PTO Generator Question

[Industrial Toys]

That happened to be the throttle setting for the JD (Yanmar) 770 for 540. A combination with the Onan 15KW PTO that worked very well.

Leaving any tractor unattended is not something I like the idea of, but running at full throttle is particularly unnerving.


I'm guessing, many people haven't even paid for their tractors. A leaking rad or blown hose maybe covered under warranty. Having the engine seize up on account of that, is probably not covered. Some people might have trouble coming up with 12 or so grand for a new motor.

 

[cdaigle430]

I have never figured out why, when the power goes out for some one, and they are on generator power, they have to run everything in their house?

I mean, can't you go without a hot tub or other "non essential" power robber, until the power comes back on??

SR

The hot tub is outside so in the summer or days where temp doesnt go below freezing its no problem. the winters here are brutal so if I lose power to my hot tub and dont get it back in 12 hours I could freeze damage the hot tub and pipes. Its not a cheap hot tub either we paid too much IMO-but the wife wanted one.
Im not sure how long it will take for it to freeze though and I am really sure I dont want to find out LOL. I have my 16kw home generator before the hot tub came into our home.

 

[cdaigle430]

My TYM has around 36 HP at the PTO. The PTO generators I see out there are primarily two ranges:
1. Around 13 - 15 KW which requires a HP in the upper 20s.
2. Around 25 KW which requires a HP in the upper 40s.

If I used a generator larger than rated for my tractor but I am only pulling around 16 - 20 KW, would this create problems? As long my tractor can maintain the 540 rpm, am I OK regarding providing clean power to my home?

I say yes you would have problems if using a generator rater in the upper 40s hp on a 36hp tractor. I believe they are aligned for optimal use in the ranges recommended. Too few HP and you will have issues maintaining load current and frequencies.

I also read that you can reduce the life span of the generator that way and if you have problems the first thing they will point out on the warranty call is your HP rating.

You will also put more torque on your engine and hydraulics which could mean more wear and tear but also increase your fuel consumption.

 

[LouNY]

I say yes you would have problems if using a generator rater in the upper 40s hp on a 36hp tractor. I believe they are aligned for optimal use in the ranges recommended. Too few HP and you will have issues maintaining load current and frequencies.

I also read that you can reduce the life span of the generator that way and if you have problems the first thing they will point out on the warranty call is your HP rating.

You will also put more torque on your engine and hydraulics which could mean more wear and tear but also increase your fuel consumption.

A generator will not require more HP then the load it is putting out,
a 25 kw generator loaded to 10 kw will require close to 20 hp,
a 36 hp tractor would have absolutely no problem with that load,
if you increase the loads to the generator to over 18 kw the tractor will start to pull down as it is being overloaded.
The generator doesn't really care how much tractor hp is running it as long as it is sufficient for the applied load.
With a lack of hp to the generator as the tractor pulls down the frequency and voltage of the generator will decrease,

If you have a 25 kw generator on an 80 hp tractor and try to run a 30 kw load the tractor would not care but the generator
will either trip out on an overload or let all the smoke out of the winding.

 

[RickB]

A generator will not require more HP then the load it is putting out,
a 25 kw generator loaded to 10 kw will require close to 20 hp,
a 36 hp tractor would have absolutely no problem with that load,
if you increase the loads to the generator to over 18 kw the tractor will start to pull down as it is being overloaded.
The generator doesn't really care how much tractor hp is running it as long as it is sufficient for the applied load.
With a lack of hp to the generator as the tractor pulls down the frequency and voltage of the generator will decrease,

If you have a 25 kw generator on an 80 hp tractor and try to run a 30 kw load the tractor would not care but the generator
will either trip out on an overload or let all the smoke out of the winding.

Exactly. I powered my house using a 25/40kw Winpower unit behind a 42hp Case 885 with the PTO on high speed. 540 PTO RPM at about 1300 ERPM. It MAYBE would make 25 PTO HP at that speed. Stable voltage and frequency unless I flipped on the central air, which I did without.

Back in the day on the dairy farm that generator would give 70 PTO HP a workout.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I say yes you would have problems if using a generator rater in the upper 40s hp on a 36hp tractor. I believe they are aligned for optimal use in the ranges recommended. Too few HP and you will have issues maintaining load current and frequencies.

I also read that you can reduce the life span of the generator that way and if you have problems the first thing they will point out on the warranty call is your HP rating.

You will also put more torque on your engine and hydraulics which could mean more wear and tear but also increase your fuel consumption.

You are seriously "uninformed" on the subject of pto generators!

Hopefully you learned something from Lou's answer!

SR

 

[Industrial Toys]

A hot tub at temperature would be a major energy waste if not insulated to keep it from frreezing in a few days of outage. But it is an interesting question I have tackled with, wondering if there is enough heat migrating to the pump and pack in freezing conditions as the water cools off. It might be worth of putting a temperature alarm on the pump, rather than loose sleep wondering.

