PTO on Lawn Tractor and hooking a Gen head to it.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - PTO on Lawn Tractor and hooking a Gen head to it.

Posted: 9/29/2011 10:16:52 AM EDT

Any one done anything like this? My old man has a large gen that runs off his Farm tractor and has the house and farm wired with a transfer so he can run everything off it. With the recent12 day power outage I found myself wanting the same kind of whole house power option. Not that I don't love my old honda genny, it has been a rock but it can only push so much juice.

The tractor in question has an 18 horse Kohler engine with a front PTO shaft. I was thinking about having a short D/S and flex coupling made and running this on it. I am not looking for full end times SHTF, just wanting to have the power to not have to rely on the Power Company to turn our power back on when they "get a chance to send someone out"

Posted: 9/29/2011 10:29:52 AM EDT

[#1]

I doubt that an 18hp tractor has a PTO that turns at 3,600 RPM to run that genset. And I know it doesn't have the power to run an 10,000 watt at full draw..

I'd check your trator specs and then go to northern tool and pick out one that will work.

Good Luck, I just looked into the same thing for my own situation.

Posted: 9/29/2011 10:45:46 AM EDT

[#2]

You would need a gearbox.....what rpm does you garden tractor PTO run at?...and will it auto adjust for draw?

Posted: 9/29/2011 11:16:24 AM EDT

[#3]

Everything I can find on the Kohler 18hp is that its PTO is 1:1 and the rpm on the motor is 3600. May explore northern's 7200 14 hp pto genny set up, just trying to save some cash 900 bucks is a lot of dough and I am trying to rebuild my house after the flooding.

Posted: 9/29/2011 12:29:33 PM EDT

[#4]

It should work, you may not have the power to run a full 10kw, but 8kw should be fine.

Posted: 9/29/2011 7:22:04 PM EDT

[#5]

I don't know anything about lawn tractors, but 3600 rpm sounds way fast for a PTO. AG PTOs are 550 or 1000 rpms. 3600 rpms would mean you would need a perfectly ballanced PTO shaft. Also if I were a lawn tractor engineer, I would not run the engine at 3600 rpms. It's just faster than it shouldbe to get long engine life. Running a generator, you are stuck with 1800 or 3600 rpms to make 60 Hz power. That would be my other concern, how good the governer is.

Posted: 9/29/2011 7:36:45 PM EDT

[#6]

Is the PTO horizontal or vertical? I don't think that HF gen head will handle being mounted vertically. I'd expect the bearings would get unhappy quickly.

Posted: 9/29/2011 7:59:28 PM EDT

[#7]

see below, and the following threads:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/647155_.html

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/644329_DIY_Generator_Power_Cables_and_Install.html&page=2#i10993206

PTO generator overall view

PTO generator outlet side

PTO generator meter side

generator connecting cable and Reliance 50A 240Vac inlet.

start of work conduit from workshop to house

conduit from workshop to house continued

conduit LB's mounted on basement wall (see down and right from hose sillcock)

six circuit Reliance transfer switch mounted in place next to main breaker panel

transfer switch wiring in progress

wiring complete

attached to tractor

view from front

DIY wheeled carriage for ease of storage

in operation with electric pole saw

ditto

ditto^2

meters/display when running

Posted: 9/29/2011 8:04:44 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
I doubt that an 18hp tractor has a PTO that turns at 3,600 RPM to run that genset. And I know it doesn't have the power to run an 10,000 watt at full draw.. I'd check your trator specs and then go to northern tool and pick out one that will work. Good Luck, I just looked into the same thing for my own situation.

RPM:
as noted above, typical tractor PTO speeds are 540RPM and 1000RPM. an attached 60Hz generator as to spin at either 1800RPM (4 pole type) or 3600RPM (2 pole type). so a gearbox or pulley arrangement is required to convert RPM's.

POWER:
in general, you will need 2HP at the PTO for every KW of power output at the alternator head. again, this is HP at the PTO and not engine HP. direct gear driven PTO's are usually about 90-95% of engine HP, while hydrostatic (HST) driven PTO's are usually about 75-80% of engine HP.

ar-jedi

Posted: 9/29/2011 8:08:40 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Everything I can find on the Kohler 18hp is that its PTO is 1:1 and the rpm on the motor is 3600. May explore northern's 7200 14 hp pto genny set up, just trying to save some cash 900 bucks is a lot of dough and I am trying to rebuild my house after the flooding.

any common PTO generator designed to mate with a typical tractor is going to have a gearbox for conversion of 540PRM to the alternator input RPM of 1800RPM or 3600RPM; if your PTO is indeed 1:1 with a 3600RPM output, you don't need the gearbox, just the alternator head. nevertheless, you'll need some means to couple the PTO output shaft to the alternator head input shaft.

ar-jedi

Posted: 9/29/2011 8:54:01 PM EDT

[#10]

He probably has an 18 Hp lawn tractor that runs at 3600 rpm, and a front PTO for a mower deck or snow blower.

