Generator Chinese diesel genset, or PTO generator??

[Dan22]

What do folks think about the quality/longevity of the very available and affordable Chinese made 'silent' diesel generators? I am thinking of a 5 or 6kw unit and they cost from $1000 to $1500 for the lower priced units. Can you get parts for them easily?

Or, are they not worth it and should I buy a PTO generator?
I do not need as much juice as the typical PTO generator, and I don't like to put expensive hours on the tractor engine, but, worth asking.
Dan

 

[MarkLeininger]

Silent diesel = won't start?

I'm guessing most generators are made in china, or at least most parts of them. There's lots of threads here on pros and cons of PTO vs standalone gens. Personally I prefer PTO because I know my tractor engine will start. Don't care to have another engine to maintain.

 

[LBrown59]

Silent diesel = won't start?

I'm guessing most generators are made in china, or at least most parts of them. There's lots of threads here on pros and cons of PTO vs standalone gens. Personally I prefer PTO because I know my tractor engine will start. Don't care to have another engine to maintain.

Just imagine the savings on mufflers and fuel!
The thing will pay for itself in no time.

 

[The Saint]

Given the two choices, I agree with Mark. I know my tractor will start and continue to run. We recently lost power for over a week due to an ice storm. Through blind luck I was already in the process of buying a diesel genset (Kubota). That generator made life a whole lot better. My wife asked about the sharp price difference between the cheap diesels, gas powered sets and the Kubota. I told her we paid a premium for the name but also got a solid unit. When we need it, it's going to do it's job.

Reliability was my primary concern. Running a close second was ease of use for my wife. I thought long and hard about a PTO set (the one sold by Messick's looks good) but in the end opted for turnkey simplicity. The last part I considered was ongoing maintenance. Diesels tolerate sitting much better than a gas engine.

 

[Dan22]

Thanks for the feedback. Probably right that most generators are made in China anyway.

I guess I will see which one I encounter first in my search.
Dan

 

[greg_g]

When deciding between PTO and portable, you first should consider how many HP your tractor puts out. PTO generators require the tractor be running close to full throttle to develop the proper output. For me, 540 PTO rpm means ~2250 engine rpm. At that speed, I burn about a gallon (of diesel) an hour. At current prices, that's about $50/day.

So to maximize that kind of fuel consumption, you need to match the output of the generator with the input from the tractor. For a 45hp tractor (like mine) that means a 30KW generator. A 30KW generator puts out 125 amps, and I only have a 100A service from the power company.

So in my case, the most efficient PTO generator for my tractors fuel consumption - provides power that I cannot use. On the other hand, a portable diesel generator of about 14KW will provide around the 60A that is much closer to my actual usage - and burn about half the fuel.

That's strictly as viewed from an economic standpoint. I also have to consider what else I'd need that tractor for, if/when it's otherwise tied up providing emergency power to the house and out buildings. So for me, a portable genset is the obvious solution.

//greg//

 

[IslandTractor]

Depends on how you really want to use your generator. If it is really just for an occasional emergency then the tractor PTO sounds like the way to go for the reasons stated. However, if you were to run the thing for hundreds of hours a year I'd personally prefer to do that with something other than my tractor for all sorts of reasons.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

I had a northstar PTO generator with 12,000 running watts and 13,000 surge watts.

I paid $1,479 for it and used it for 3 days to run power for the house when we had a storm in the summer and lost power.

It was 90 deg. out and i needed to keep the fridge and deep freezer going, and couldn't use the tractor on other things when i needed to.

But the main reason i didn't like it was because i had to run the tractor at 540 RPMS for 3 days and the hours i was putting on it and the tractor just sitting in one place.

So i sold it and bought a 6500 watt and later bought a 5000 watt just for the hot water tank, a hot water tank uses 4000 watts.

I hook up the 6500 watt to my breaker box and i can run a fridge, deep freezer, 42in. tv, lights, stove etc... and take the 5000 watt and hook it straight to the hot water tank.

Here is a picture, It is a X-Treme contractor series by power train.
6500 rated watts~8500 watt surge, power train engine, voltmeter, electric start, jumper for charging battery, came with 2 plugs, wheels and handles.

 

[whistlepig]

What do folks think about the quality/longevity of the very available and affordable Chinese made 'silent' diesel generators? I am thinking of a 5 or 6kw unit and they cost from $1000 to $1500 for the lower priced units. Can you get parts for them easily?

Or, are they not worth it and should I buy a PTO generator?
I do not need as much juice as the typical PTO generator, and I don't like to put expensive hours on the tractor engine, but, worth asking.
Dan

I don't think "quality/longevity" and "available and affordable" are all going to come in the same package. If you want something "silent" have a dealer start up a Honda EU6500isA portable generator and listen to it run. Portable generator verses PTO is a personal preference. I have and prefer a portable but see the advantages of both.

 

[JoelD]

I have a 5500 watt 13 HP generator I bought new from pepboys a year ago for under $400. Runs 14 hours or so on 6.5 gallons of gas. Was an excellent purchase for me. I've run approximately 100 hours so far without a single hickup. I power my entire house including well pump. My neighbor ran his for 8 straight days with no issues at all.

