Living in a somewhat isolated rural area, I have had a backup generator for years. It is truly nice to have during an extended outage, since the well pump will not bring you any water without power, and heat and lights are nice during an extended winter outage.
For over 5 years I have had a Coleman 7KW with a Briggs V twin OHV engine. Nice unit that ran quietly and reliably (located in my shed about 50' from the house and hardwired to the transfer switch). It did a great job powering the necessities and frivolities of life. Then came the Kubota BX22. That purchase resulted in my becoming a diesel economy, and I found myself not using for the 5 gallon gas cans as before. Sure I keep a 1 gallon of mix for the chainsaw, wacker and blower, but the large container of regular gas just sat there. I grew concerned that when I REALLY needed the generator, I would have 4 or 5 gallons of old stale gas that would barely run or even kill the generator. So the decision was made.
I looked for over a year for a "deal" on a diesel generator, but I found most prices a killer. I really wanted a Kubota powered water cooled unit (commonality of parts, etc), but nice units were $ 6K to $ 7K ... way too much. Anything water cooled in my price range was generally a military surplus or other high hour used unit, that could be a maintainance nightmare.
Finally I found a guy through an eBay sale. He was selling a 10/12KW unit with a Deutz engine for $ 2700. It was a "buy it now", so the price was set, and the unit was new (he had over 20 left last I heard). I did a little research on the web on the engine and alternator (a Mecc Alte) and decided to buy.
I got the generator last week. The engine, a Deutz/Ruggerini MD151, is a 2 cylinder air cooled unit (would have preferred water cooled, but wasn't going to happen for my price), with transfer pump, elec start, optional spin-on oil filter, high capacity oil pan, high capacity fuel filter, low oil level float switch type shutdown, large quality muffler, and solenoid (electric) fuel cut-off shutdown. Nice engine with all of the options. The alternator is a heavy frame brushless type direct coupled to the engine.
I needed a fuel tank, so I got a 12 gallon above deck plastic tank from BassPro for $ 40. It has a level indicator and a suction line, but I had to add a return port, which I fashioned from some fittings, gaskets and a brass drop line. I mounted the generator's channel frame to a large wooden frame using 4 rubber vibration isolators from Grainger. Lastly I had some exhaust pipe bent up by the local muffler shop. It attached to the engine's muffler and extends through the shed wall to the outside, with a piece of flex line near the engine.
I fired it up and it is very smooth and not very loud. I say "not very loud" because the mechanical noise is quite a bit louder than the old gas generator, even though the exhaust noise is minimal.
I have yet to make the final electrical hook-up (need new wire), but it is all but ready. A nice unit that will now sip the same fuel as the tractor, and provide a bit more power to boot. at under 1/2 gal/hour for 3/4 load, my 50 gallon diesel tank will provide a nice reserve for a bad situation.
BTW I did consider a PTO generator off the Kubota, but the cost with all of the required pieces was $ 1200 to $ 1500 for a comparable size. It would tie up the tractor, which in the winter could be a problem if I needed to blow snow, and it was for sure not a wife friendly system to hook up I was not home.
I will post some pictures in the next day or so.
paul
For over 5 years I have had a Coleman 7KW with a Briggs V twin OHV engine. Nice unit that ran quietly and reliably (located in my shed about 50' from the house and hardwired to the transfer switch). It did a great job powering the necessities and frivolities of life. Then came the Kubota BX22. That purchase resulted in my becoming a diesel economy, and I found myself not using for the 5 gallon gas cans as before. Sure I keep a 1 gallon of mix for the chainsaw, wacker and blower, but the large container of regular gas just sat there. I grew concerned that when I REALLY needed the generator, I would have 4 or 5 gallons of old stale gas that would barely run or even kill the generator. So the decision was made.
I looked for over a year for a "deal" on a diesel generator, but I found most prices a killer. I really wanted a Kubota powered water cooled unit (commonality of parts, etc), but nice units were $ 6K to $ 7K ... way too much. Anything water cooled in my price range was generally a military surplus or other high hour used unit, that could be a maintainance nightmare.
Finally I found a guy through an eBay sale. He was selling a 10/12KW unit with a Deutz engine for $ 2700. It was a "buy it now", so the price was set, and the unit was new (he had over 20 left last I heard). I did a little research on the web on the engine and alternator (a Mecc Alte) and decided to buy.
I got the generator last week. The engine, a Deutz/Ruggerini MD151, is a 2 cylinder air cooled unit (would have preferred water cooled, but wasn't going to happen for my price), with transfer pump, elec start, optional spin-on oil filter, high capacity oil pan, high capacity fuel filter, low oil level float switch type shutdown, large quality muffler, and solenoid (electric) fuel cut-off shutdown. Nice engine with all of the options. The alternator is a heavy frame brushless type direct coupled to the engine.
I needed a fuel tank, so I got a 12 gallon above deck plastic tank from BassPro for $ 40. It has a level indicator and a suction line, but I had to add a return port, which I fashioned from some fittings, gaskets and a brass drop line. I mounted the generator's channel frame to a large wooden frame using 4 rubber vibration isolators from Grainger. Lastly I had some exhaust pipe bent up by the local muffler shop. It attached to the engine's muffler and extends through the shed wall to the outside, with a piece of flex line near the engine.
I fired it up and it is very smooth and not very loud. I say "not very loud" because the mechanical noise is quite a bit louder than the old gas generator, even though the exhaust noise is minimal.
I have yet to make the final electrical hook-up (need new wire), but it is all but ready. A nice unit that will now sip the same fuel as the tractor, and provide a bit more power to boot. at under 1/2 gal/hour for 3/4 load, my 50 gallon diesel tank will provide a nice reserve for a bad situation.
BTW I did consider a PTO generator off the Kubota, but the cost with all of the required pieces was $ 1200 to $ 1500 for a comparable size. It would tie up the tractor, which in the winter could be a problem if I needed to blow snow, and it was for sure not a wife friendly system to hook up I was not home.
I will post some pictures in the next day or so.
paul