OP, if the above is true it will work.

Ops

Posted: 9/29/2011 9:34:28 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
He probably has an 18 Hp lawn tractor that runs at 3600 rpm, and a front PTO for a mower deck or snow blower.

OP, if the above is true it will work.

Ops

Exactly.

Prolly has a magnetic clutch on it too.

Posted: 9/30/2011 3:20:18 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
He probably has an 18 Hp lawn tractor that runs at 3600 rpm, and a front PTO for a mower deck or snow blower.

OP, if the above is true it will work.

Ops

This is what I have going on.

Posted: 9/30/2011 3:22:25 AM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Everything I can find on the Kohler 18hp is that its PTO is 1:1 and the rpm on the motor is 3600. May explore northern's 7200 14 hp pto genny set up, just trying to save some cash 900 bucks is a lot of dough and I am trying to rebuild my house after the flooding.

any common PTO generator designed to mate with a typical tractor is going to have a gearbox for conversion of 540PRM to the alternator input RPM of 1800RPM or 3600RPM; if your PTO is indeed 1:1 with a 3600RPM output, you don't need the gearbox, just the alternator head. nevertheless, you'll need some means to couple the PTO output shaft to the alternator head input shaft.

ar-jedi

I have a buddy that should be able to fab me up a nice little drive shaft with some flex couplings

Posted: 9/30/2011 7:57:51 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:

Quoted:
He probably has an 18 Hp lawn tractor that runs at 3600 rpm, and a front PTO for a mower deck or snow blower.

OP, if the above is true it will work.

Ops

This is what I have going on.

Is your PTO from/for a belt drive or a shaft?

Most of the higher speed so-called PTOs on small lawn tractors are designed to drive a belt. [A JD 318 I purchased in the late 70's did, a newer JD 442

has a slower turning shaft, both abt 20 HP]

What brand/model tractor do you have?

Posted: 9/30/2011 8:07:53 AM EDT

[#15]

there used to be one for old IH cub cadets.

Posted: 9/30/2011 10:22:18 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:

Quoted:
He probably has an 18 Hp lawn tractor that runs at 3600 rpm, and a front PTO for a mower deck or snow blower.

OP, if the above is true it will work.

Ops

This is what I have going on.

Is your PTO from/for a belt drive or a shaft?

Most of the higher speed so-called PTOs on small lawn tractors are designed to drive a belt. [A JD 318 I purchased in the late 70's did, a newer JD 442

has a slower turning shaft, both abt 20 HP]

What brand/model tractor do you have?

AgCo Allis can't remember the model # off the top of my head, early 80s iirc. It has the 18 hp Kohler in it. There is no pully or fly wheel on the shaft. I will take photos this weekend

Posted: 9/30/2011 5:50:51 PM EDT

[#17]

Seems to be a great deal of this on Youtube......Good Luck!

Posted: 9/30/2011 7:04:05 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w9aeHNAHGk&NR=1
Seems to be a great deal of this on Youtube......Good Luck!

not to be the "safety guy" here (and i know the above Youtube author mentions it in the video), but always remember that inadvertent contact with rotating PTO parts means *at least* dismemberment and at worst death. the non-rotating plastic PTO shaft shields should be kept in place, and some type of guard should be implemented around the pulley arrangement.

ar-jedi

Posted: 10/1/2011 7:32:27 AM EDT

[#19]

Is a lawn mover engine built to the same specs as a gennie engine ? unless its a commercial unit I dont think they build them to be run 20 hours straight for days on end.......I guessing here but might be somthing to take into consideration

Posted: 10/1/2011 7:38:00 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
Is a lawn mover engine built to the same specs as a gennie engine ? unless its a commercial unit I dont think they build them to be run 20 hours straight for days on end.......I guessing here but might be somthing to take into consideration

I am not too concerned about it. It is a standard engine that is used in a ton of different applications. I also take very good care of my machines and service them on an hourly schedule.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - PTO on Lawn Tractor and hooking a Gen head to it.

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