Here's my thoughts.

- Much rather put hours on a 400 dollar generator than a 15000 dollar tractor.
- When it is 1:00am, like last week when I last lost power. I'd much rather roll the generator out of the garage, start up and plug in than go out, start tractor, hook up 3 point generator and then plug in. Man, the thought of hooking up the generator to the tractor in the middle of night gives me the willies, I had not really thought about that.

For me the decision was an easy one.

Joel

 

[whistlepig]

I have a 5500 watt 13 HP generator I bought new from pepboys a year ago for under $400. Runs 14 hours or so on 6.5 gallons of gas. Was an excellent purchase for me. I've run approximately 100 hours so far without a single hickup. I power my entire house including well pump. My neighbor ran his for 8 straight days with no issues at all.

Here's my thoughts.

- Much rather put hours on a 400 dollar generator than a 15000 dollar tractor.
- When it is 1:00am, like last week when I last lost power. I'd much rather roll the generator out of the garage, start up and plug in than go out, start tractor, hook up 3 point generator and then plug in. Man, the thought of hooking up the generator to the tractor in the middle of night gives me the willies, I had not really thought about that.

For me the decision was an easy one.

Joel

Pretty much the same reason I have a portable. I take it out of the garage and put it on the back deck that is covered and out of the weather. I wouldn't be able to do that with a PTO generator on my tractor. With the tractor and PTO generator setup I would have to let it set out in the rain. Generators are not for getting wet. I also think running a $15,000 tractor to power a generator is over kill. But some with large farms use PTO generators on their tractors. I think they have buildings large enough to keep their tractors out of the weather. For them I think a PTO generator may be the better choice.

 

[JoelD]

Pretty much the same reason I have a portable. I take it out of the garage and put it on the back deck that is covered and out of the weather. I wouldn't be able to do that with a PTO generator on my tractor. With the tractor and PTO generator setup I would have to let it set out in the rain. Generators are not for getting wet. I also think running a $15,000 tractor to power a generator is over kill. But some with large farms use PTO generators on their tractors. I think they have buildings large enough to keep their tractors out of the weather. For them I think a PTO generator may be the better choice.

Certain you are correct, I guess when you get to a critical mass, a portable in the 15kw ranges starts to get into some real money.

I still think that its a tough decision if the generator, motor and all is anywhere near the price of a comparable 3pt generator why the 3pt would make more sense. I just struggle the thought of a tractor running for hours and hours, a tractor motor is big bucks.

Joel

 

[JohnDeere4300]

When i first bought the PTO generator and used it the first day i knew that wasn't going to last.

 

[whistlepig]

When i first bought the PTO generator and used it the first day i knew that wasn't going to last.

Why would a PTO generator be less reliable than any other generator?

 

[RWolf]

I don't think he was refering to the quality but in operating costs. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

When i first bought the PTO generator and used it the first day i knew that wasn't going to last.

Why would a PTO generator be less reliable than any other generator?

I thought the PTO generator was great.

I just didn't want my tractor running all day supplying power for the house, and couldn't use the tractor for something else if needed.

 

[Skyco]

I have two of the generic Chinese diesel gensets, one at home for backup and one on my remote property as the only power source. So far so good. The remote one is run quite a bit in the summer for powering the air conditioner in my shack/cabin. Mine look like the pic below but are painted red. I got them both in a closout at Pepboys for around $600 each. I wouldn't have bought them for the original price which was more than twice that

 

[JohnDeere4300]

I have two of the generic Chinese diesel gensets, one at home for backup and one on my remote property as the only power source. So far so good. The remote one is run quite a bit in the summer for powering the air conditioner in my shack/cabin. Mine look like the pic below but are painted red. I got them both in a closout at Pepboys for around $600 each. I wouldn't have bought them for the original price which was more than twice that

That was good price on them.

 

[JoelD]

Hard to believe the prices you can get these things for if you keep your eyes open and time it right.

Diesel is nice compared to gas when it comes to sitting for a long period of time in between runnings, although I keep staybill in mine and I keep the tank full to prevent corosion. I've not had a problem.

Joel

 

[Skyco]

Yeah it is funny- one of them I got in Augusta GA, it had been sitting there for over a year, I kept bugging the manager about cutting me a deal but he would laugh and decline. Then one day I stumbled across a huge closeout rebate....ended up buying two. They are pretty quiet, certainly not silent but about 20dB quieter than a 5kW Coleman I've had for 20+ years. That thing is from purgatory, always runs but you can hear it for miles

One thing I've learned about equipment sitting...around the first of the month I try to run everything I have. It really helps, as I've spent many hours over the years degunking carburetor jets that have clogged. The smaller the engine the quicker they clog as the hole in the jet is proportionally smaller for smaller engines. I also keep Stabil in the gas, and I use non-ethanol containing gas for the power equipment, my ATV, 3 motorcycles and 2 boat engines. I also try to cycle old fuel from the equipment through the cars once a year..replacing it with new.

They are predicting a very unusual March snow here tonight, if it goes like usual the power will go out due to either icing or someone sliding off the road and taking out a pole....so may get to use my diesel gen for the first time other than monthly exercises.