Good job making the hook up simple and safe. One thing I will mention for the benefit of anybody who may read this, is that circuit breakers do, occasionally, fail, and they don't always 'fail safe' with power in the off position. Furthermore, I have seen where only half of a 240 V breaker fails. The breaker shows off, and if you check across the circuit you show no power.....but if you check from one leg to neutral or ground, you will see 120 volts. While I know you were dealing with new hardware, the safest bet is to not only double check that the power is off, but to test both legs to ground or neutral on a 240 circuit.
My husband was watching this video and I couldn’t help remembering when in Northern Kentucky couple years ago we had a severe wind storm knocking out not just one but Two utility poles and one transformer. We were out for 4 days total, However, thanks to my husband with one generator on its own we were fine. Only think we weren’t able to run was coffee maker, Until he pulls up his tractor and used a converter so that the tractor powered our coffee maker. 😁 Great video.
Yeah where im renting its set up for gen back feed initially the quick and dirty way because before my friend/landlord did it because the nieghborhood was down for 4 days? In the winter and estimated longer. Friend work other side of state and bought sister/ nieghbor new gen that he thought was electric start. I dont him dont put gas in it so he could return it and i would grab mine from moms next door (gen was at moms so i could use welder. No power supply she was end of line having power) friend put gas in anyways but it pissed out. So sister used my gen and her old gen got moved to trl to get it online for old tenant so pipes didnt freeze
I find the advantages of a PTO driven generator are, based on how rarely I have had to use a generator twice in 18 years, I don't have yet another engine to perform maintenance on, fuel is used by the generator only when it is needed not some every week like the autorun/exercise feature of the automatic units do, yes this is a small amount but if you only need to use it twice in 18 years that can add up to a huge amount. In my current case I use a Lincoln Ranger 9, 9KW, that I use a lot for welding I will always have a gas powered welder. The 2 times I have used it in the 18 years I have owned it (5 days one time, 24 hrs the 2nd) I've only used about 60 gallons of gas for generation for a power outage. That is a huge savings over however much propane would be used for 6 full days of of run time and all of the weekly exercise running. But building steel buildings, pipe fence, fixing equipment in remote places it get use as a generator more frequently for grinders, chop saw etc so the "portability" is a huge benefit.
@@TractorTimewithTim I love pointing out to folks that the "jig" pronunciation depicted in that film is more correct than the "gig" version most people adopted when our computers got powerful enough to require that prefix.
I have a rebranded Kubota LowBoy 6500 generator, a Yamaha EDL6500S. I got it second hand 10yrs ago and it’s been great. I used it last spring for 5days nonstop when we had extreme straight line winds here in Nashville Tennessee. Best part is the tank is big enough I could fill it up when I left for work, and I wouldn’t have to fill it up until long after I got home from work.
We installed a Cummins 50kw 208 amp whole house backup generator with an auto transfer switch last year on our home. The individual leg voltage varies depending on what is running. That's a super cool setup you have there.
We've used a smaller older version PTO genset for the last 40 years or so. We purchased it used in 1981 to provide temporary power to frame and finish a large house that we were building about 1/2 mile from existing power. We ran it ten hours a day for about 4 months. For the first few months we powered it with a Model M John Deere then used a Mannheim built 710 John Deere (53 hp?) The 710 was nice as it had both 540 and 1000 rpm pto shafts. We bought a conversion stub so that we could run the genset on the 1000 rpm shaft. That way we hit 60 hz with just a high idle. That kept noise and fuel consumption low. We used the genset for part construction of a couple more rural homes where the powerlines had not been run in yet. After that it became the backup genset at our farm here in Langley B.C.. I still have the genset ( Winpower 7/12kw) however something has broken in the internal gear drive, so I purchased a new 10 kw e start tri fuel genset as our backup. I intend to repair the PTO genset and make it the back up to the backup. Also handy for remote power needs, as Kristy points out.
So glad I do not have to deal with a loud annoying generator anymore now that I have the F150 PowerBoost with ProPower 7.2kw inverter on it. Besides the HVAC, I powered the whole house with it once during a storm. Super quiet, as truck doesn't have to run at all times, even when does it is quiet, 30G fuel tank. And completely portable with ease no matter where I am at.
