They are nice, but I don't like the idea of having only one tractor and commiting it to the generator head, never know when you will need it at the same time.

 

cummins, right?

 

Bingo!

K.

 

And,... THey are rather pricey too!
But, I like the idea of something that can sit in the shed for yrs on end without it's fuel or battery going to pot. My co-worker has 2 or 3 diesel tractors that he works, and lives in an area prone for blackouts. I told him about the PTO gens and he said, "Yeah, I looked into them once but they wanted WAY too much for one". He said for the price of one, he could buy a used genset... He's still looking for a used PTO gen...
The one I saw also had a really nice looking 3pt hitch base that carried the PTO gen. It looked REALLY easy to hitch up the PTO gen and then drive the tractor w/gen to the house and hook up the power. That makes it easy to drive the tractor to the fuel stg tank and fill up and then return.
K.

 

Northern tool has a 27.5kw pto gen head for $2150. Then they have a little trailer to put it on for $570. Plus the shipping for both.


I scored a nice little deal on a Lister Petter 15kw genset for $500.

 

And there's good reason.

Those Junk gen-sets and those designed like them typically are of the 2 pole design. As such they must run a approx 3600rpm. The same usually use plastic housing ends supporting cheap bearings. They just don't last in my opinion.

The more expensive type are of a design that uses 4 poles. With that they run at 1800rpm and incorporate much stouter cast iron housing ends, better cut gear drives etc.

Also be aware, the cheaper units don't have much of a surge capacity. This becomes VERY important when one has to start a larger load such as a heat pump compressor. As an example: a given motor may only require 5 amps to run, but requires up to FIVE times that (25amps) to start. (That pictured above sports a 25kw continuous capacity and a 50kw surge capacity).

Spitfire brings up a good point. Let it be known that as is standard Murphy's Law; When one purchases a standby gen-set, the electric power will not fail for the next five years (NOT ONCE!!) It'll hurt your feelings to invest thousands of dollars only to see it be a wasp nest shelter.

 

Home Depot lists at least one online.

 

Nothing wrong with a two pole unit if it is built right, so don't completely rule out a two pole generator just because its two pole.

 

I looked into a gen, and decided although I like diesels, not enough to justify paying 2x as much for an intermittent use engine. A gasser will be Ok for me, If I had a workplace to run off of it, it would make sense and pay off in longevity and fuel savings. But for once-in-a-while blackouts, a gasser will do. So I went with a Champion, which are sold at Cabelas for $300. I am not going to run my heat pump off of it (in the summer, I can survive the heat for a while, as long as the fridge runs). In the winter, the 4 kW will run the furnace, which is a safety issue. This is how I judged my needs and the savings will let me buy more things for the truck
-P

 

I bought a 6000 Watt gasonline generator and converted it to run on Natural gas, propane or gasoline. That way I don't hae to have a lot of fuel sitting around, just in case I need it.