 

[WranglerX]

Let look at another way, one spends lets say $13,468 for MF GC1715 tractor and another $1500 to $3000 for PTO generator when you could have bought a 10,000 Watt (13,000 surge) portable for under $3,000 Including cost of transfer switch.......

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200467368_200467368

Dale

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Doesn't MOST of the folks on here, already HAVE a tractor??

Many of us have two or more...

BTW, my 15KW Winco pto gen set NEW, was $1,250.00 when I bought it.

SR

 

[WranglerX]

Why would I have two tractors, I only have 5 acres and about 2 of them are not tractor friendly.... Sort of wondering why I bought a tractor in first place....

But yes I do need generator at times for winter storms and when summer condition are that utility company will cut power during wild fire season...

Dale

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Then YOU fall under the "already have a tractor", I posted above.

Some of us need or just want more than one tractor.

SR

 

[Industrial Toys]

Can't really compare a diesel tractor and pto alternator to some 3600rpm consumer screamer. Well, I sure can't. lol

 

[breadtrk]

Powering your house is NO justification for a 40 grand or more tractor and PTO generator. A 3 grand genset, IS. Power don't go out on nice clear days, it goes out during storms, have fun in that tough guys. AGAIN....KISS.

 

[vsteel]

Powering your house is NO justification for a 40 grand or more tractor and PTO generator. A 3 grand genset, IS. Power don't go out on nice clear days, it goes out during storms, have fun in that tough guys. AGAIN....KISS.

The point is you have a tractor already and you are getting more utility out of it. You don't have a separate engine that doesn't run for long periods that you need to make sure is always ready. You have an engine in the tractor that is rated for thousands of hours. Some small home generators are not to be used more than a few hours at a time or they will melt down. You also have portable power if you need it away from the house or barn.

Clean power has more to do with total harmonic distortion than it does the voltage and frequency. Though with globalization that is less of an issue that it used to be, most power supplies are made to take pretty crappy power so they can have a single power unit no matter the source country. It can be a problem if the item being used relies on counting the frequency of the incoming power as a clock to set frequency, THD can cause them to fail (older ovens and central air units that have a "brain" for example.)

 

[WranglerX]

Looking forward to Gen-set/PTO generator solution, have a fear it will take about 976 pages (like rounded off drain plug thread)... So what ever floats your boat do it....

Dale

 

[WranglerX]

The point is you have a tractor already and you are getting more utility out of it. You don't have a separate engine that doesn't run for long periods that you need to make sure is always ready. You have an engine in the tractor that is rated for thousands of hours.

And when you want PTO generator most... Sorry neighbor (or wife) the tractor is tied up keeping the house warm, and I cant help you get your big (DODGE/FORD/CHEVY- or little HONDA) pickup (car) out of ditch where it slid into on miserable slushy/icy road...

Dale

 

[cdaigle430]

A generator will not require more HP then the load it is putting out,
a 25 kw generator loaded to 10 kw will require close to 20 hp,
a 36 hp tractor would have absolutely no problem with that load,
if you increase the loads to the generator to over 18 kw the tractor will start to pull down as it is being overloaded.
The generator doesn't really care how much tractor hp is running it as long as it is sufficient for the applied load.
With a lack of hp to the generator as the tractor pulls down the frequency and voltage of the generator will decrease,

If you have a 25 kw generator on an 80 hp tractor and try to run a 30 kw load the tractor would not care but the generator
will either trip out on an overload or let all the smoke out of the winding.

I would only agree with you based on one condition-the average generator hookup to the house is 30 amps sometimes 50. If its 30 amps then your limited at 30 amps anyway which means limited to 7,200 watts for 12,000 watts on 50 amp hookups.

that also means if you only have 30 amp generator hookup to your home then any generator above 7500 watts is a waste.

This is from a master electrician when he explained to me why my 16kw generator only had a 70 amp hookup(which is 16,800 watts)

 

[cdaigle430]

It is you who apparently knows little about PTOs and generators I dont want "farmers" answers to anything this critical. You get it wrong you not only risk losing your tractor, you risk your house and life. There is a reason why manufactures post specs.....

 

[RickB]

The “farmers” offering input here have been around tractors and PTO generators providing more energy than the average home requires for longer than some of you keyboard jockeys have been drawing breath.
It takes a lot of balls or very little knowledge to make some of the comments that appear here, especially in the last two pages. What makes sense or is “justified” to one may not apply at all to the next guy.
I’m done with this thread.

 

[3Ts]

The �armers offering input here have been around tractors and PTO generators providing more energy than the average home requires for longer than some of you keyboard jockeys have been drawing breath.
It takes a lot of balls or very little knowledge to make some of the comments that appear here, especially in the last two pages. What makes sense or is å±*ustified to one may not apply at all to the next guy.
I知 done with this thread.

This part is key! Each one of us has different requirements which means a different solution. I've been down the road with using a portable generator, and I've tried a tractor driven PTO gen, and I currently have a fixed whole house gen. Each one meets a different set of needs and will not work in all situations. There are pro's and con's to each one.