I always try to keep the PTO shaft as inline as possible (little bend in the U joints) the more bend you have the less efficient the power transfer and the increase wear on the PTO. Of course with bush hogs and such you cant control it much but with a stationary implement it is a good idea to correct the angles.
I’ll agree with this. If that generator was going to be mated permanently to a 1025 I think you would want to modify the hitch to get that pto a little straighter. That’s a challenge with those small tractors
I like this option, growing up in dairy country 30 years ago...every farmer had one next to the milking parlor. Managing the rpm/hertz will be the biggest issue, while scheduling time blocks for cooking vs cleaning vs heating. In-rush current for starting motors (heating compressor,well pump) is also a concern. Well done,and nice to have the data before you need it!
I was actually pleasantly surprised that Johnny would be able to produce that level of electricity And I agree, that would be plenty of power to get you through a severe loss of electricity, when you are sensible with your household demands. Dave’s quips are a hoot! Blessings.
Great video Tim. I wired my gen plug same as you did except I was cheap and used #6 copper. However my place is very small and I do not need to as much juice as you guys did. I have a 15kv pto gen, a 7kv gas portable and 4.4kw hrs of battery backup. I like having the options.
Your tractor has a governor too! It just bogs down when it runs out of power, stand alone generator is no different. I have one of these for my house as well, IMD and a little smaller at 22KW vs 30KW but it will also run my entire house. My house isn't very big, but it does have 2 heatpumps for some reason. It will run both of them though. Kept me cool in Texas not too long ago when a big storm knocked our power out for 80 hours. Also good job changing that connection. That Anderson plug looks like 175 amp which is plenty, the same size I use. That 50 amp plug was pretty suspect when I saw the power you were pulling through it on the other video!
I added a 10k portable, propane gennie plumbed into my 1000gal propane tank. It's a manual start process with a simple interconnect switch, but it powers most of the home when I need it. Cost me about $1200 all in a few years ago, but I did the install myself.
Nice work comparing the two tractors. I am wondering if the vibration you were seeing was the ujoints on the pto shaft. Possibly blocking the tractor up 6-8 inches would reduce the vibration. But nice setup and now you are ready if the power goes out which means you should be good for 3-5 years before it goes out.
6:05 I like how Kristie says "my dryer" and "my induction cooktop". I get the impression you're not allowed to use those appliances, Tim. It may be worth looking into why there's such a load imbalance between the two legs. It may be possible to get them closer just by swapping a few wires around. If you had something like an Emporia Energy Monitor system, you could actually track the energy usage of various appliances and circuits. (Edited: change phases to legs)
It's a single phase generator, and the "phase" is just the term that's confused with "leg", whereas, each leg is 120V; between the two "legs", you get 240V.
@@powrguy1696 Thanks, changed. Whether the panel is powered by the mains or the generator is irrelevant. The point was to investigate why there's an imbalance.
Excellent fix. Not sure how you could have done better. It was really cool to see you struggle to get more “load”. This scenario is versatile. As Christie mentioned lights in a field. You could power a full on “event”,in a very isolated spot. An idea. Attach/wire an electrical panel to the generator, like a “tool rack”. Then safely powering several small reasonable loads. Great job.
That was cool Tim and Cristy ! I was surprised that a tractor that small would run an entire house ! I would have thought a 50+ hp would be needed. Great video!
This is a very cool attachment for a compact tractor. In the right situation, I'm sure it would be a great option. However, for those of us with only one tractor, I think it would be better (in most cases) to have a large diesel (or propane/diesel) generator and use the tractor to move the generator where it's needed. With a PTO generator, you couldn't use the tractor to do minor tractor things, like help clear the road, clean up fallen trees, or gather firewood for emergency heat.
