PTO generator

[Al_Smith]

Factually speaking a gen set is just used as a back up source or for the convienence of remote power .As long as it's large enough to do the job and not so big as to consume fuel excessively they all work .

Now unless  you run a dairy operation or a big hen house most just need a smaller unit .A few lights,the frig and water pump and for a short period of time you're good to go .Fact is  little well made units will run a computer,TV and everything else pretty good for that matter .It just costs about 4-5 times the money to make your own as to buy it from the power company .

I'd venture a guess that a little 8 HP / 5 KVA unit would cost 25 bucks a day to run with the price of gas these days .Then again it's certainly cheaper  than replacing frozen water lines that burst .

[MrMoo]

I have a WinPower PTO generator turning out 7KW (30A) of power. I power it with a 41 HP tractor. it works good but you need to be careful running electronic equipment. Inverters are best for electronic equipment. If you just want to power refridgeration and be able to take a shower PTO generator is a good way to go.
Moo

[Donald P Sebold]

My thoughts on stand-by power. 

When generating electrical power, it is very expensive no matter how you do it.  10X the cost of what you purchase from the power grid, especially if you use fuel that includes road taxes.  I have found that fuel consumption equals how much/how many watts you are using.  When I loose power I can figure that it will cost me $40 - $60 dollars a day for gasoline.  My grid power cost about $4.00 a day.  I'm thinking that generating my own electrical power is only 10% as efficient as grid power.

My thought is to reduce my electrical needs by installing propane to heat water, cook and heat when needed instead of generating my own electric for these things.  I feel that I could get my minimum electrical need down to 2 or 3 kilowatts which I could do with a small diesel or propane generator.  Propane would be most reasonable if I cooked, heated water and heated with propane because I would have a storage tank already.  Of course if I had natural gas that would even be better.  This way I would not be paying 10X the power cost to operate these high energy use appliances.  Also with an inverter I could operate lights and a TV or computer for a few hours at night on batteries. 

Of course, if you are running a farm then get out the tractor and hook up the generator and go feed and milk the cows.

I forgot maintenance and equipment are a big cost also..

[Hilltop366]

Ok what is a gentrack?

It may be more cost effective to find ways to reduce your load and get by with a smaller generator or not having to run one continuously, things like a larger water tank or a second gravity fed tank would reduce the number of times the well pump would have to run, an inverter and a few batteries to run some lights (cfl or led bulbs would be best) and other small loads allowing you to shut off the generator for hours at a time. I use to run my wood boiler circulator for several days at a time on a old truck battery and a 300 watt inverter while I was building my house, could also run a few cfl lights as well.

[thecfarm]

Just to make it clear,I'm looking NOT to maintain another gas motor. With a gas genator it may sit for 2-3 years without being used. Than I need to start it once every 6 months or so,a bother to me. Just thinking of a pto one. This way it should be ready no matter what,I hope. What I have for a gentrac is just a big plug to hook up the genetor and flick 4 switches on the gentrac panel. There are some out there as soon as the power goes out,a motor kicks on and runs the whole house.

[Hilltop366]

Ok I think I get it, a gentrac is a transfer switch to change the power supply for some of the cicuits. The thing I mentioned in my pervious post about reducing demand and small inverter and a few batteries will work for a PTO generator as well.

I understand you on the not wanting the gas powered generator,I have a 5000 watt Honda that sits around, a few years ago I went to use it and it would not run properly so I checked out the fuel tank to find that the top of the tank had rusted ( the way the tank is made it can not be filled to cover the top) and flaked off a fine rust, the gas looked brown.

I thought of the PTO generator as well but I only have one tractor and if the power is out in the winter I will probably be using the tractor to clear the snow.

If I was to get another generator I would like to get a diesel with a plastic tank, no rotten gas and no rusty tank but I am sure something else will give me trouble.