisy gas powered unit.

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

"IF" I had to depend on my tractor to THAT extent, I wouldn't have a tractor, I'd have tractorS!
...
My point is, get another tractor! lol
SR

"Dear! Did you hear that! Rob says I need another tractor!"

I'm quite content with the way things are now - except when I'm out there at 0-dark-30 in my jammies and bunny slippers in the rain or snow hooking up the Honda. Which seems to be every time... Then I want a fixed-mount auto-start diesel.

My point - if there is one - is there's no single answer to this question. As one of my old bosses said "if we all liked exactly the same thing we'd all be lined up at the same girl's front door..."

I'm enjoying reading all the different ways to skin this cat

Z.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

My current generator is about 20 years old now so the argument that a PTO generator will last longer really doesn't hold water in my case.

Well, my Winco owners manual says the only maintenance needed, is to change the bearings on the armature EVERY --------> 80,000 (that's eighty thousand) hours!

I've yet to see ANY gas powered motor/generator go 80 thousand hours!! lol SO, I'm thinking it holds some water!!

My 15KW (continuous) Winco is a lot older than 20 years old and I paid $1,200.00 for it new...

SR

 

[anthonyv]

FWIW I use an IMD PTO10-2SAVR - 10kW PTO Generator w/ AVR (540 RPM) powered with a BX24 for several years & have no trouble powering the household during an outage. I have heard all the arguments about over working the tractor, plowing snow, etc. hasn't happened. During an outage you can power for a couple of hours then use tractor to clear driveway, then go back to powering the household. For those who feel the TV is more important than being comfortable, to each his own. I like the fact I can move the gen to remote locations on property all year long & have needed power to run tools, welder, & such & when not in use I do not have another engine to worry about (especially gas) sitting around getting stale. Having the gen on the tractor makes it more convenient & you will most likely use it more for other projects.

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

Now IMHO that's the best argument against my current setup: keeping enough gasoline around to get through the long outages. The local gas stations don't have generators so it can be a real challenge to find fuel. I'm not crazy about keeping a lot of gas around - for several reasons.

I'm for TV and comfort - the boss even more so

Z.

 

[newbury]

The OP needs a generator.
He's in Canada so I'll assume he has trees. He needs to build a generator that runs on trees!

Short of that a PTO generator is a fine addition, I just did not realize they had gotten so costly.

Looks like I'll probably have to change the bearings on my 12K Winco after another 79,990 hours of operation.

That's one of the best things about PTO generators, you only need to run them to remember how to use them.

 

[Soundguy]

I'm on the fence on this one. On the one hand you have an engine in your tractor that may not be doing a thing when the power is out so why not use it to power your house. PTO generators are much cheaper than a good diesel powered back up unit of the same size. You only have one engine to maintain vs two. But a good quality gas powered generator of the same size will probably cost the same as that Winco (if you serch around you can find the Winco 10k pto generator for about $1500). Then there's the fact that you are putting wear and tear on your tractors transmission. When running it's pumping hydraulic oil, if it's a hydrostatic then that pump is also working. So you are putting hours on the oil when it's not doing a thing. If it's just an occasional outage you have to deal with then it's not a big deal but 5 days 3 or 4 times a year forcing you to run the tractor for say 12 hours a day, that'll add up.

I currently have an 4800 watt Generac with a Honda. While it works and has never let me down it's too small for our well pump. So I've been debating the same as you. Spend $1500 on a 10k Winco PTO, buy a lesser brand PTO generator for about $800, buy a gas powered unit, or just spend the money and get a nice diesel (Kubota powered) stand by generator for close to $6k. As much as I like the idea of a stand alone diesel I just can't justify the cost. My current generator is about 20 years old now so the argument that a PTO generator will last longer really doesn't hold water in my case. So I always fund myself back to a noisy gas powered unit.

Hey.. if you are afraid to run your tractor, then it's time to sell it!

Is your tractor such a POS that it won't do an honest days work? time to sell it.

Real working farms and jobs run machines all day. you do maintenance, you do repairs as needed. It's the price of admission.

As for running 12 hours a day? If that is in power generation... someone may not be using their resources correctly in an emergency.

Lighting and small loads can be run off a good inverter and battery. LED lighting is very available now and is a fraction of the electrical load of incandescent.

I'm doing a test with a usb power pack. 4000mah and it has a led flashlight. flashlight has been running continously for over 2 weeks now. it's dim, and I expect it to drop out this third week, but it is making useable light.

I don't even own a standard flashlight anymore.

Inverters in the 1-2k range are now affordable.

microwaves int he 700w range are the most common.

Should disaster planning include watching tv and microwaving snacks, running the ac, watching tv while all of your finite resources get absorbed ina couple days? People planning like this have not been thru an outtage that lasted weeks. when florida was hit in 04/05, parts were without useable infrastructure for 3 weeks. no gas, no diesel, no power. so don't run your genny 24/7 use it like it's emergency backup...