It's usually pretty easy to balance your phases! Use a clamp-on ammeter of any quality or price, Home Despot sells them. Recognize, looking into your power panel, that every other breaker screw going down each side is on the same phase. Using the meter check the two big cables feeding the panel's two bus bars. Once you have that, figure out which of the every-other breaker screw terminals are the over subscribed phase. Do this by simply switching breakers off starting with the top single pole breaker then skipping down every other one until you see on the meter the over subscribed phase dropping with switched off breakers. (Ignore all two pole breakers but include them in the every-other screw counting.) Note, if you've switched several breakers off in one of the every-other groups and the current isn't going down, you've got the "other phase". Turn the turned-off breakers back on and start switching the other group off. You will see the monitored phase current dropping with most the breakers you're turning off. Write down the amperage drops you see with the breaker that caused them. Once you've done all the breakers down both sides and have your list you're ready to "balance the panel". Pick maybe two of the higher ones and with the breakers off switch them with two lines on the other alternating breaker phase. Re-label as necessary. That's how it's done. You can monitor things and see if you want more balancing or less. Adjust until you have something close to balanced. The generator will be much less thrashed by driving a balanced load and will be able to actually support its rated output. I totally agree with @hagak1679 on that PTO shaft angle. U-joint angles should be 7 degrees or less. As the angle gets larger the shaft stops turning at a constant velocity and starts accelerating and decelerating twice every revolution. This screws up the sine-wave of the power delivery and stresses the entire drive train, including the gear boxes. Drive lines also have to have the SAME angle on both ends!! If that isn't the case then the drive line will move in-and-out twice every revolution and that's even more damaging to everything connected. 1 day ago
Tim You will find a numerous amount of ways to generate power for your home. Almost as many as negative comments about what and how you are doing this.. LOL I use just a 13hp gen set, 10000 watts. Have it wired in garage to back feed into house when needed SSHHHHH. I am very careful. I have an older tractor, and could buy a PTO genset that could power 2 houses for very little money. But to haul the tractor out and hook up genset, after all is said and done, just seemed like a bother. Just wheel the portable generator to an open door and plug it in. The cost of a standby gen, was just not feasible at $4-$5k, I bought the generator, new for $1200, everything else I had, except a plug end $20. Just wired an old dryer plug up beside the electrical box in garage, and plug cord into that and generator, and runs entire house, with the exception of the electric range. But other than that little to no difference in having the grid. Power at most would be off for a few hours normally, not a huge deal in summer, but if very cold in winter not great without furnace for hours. So very little money for a large convenience if needed. I am thinking in roughly 5 years I have ran it a total of 12 hours, and one of them times was 7 hours, so you get the idea. Had it the first 2 years and ran it for an hour. LOL But keep treated gas in it, and always ready to serve.
If y'all are on a well, running the pump can be a significant draw, especially at start up. high draw for a split second can overwhelm a small portable gen.
Is the gear train not lubricated square cut gears? The only other attachment I've heard be that loud was a snowblower with open, grease lubed right angle gears.. I'd go insane with that much noise.. I'd have to change it over to belt & pulley.
Gotta love the keyboard electrical police! Probably already know this but you can easily balance your load by swapping your high draw 110 breakers to the other leg with something that draws very little. The only thing that can sometimes can become a issue is wire length, but that can be solved.
I was at the National Farm Machinery show yesterday I was hoping to meet you but unfortunately our paths never crossed. I was hoping for an opportunity to interview you but maybe some other time. Love your show.
Thanks Tim. That gearbox is noisier than the Tractor ?? Nice load test but You have to remember when in an emergency situation You are gonna run as minimum as possible for Fuel economy Mike M.
Time I tried to find you at the expo today for about 2 hours with no luck (sad face ) soooo many people. I even checked the concession stands a couple times - LOL It was after 11am so I looked for you at the discount hydraulic booth using the map which I could also not find... user error I am sure. I hate so bad I missed meeting you and Kristy, I have you both on my list of folks I want to thank face to face for all the inspiration and information. Maybe next year if I can get off work again. Thank you so much for your videos and lifting up when I need it!! travel safe back home.
Tim, I'd shoot for 61~62 Hertz. Current will decrease on inductive loads ( motors) above 60 Htz. Resistive loads won't care what the frequency is. I can hear in imbalance in the fields. That's some of the shaking. Best to try and bring that current in balance. Especially when the gen is being driven with a smaller engine. Just a thought not a big deal, I'm just knit picking. 🙂
The direct mathematical conversion is 1HP = 745.7 watts. So 14kw is just under 19HP (in a perfect world). That really puts the parasitic losses of the system (both mechanical and electrical) into perspective. No getting away from that though. Pretty sweet setup though!
