economy PTO

/ economy PTO #1  

Notforhire

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
1,171
Location
Southwestern Virginia
Tractor
Kubota L47TLB
I'm being very optimistic here, but I wondering if an economy PTO option could be added to My 2011 5055e?

What I'm looking to accomplish , is to run a PTO generator at lower engine speed.
A 10KW generator doesn't require 48 HP from the PTO to run it.

The other option would be gearing up the input shaft of the generator.

Bill
 
/ economy PTO #2  
Google "Tractor PTO step up RPM" and you will get numerous hits for items to read, some which are on TBN.
No idea how to interpret what you mean by "economy". :D
 
/ economy PTO #3  
I don't see why not but at this point I'm thinking an external gear box is going to be cheaper. Never priced one though!
 
/ economy PTO
  • Thread Starter
#4  
No idea how to interpret what you mean by "economy". :D

On some of the newer tractors they have an "economy" gearing that puts out 540 rpm at a lower engine rpm, as well as the traditional 540 pro running at higher engine speed. If max pto HP isn't needed you have the option of using "economy".

Understanding economy PTO
 
/ economy PTO #5  
I'm being very optimistic here, but I wondering if an economy PTO option could be added to My 2011 5055e?

What I'm looking to accomplish , is to run a PTO generator at lower engine speed.
A 10KW generator doesn't require 48 HP from the PTO to run it.

The other option would be gearing up the input shaft of the generator.

Bill

I do not think it was offered from the factory so not possible.

5X10, 5X20, and 5X25 series had as an option. there are other models too.
 
/ economy PTO
  • Thread Starter
#6  
As suggested I did a search and found an old thread very similar to mine. A member suggested looking into Drummond generators (Canada). They are supposed to require only 400 rpm, which would reduce engine RPM. (I haven't done the math yet.)
I also discovered that Winco makes a 15 KW that runs at 515 rpm. These look to be a cheaper alternative to an additional gear set.
 
/ economy PTO #7  
E-PTO option normally comes with Power Reverser Trans only
 
/ economy PTO #9  
IN E-PTO (540E some calls it) you get 540rpm out back at 1650 engine rpm.

IN Normal mode you get 540 at 2550 engine rpm.
Both of these RPM's are noted on the Tach Gauge in dash.

No sense in running your engine at Wide Open Throttle wasting fuel running implements.
It Really helps keep air filter cleaner too in really dusty conditions because engine isn't sucking in near as much air.

When your running an implement that requires a Lot of HP like a Batwing Cutter : smaller HP tractors won't have enough power to run it in E-PTO.

I LOVE ME SOME E-PTO Option as my profile pic depicts lol
 
Last edited:
/ economy PTO #10  
E-PTO option normally comes with Power Reverser Trans only

That was for model year 2014 and newer. OP has a 2011, not sure what trans he has.

I take it that your tractor is so equipped.
Could you tell me the engine rpm in the normal mode and the rpm in economy mode?

Normal PTO is 2400 rpm. e-PTO is 1700 rpm
 
/ economy PTO #11  
I have a 2011 deere with power reverser and e-pto.
 
/ economy PTO
  • Thread Starter
#12  
OP has a 2011, not sure what trans he has.

I have the 9/3 syncshuttle transmission.

I really didn't think adding the e-PTO would be an option, but it's always good to ask.
I've never used one, but I can see the advantages.

You never know JD could run a promotion. Free e-PTO, for owners of 2011 5055e's! :)
 
/ economy PTO #14  
Your 83E 4cyl is a completely different animal than Not4hire's 55E 3cyl :D

You are correct but zebra 5 made a reference to 2014 and newer machines. I was merely pointing out it was available from the factory in 2011.
 
/ economy PTO #16  
I'm being very optimistic here, but I wondering if an economy PTO option could be added to My 2011 5055e?

What I'm looking to accomplish , is to run a PTO generator at lower engine speed.
A 10KW generator doesn't require 48 HP from the PTO to run it.

The other option would be gearing up the input shaft of the generator.

Bill

I'm sure you have your reasons, but I have never been able to crunch the numbers that say a PTO generator makes any sense to purchase, at least if new. They cost almost 2x more than a stand alone gas powered genset, use more fuel because you are spinning all the extra tractor accy's and gearing from engine speed, to 540, back to engine speed, and tend to have frequency drift because the tractors governor doesn't stay as close to pto speed as a gensets. Not to mention the extra hours racked up.

That being said, have you tried just running the genset slower and seeing how your loads respond to it? Depending on what you're running, the frequency may not matter if its 50hz or even less. Lights, switch mode power supplies (laptop chargers etc.), heaters, etc. don't need 60hz. AC motors will probably need 60hz though. The voltage controller should still keep you at 120vrms.

My vote is to sell the winco and buy a pair of $800 10kw gas powered gensets and be done with it.
 
