540 PTO Added to My Lawn Mower

[zzvyb6]

I adapted a gearbox from Central Georgia Generator to the front PTO of my JD F935 3 cyl diesel mower. At 3/4 throttle, I get 540 rpm suitable for running my PTO Winpower alternator, a trash pump and my PTO air compressor. Although I have a much bigger tractor that can do the same job, this setup adds to the discussion about "number of motors", fuel useage rate, convenience, and needing a real tractor on standby. All I need to do is switch over the PTO coupling and hook on the attachment.

I've checked the rpms with a NH photo tach and the alternator frequency and voltage with a Kill-A-Watt.

Works for me....

 

[beenthere]

Clever idea, and looks like it could be real handy if/when power goes out.

Can the deck be tilted up in the front so the PTO joint runs straighter with the gear box input shaft?

If not, I think I'd change the bracket so the gear box tilts back for a straighter shot. Just may not look as neat and professional not being square with the deck.

Thanks for posting. Hope now you won't need it.

 

[Farmerford]

Very impressive.

How did you make the 6 spline PTO shaft?

What is the ratio of the gearbox?

 

[zzvyb6]

The Georgia gearbox output shaft comes already cut with a 6 spline agricultural spec grove pattern, including the cross cut for a locking pin.

The shaft installed to the gearbox is actually a straighter shot than when the connection is made to the mower deck input shaft. The angles on each Cardan joint are relatively small and the input and output shafts are colinear: that means the double Cardan PTO shaft essentially acts as a CV joint (just like for the mower, etc.). As I recall, the straight cut gears are in a 3:1 ratio. Its actually intended to drive an 1800 rpm generator from a 540 tractor output, but you can roll it either way, according to the supplier. BTW: the gearbox is rated at 60 hp so I'm not gonna burn it up anytime soon.

Plus, I now have a device I can run off my 2000 rpm mid-tractor PTO to run a 540 rpm rear snow blower or a front loader frame mounted Finish mower (or maybe even a Swedish model)....

 

[doall]

Very neat. what kind of tires do you have on that JD? They look like some type of ATV tire.

 

[zzvyb6]

Those actually are an ATV tire construction that I got thinking I would have better traction on wet grass on the hills in my yard. The traction is no better than the worn out turf tires that were on it when I bought it (used). That was a mistake. Because the mower is a zero+ turn machine, the wide tires with aggressive tread tear up the lawn badly if I turn too sharply. I'll probably scrounge up another set of wheels and get some actual "turf" tires for this rig.

 

[Jay4200]

Those actually are an ATV tire construction that I got thinking I would have better traction on wet grass on the hills in my yard. The traction is no better than the worn out turf tires that were on it when I bought it (used). That was a mistake. Because the mower is a zero+ turn machine, the wide tires with aggressive tread tear up the lawn badly if I turn too sharply. I'll probably scrounge up another set of wheels and get some actual "turf" tires for this rig.

Those look more like a turf tread than anything else. You need a set of these:

Excavator ATV Tires

I run those on my ATV. Think of the time you'll save not having to run your tiller!

JayC