A few years ago, I helped set up a large outdoor concert. They brought in a large generator for the electrical service to run the stage. I was surprised how much it took to run their boards. All of the sound crews would check to make sure they had enough power so their equipment wouldn’t get damaged. I was amazed how much equipment used to produce those shows. It was eye opening to be back stage.
Go check out a traveling midway sometime when they are set up at a county fair or festival. The amount of power they use for all their rides, food stands, games, lights, etc is phenomenal.
Dang, little Johnny-X is impressive. I thought about a PTO generator, but I got a standalone Duromax XP12000EH for this purpose, as I own only one tractor :P
Many homes in south Alabama have stand by units for hurricanes. You can go 2 weeks without power and that's hard without power In the south during hurricane season. But that's another option.
That is really loud. What about having it in the barn where the tractor and generator is secured inside? This would also get it away from the house and cut down on the noise.
@@2chipped I believe it is already wired. Should lead from the meter, possibly to a breaker box in the house, then to the barn. Has 220 in the barn, so should be just fine. Would only need the 220 plug from the breaker box in the barn ran if he has room in the breaker box. If he had to run wire to the barn which I doubt he would have to do, would be cheaper than having a tractor stolen in the middle of the night. Just saying.
That would be a cool test to see though now you mention it is to see it in action in a simulated emergency field repair with a Mig Welder. You probably pre-jinxed yerself with breaking something that needs on the spot welding. Could be a good dry run test.
For balance ... you could check the large wires going into or out of the panel. For the sides ... each side, every other breaker is on the other leg. So you could put ever breaker on one side and be balances ... now if you skipped every other breaker then you for sure you would be unbalance ... and a littie weird to do that too! semi humor, semi serious .. thanks for the videos
You hit on the head. All in what you want to power, I back feed my home on 50 amp breaker with 10.000 watt. Now the wire that feeds it is 8-3 been working for me
I feel that this generator would be something I'd be using to power up the essentials during a long power outage. Curious to know what the fuel consumption/hr would be (qt/hr).
Hey Tim, I think you have a good solution there. I've used a PTO generator and they work well as long as you have a working tractor and you have plenty to choose from. Best of all you are already exercising the tractor regularly and a single purpose home-generator can fail just when you need it. However, I am curious why you did not set this up in your shop and back-feed back to your house so that you could leave the tractor out in the shop/shed or in a covered area like a lean-to next to the shop. To keep the tractor protected but still provide cover. You can always leave a door open or if you use a lean-to it is outside but covered.
I did not mean no backed protection... But you are correct. @@TractorTimewithTim UA-cam commenters would slaughter you. But isn't that also good for the channel? Best of luck. Next you could do solar, you are in Texas so lots of sun on your shop area to absorb. Thanks for the videos.
Well mixed message. I clicked the like button. You inspired me to go ahead and fix everything up so I am ready to go. Putting on my safety hat ... you are not going to leave that wire hanging out there where that door can slam on to the wire and vibrate the insulation away ... i hope ... maybe you will care for it before the end of the video ... heil safety
@@TractorTimewithTim There ya go ... that sounds 'playful' ... I watched your ventrac factory tour ... was going to give you grief about the sodas that were NOT cheerwine .. because NC. PS tarheels really? Red wolves are way better! :)
Can you demonstrate using auto throttle it will work. For example, using the 2038 R John Deere it has other capability, and that the smaller ones I love Dave’s comets.
Good video. I'd like to know how many gallons/day Johnny burns while acting as a back-up power source? I think fuel storage (volume) is often overlooked when people buy generators for home back-up. Sure, generator XYZ can power your home, but what good is it if it burns 15 gallons of fuel per day and you live in a hurricane zone and need to plan for 7 day outages?
Very interesting video. I am picturing in a real power outage, situation you would likely hook old Salty to it, mainly because of it hours being so high it really wouldn’t effect its value to rack up a bunch of hours in a major multiple day outage type situation, plus bigger fuel tank, and extra pony’s would be an advantage as well.
What does that cost compared to a similar sized standalone generator? I can't think I would want to put the hours on the tractor and listen to that loud noise 24x7. Seems to be more useful if you need power away from a grid power source. It is easy enough to check the standard for electrical wire Amps/length. I'm not sure your splice is proper for that much amperage though. Does Apple know if you have solar and battery backup or are off grid?
What Induction range top did you select? I am looking for options in the near future. It appears that European manufactures are better that the American options.