/ economy PTO
  • Thread Starter
#17  
I'm sure you have your reasons, but I have never been able to crunch the numbers that say a PTO generator makes any sense to purchase, at least if new. They cost almost 2x more than a stand alone gas powered genset, use more fuel because you are spinning all the extra tractor accy's and gearing from engine speed, to 540, back to engine speed, and tend to have frequency drift because the tractors governor doesn't stay as close to pto speed as a gensets. Not to mention the extra hours racked up.

That being said, have you tried just running the genset slower and seeing how your loads respond to it? Depending on what you're running, the frequency may not matter if its 50hz or even less. Lights, switch mode power supplies (laptop chargers etc.), heaters, etc. don't need 60hz. AC motors will probably need 60hz though. The voltage controller should still keep you at 120vrms.

My vote is to sell the winco and buy a pair of $800 10kw gas powered gensets and be done with it.

Right now I all have is a Honda 5kw gas generator, original cost $2,000. I bought a Honda (not just Honda powered) because ( at that time compared to others), it produced very clean AC. Many things in my house even my furnace, has electronic/ expensive controls, so I felt it was a worthwhile investment over a $500 unit.
Years ago it wasn't uncommon for me to loose power. A few times we were out for around a week. Things have improved and I have only lost power a few times in as many years for maybe 2-3 hours each.
Every year I drain the fuel and replace it with fresh stabilized fuel, run the machine under load and change the oil. The bottom line is that the generator doesn't really require maintenance, the engine that drives it does. This year the engine failed to start. Cleaning the carb solved the problem. I didn't get 100% reliability, even maintaining things the way I do.

My theory is this. With a PTO unit, it can sit covered up in the barn, with almost zero maintenance and still be ready to go if I need it. Since I use the tractor all the time I'm very aware of it's condition. The additional wear and tear on the tractor only amounts to two or three hours a year if that. I only run my generator to maintain the water pressure, keep the refrigerator cold and the house warm. If the power is out eight hours, the generator is only running about three of the eight.
The unit I'm now considering is a 10 KW designed to run at 515 RPM.
I don't really know, but I suspect that a varying load of < 6KW would do little to change the engine speed of the tractor. Again, I don't really know how the tractor would react. PTO generators are new to me.
 
/ economy PTO #18  
I have used my 25KW PTO generator on several different tractors and they have all held good frequency stabilization, my Oliver 1550, my IH 574, my Branson 8050,and a borrowed IH 7120 when my 1550 gelled up one day. The 574 works great on the 540 shaft throttling down to half throttle and using the 1000 rpm she couldn't handle a lot of load variance, the 8050 has the economy pto speed and works great, the 7120 worked great on the 1000 shaft at half throttle. As far as the cost the pto generator was a lot less then a self powered unit and also I have storage for diesel not so much for gasoline.
 
/ economy PTO #19  
Right now I all have is a Honda 5kw gas generator, original cost $2,000. I bought a Honda (not just Honda powered) because ( at that time compared to others), it produced very clean AC. Many things in my house even my furnace, has electronic/ expensive controls, so I felt it was a worthwhile investment over a $500 unit.
Years ago it wasn't uncommon for me to loose power. A few times we were out for around a week. Things have improved and I have only lost power a few times in as many years for maybe 2-3 hours each.
Every year I drain the fuel and replace it with fresh stabilized fuel, run the machine under load and change the oil. The bottom line is that the generator doesn't really require maintenance, the engine that drives it does. This year the engine failed to start. Cleaning the carb solved the problem. I didn't get 100% reliability, even maintaining things the way I do.

My theory is this. With a PTO unit, it can sit covered up in the barn, with almost zero maintenance and still be ready to go if I need it. Since I use the tractor all the time I'm very aware of it's condition. The additional wear and tear on the tractor only amounts to two or three hours a year if that. I only run my generator to maintain the water pressure, keep the refrigerator cold and the house warm. If the power is out eight hours, the generator is only running about three of the eight.
The unit I'm now considering is a 10 KW designed to run at 515 RPM.
I don't really know, but I suspect that a varying load of < 6KW would do little to change the engine speed of the tractor. Again, I don't really know how the tractor would react. PTO generators are new to me.

If you only have one tractor, a PTO generator ties up that tractor for other uses, such as storm cleanup, snow removal, etc... you have to stop the generator each time you want to use the tractor. A PTO generator is one of the few implements I don't want to run off of my tractor. The other is a log splitter, as I use the tractor to move large rounds to the splitter.

Maintaining the engine on a gasoline powered generator is not too hard. Just be sure to treat the fuel with stabilizer, get one with a fuel shutoff switch, shut off the fuel, and run it till it dies to get most of the fuel out of the carb. Run the generator 3-4 time a year with an electrical load for 1/2 an hour. Keep the fuel tank full. Once a year, drain out the fuel and run it through your other gasoline powered equipment or your car a few gallons at a time. Piece of cake.
 
/ economy PTO #20  
Would the amount of fuel used be based on both load and rpm? If so, then fuel used would depend on generator load, it should not require full HP the tractor is capable of making.

Do you know anyone with PTO generator you can borrow for a fuel usage test?
 

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