@@TractorTimewithTim hmmm, we have been thinking about a home generator. This makes me rethink everything. I’ll have to look into which one would work best for my 22 2025R.
I've got a PTO generator too. My 1025R is NOT big enough for my house. It will work everything except our HVAC system (a Geo-Thermal Heat Pump). When the heat pump tries to kick on, the RPMS fall, bringing the voltage and frequency down to a point where the heat pump gives up and goes into safety shutdown.
@@TractorTimewithTim I just added another tractor to the barn, one you may be a familiar with, an LX3310 Cab. As you probably know, it makes 25% more horsepower than the 1025R, 100% more torque. I'm waiting for the next power failure when I'll find out if the LX + Generator will fire up the heat pump.
I'm going with Dave. While the computer may have computed in kg-newtons, etc, you can bet your bottom dollar that the parts of the lunar lander were engineered and built in US Customary Units. I'll be darned if there's a 6 or 7 mm bolt or rivet vs a 1/4", or some metric number vs 0.032" thick aluminum sheet, or the metric wire size vs AWG.
I am curious to know does the turbocharged Jonny X consume more fuel than a stock 1025R or less? Keep up the good work your videos are always informative and Tim and Christie’s quality guest make them more enjoyable
Does the generator have an Inverter to provide clean electricity for electronics? Many products have electronics: refrigerator, furnace, TVs, computers.
@@coypatton3160 as someone that has grew up on the farm. Even a new PTO shaft shield on level ground will spin with the PTO shaft. As there is nothing to hold it in place from spinning freely with the PTO shaft.
The outer shield is chained to the 3 point to keep it from spinning. The ‘I grew up on a farm…’ is uncalled for. The original reply to your question is accurate.
I was always told you need 2hp per kw with a pto generator and it looks like that was close to what you found to. For those comparing the price of a home generator to a pto generator and saying they are similar must be comparing a smaller kw home generator then a pto. Also the home generators are lighter duty and a 2 pole generator
Tim, if you burn down your house you will be able to show how to cleanup the mess with your tractor! In regards to the metric system on the moon, the last time man was on the moon the US was not pushing the metric system off on Americans!
Sounds like too many 120vac appliances are connected on one leg. Probably kitchen outlets and appliances. With a coffe maker, microwave oven, dishwasher, refrigerator all on the same leg but different breakers can cause that severe imbalance.
Dave is right Despite the USSR's early space race dominance, the United States is still to this day the only country to have successfully landed humans on the Moon - having done so another five times after the famous Apollo 11 mission.
@@TractorTimewithTim Great WTH a 40hp 1979 2040 as my backup tractor hooked to this generator would probably run my house also . Diesel consumption is only about a gallon an hour.
Tim, I am not an electrician, but have basically double the amp load on one leg, could be indicating a potentially serious problem with your house’s electrically service. One thing a non electrician homeowner can do with no risk is to record the loads on their panel. (Again if possible you want to consider loads not breaker ratings). I realize in some areas this is hit or miss, but a rough process can be estimated. If your furnace, oven etc are all on the same leg-you have a major issue. But also look for rooms you use verse rooms you use very little. If these rough calculations of load seem closely balanced, then you may have more serious issues such as loose connections-unfortunately these may be anywhere in your home. Checking these are probably best left to an electrician.
@@TractorTimewithTim I didn't know until I connected my generator years ago. It was a relatively simple process to balance. I just moved a few breakers up or down 1 slot to shift loads to the other leg since breakers alternate legs in the box. I think what coypatton3160 might be saying is that those big loads on both legs might be drawing harder from one leg than the other due to a line issue on the other leg. This happened at my parents house several years ago. Issue was a loose connection outside on the pole. The idea of an oven only being on a single leg as he implies doesn't make sense to me. HVAC, electric oven, electric water heater, etc. are all going to be 2 leg, 240V connections and should have a balanced draw on each leg. Electrician isn't needed. Just turn off all your breakers, then turn on your 240V loads one at a time to see if you have uneven draws on your PTO generator.
unbalanced panel like what Tim has just indicates he has probably 1 or more 110V circuits on the same phase that have a high draw. Which is why when they turned on all those 220V devices the imbalance stayed. I have an imbalance as well and it can not be really solved because it is the circuit for my server rack which is 110V/20A all my other "big" loads are 220V. When the house had incandescent lights it probably was more balanced but once I went to LED the server circuit became a much heavier single phase load over any thing else.
@@hagak1679 Lol, the voice of reason. All great points. Figuring that out should be pretty easy then. You just get a Kill A Watt and go along checking your major loads like frig, freezers, humidifier/dehumidifier, etc.
@@hagak1679 Sounds like you need to get another server rack to put on the other "leg" of your service, your service will be balanced and everything will be magical from there, problem solved, your welcome 😁 I am of course kidding, please take nothing above as being serious or actually directed towards you, I am only joking. Just saw "it can not be solved because...." and said, really, I can solve that, it will be in a way that is not necessary and likely not practical for you, but i can solve it......🤣 ( I know, and you clearly know, that your unbalanced panel is not a problem 👍) Have a good one!!👍
In my opinion, the PTO generator is not good for your electronics in a home setting. It is also very noisy. You would have a hard time sleeping. But, if this is the only way to have power, during a power outage, well it better than nothing. I know this was just a quick test, but i was wondering how much fuel are you going to use on an hour. I have a portable 15kw generator, gas engine, that uses 1.5 gallons / hour. Thanks for the test.
One lineman on UA-cam was working on a down powerline, and they could hear a nearby house with a generator running. As they connected the powerlines to ground just to ensure the lines were safe to work on he made a flippant voice comment about seeing if they could burn the guys generator out. But no, the generator kept on working so he said good that obviously the homeowner had some kind of interlock device working. So if he can be flippant, I don’t see why you can’t. The heck with the haters
Good job making the hook up simple and safe. One thing I will mention for the benefit of anybody who may read this, is that circuit breakers do, occasionally, fail, and they don't always 'fail safe' with power in the off position. Furthermore, I have seen where only half of a 240 V breaker fails. The breaker shows off, and if you check across the circuit you show no power.....but if you check from one leg to neutral or ground, you will see 120 volts. While I know you were dealing with new hardware, the safest bet is to not only double check that the power is off, but to test both legs to ground or neutral on a 240 circuit.
Impossible to succeed!
My husband was watching this video and I couldn’t help remembering when in Northern Kentucky couple years ago we had a severe wind storm knocking out not just one but Two utility poles and one transformer. We were out for 4 days total, However, thanks to my husband with one generator on its own we were fine. Only think we weren’t able to run was coffee maker, Until he pulls up his tractor and used a converter so that the tractor powered our coffee maker. 😁 Great video.
Good memories!
Yeah where im renting its set up for gen back feed initially the quick and dirty way because before my friend/landlord did it because the nieghborhood was down for 4 days? In the winter and estimated longer. Friend work other side of state and bought sister/ nieghbor new gen that he thought was electric start. I dont him dont put gas in it so he could return it and i would grab mine from moms next door (gen was at moms so i could use welder. No power supply she was end of line having power) friend put gas in anyways but it pissed out. So sister used my gen and her old gen got moved to trl to get it online for old tenant so pipes didnt freeze
I find the advantages of a PTO driven generator are, based on how rarely I have had to use a generator twice in 18 years, I don't have yet another engine to perform maintenance on, fuel is used by the generator only when it is needed not some every week like the autorun/exercise feature of the automatic units do, yes this is a small amount but if you only need to use it twice in 18 years that can add up to a huge amount.
In my current case I use a Lincoln Ranger 9, 9KW, that I use a lot for welding I will always have a gas powered welder. The 2 times I have used it in the 18 years I have owned it (5 days one time, 24 hrs the 2nd) I've only used about 60 gallons of gas for generation for a power outage. That is a huge savings over however much propane would be used for 6 full days of of run time and all of the weekly exercise running.
But building steel buildings, pipe fence, fixing equipment in remote places it get use as a generator more frequently for grinders, chop saw etc so the "portability" is a huge benefit.
Listening to you call out the kw usage made me think of Doc Brown!
1.21 gigawatts!
BAHAHA I had that thought also.
@@TractorTimewithTim I love pointing out to folks that the "jig" pronunciation depicted in that film is more correct than the "gig" version most people adopted when our computers got powerful enough to require that prefix.
I have a rebranded Kubota LowBoy 6500 generator, a Yamaha EDL6500S. I got it second hand 10yrs ago and it’s been great. I used it last spring for 5days nonstop when we had extreme straight line winds here in Nashville Tennessee. Best part is the tank is big enough I could fill it up when I left for work, and I wouldn’t have to fill it up until long after I got home from work.
We installed a Cummins 50kw 208 amp whole house backup generator with an auto transfer switch last year on our home. The individual leg voltage varies depending on what is running. That's a super cool setup you have there.
We've used a smaller older version PTO genset for the last 40 years or so. We purchased it used in 1981 to provide temporary power to frame and finish a large house that we were building about 1/2 mile from existing power. We ran it ten hours a day for about 4 months. For the first few months we powered it with a Model M John Deere then used a Mannheim built 710 John Deere (53 hp?) The 710 was nice as it had both 540 and 1000 rpm pto shafts. We bought a conversion stub so that we could run the genset on the 1000 rpm shaft. That way we hit 60 hz with just a high idle. That kept noise and fuel consumption low.
We used the genset for part construction of a couple more rural homes where the powerlines had not been run in yet. After that it became the backup genset at our farm here in Langley B.C.. I still have the genset ( Winpower 7/12kw) however something has broken in the internal gear drive, so I purchased a new 10 kw e start tri fuel genset as our backup. I intend to repair the PTO genset and make it the back up to the backup. Also handy for remote power needs, as Kristy points out.
So glad I do not have to deal with a loud annoying generator anymore now that I have the F150 PowerBoost with ProPower 7.2kw inverter on it. Besides the HVAC, I powered the whole house with it once during a storm. Super quiet, as truck doesn't have to run at all times, even when does it is quiet, 30G fuel tank. And completely portable with ease no matter where I am at.
I always try to keep the PTO shaft as inline as possible (little bend in the U joints) the more bend you have the less efficient the power transfer and the increase wear on the PTO. Of course with bush hogs and such you cant control it much but with a stationary implement it is a good idea to correct the angles.
meant to say increased wear on the PTO shaft (the u-joints), not sure if it would increase wear on the PTO itself probably not.
I’ll agree with this. If that generator was going to be mated permanently to a 1025 I think you would want to modify the hitch to get that pto a little straighter. That’s a challenge with those small tractors
I like this option, growing up in dairy country 30 years ago...every farmer had one next to the milking parlor.
Managing the rpm/hertz will be the biggest issue, while scheduling time blocks for cooking vs cleaning vs heating.
In-rush current for starting motors (heating compressor,well pump) is also a concern.
Well done,and nice to have the data before you need it!
Thanks for the great video with little Johnny I always wondered how well a tractor that size would work on one of those generators
I was actually pleasantly surprised that Johnny would be able to produce that level of electricity And I agree, that would be plenty of power to get you through a severe loss of electricity, when you are sensible with your household demands. Dave’s quips are a hoot! Blessings.
Great video Tim. I wired my gen plug same as you did except I was cheap and used #6 copper. However my place is very small and I do not need to as much juice as you guys did. I have a 15kv pto gen, a 7kv gas portable and 4.4kw hrs of battery backup. I like having the options.
Your tractor has a governor too! It just bogs down when it runs out of power, stand alone generator is no different. I have one of these for my house as well, IMD and a little smaller at 22KW vs 30KW but it will also run my entire house. My house isn't very big, but it does have 2 heatpumps for some reason. It will run both of them though. Kept me cool in Texas not too long ago when a big storm knocked our power out for 80 hours. Also good job changing that connection. That Anderson plug looks like 175 amp which is plenty, the same size I use. That 50 amp plug was pretty suspect when I saw the power you were pulling through it on the other video!
nice set up
I added a 10k portable, propane gennie plumbed into my 1000gal propane tank. It's a manual start process with a simple interconnect switch, but it powers most of the home when I need it. Cost me about $1200 all in a few years ago, but I did the install myself.
Nice work comparing the two tractors. I am wondering if the vibration you were seeing was the ujoints on the pto shaft. Possibly blocking the tractor up 6-8 inches would reduce the vibration. But nice setup and now you are ready if the power goes out which means you should be good for 3-5 years before it goes out.
6:05 I like how Kristie says "my dryer" and "my induction cooktop". I get the impression you're not allowed to use those appliances, Tim. It may be worth looking into why there's such a load imbalance between the two legs. It may be possible to get them closer just by swapping a few wires around. If you had something like an Emporia Energy Monitor system, you could actually track the energy usage of various appliances and circuits. (Edited: change phases to legs)
It's a single phase generator, and the "phase" is just the term that's confused with "leg", whereas, each leg is 120V; between the two "legs", you get 240V.
@@powrguy1696 Thanks, changed. Whether the panel is powered by the mains or the generator is irrelevant. The point was to investigate why there's an imbalance.
Great comparison running the power loads with the two tractors, no sweat for Johnny X!
Excellent fix. Not sure how you could have done better. It was really cool to see you struggle to get more “load”. This scenario is versatile. As Christie mentioned lights in a field. You could power a full on “event”,in a very isolated spot. An idea. Attach/wire an electrical panel to the generator, like a “tool rack”. Then safely powering several small reasonable loads. Great job.
Very interesting comparison! Thanks for sharing your experience.
DDWD on TTWT
A natural fit
Yep!
That was cool Tim and Cristy ! I was surprised that a tractor that small would run an entire house ! I would have thought a 50+ hp would be needed. Great video!
I ordered 2 more Knipex yesterday.
Let’s get started !
This is a very cool attachment for a compact tractor. In the right situation, I'm sure it would be a great option. However, for those of us with only one tractor, I think it would be better (in most cases) to have a large diesel (or propane/diesel) generator and use the tractor to move the generator where it's needed. With a PTO generator, you couldn't use the tractor to do minor tractor things, like help clear the road, clean up fallen trees, or gather firewood for emergency heat.
It's usually pretty easy to balance your phases! Use a clamp-on ammeter of any quality or price, Home Despot sells them. Recognize, looking into your power panel, that every other breaker screw going down each side is on the same phase.
Using the meter check the two big cables feeding the panel's two bus bars. Once you have that, figure out which of the every-other breaker screw terminals are the over subscribed phase. Do this by simply switching breakers off starting with the top single pole breaker then skipping down every other one until you see on the meter the over subscribed phase dropping with switched off breakers. (Ignore all two pole breakers but include them in the every-other screw counting.) Note, if you've switched several breakers off in one of the every-other groups and the current isn't going down, you've got the "other phase". Turn the turned-off breakers back on and start switching the other group off.
You will see the monitored phase current dropping with most the breakers you're turning off. Write down the amperage drops you see with the breaker that caused them. Once you've done all the breakers down both sides and have your list you're ready to "balance the panel". Pick maybe two of the higher ones and with the breakers off switch them with two lines on the other alternating breaker phase. Re-label as necessary. That's how it's done. You can monitor things and see if you want more balancing or less. Adjust until you have something close to balanced. The generator will be much less thrashed by driving a balanced load and will be able to actually support its rated output.
I totally agree with @hagak1679 on that PTO shaft angle. U-joint angles should be 7 degrees or less. As the angle gets larger the shaft stops turning at a constant velocity and starts accelerating and decelerating twice every revolution. This screws up the sine-wave of the power delivery and stresses the entire drive train, including the gear boxes. Drive lines also have to have the SAME angle on both ends!! If that isn't the case then the drive line will move in-and-out twice every revolution and that's even more damaging to everything connected.
1 day ago
Great video, thanks for the comparison 👍🏻
Great video!
Got to meet you and your family at the national farm machinery show today had a great time talking to you
Tim
You will find a numerous amount of ways to generate power for your home. Almost as many as negative comments about what and how you are doing this.. LOL
I use just a 13hp gen set, 10000 watts. Have it wired in garage to back feed into house when needed SSHHHHH. I am very careful.
I have an older tractor, and could buy a PTO genset that could power 2 houses for very little money. But to haul the tractor out and hook up genset, after all is said and done, just seemed like a bother. Just wheel the portable generator to an open door and plug it in. The cost of a standby gen, was just not feasible at $4-$5k, I bought the generator, new for $1200, everything else I had, except a plug end $20. Just wired an old dryer plug up beside the electrical box in garage, and plug cord into that and generator, and runs entire house, with the exception of the electric range. But other than that little to no difference in having the grid. Power at most would be off for a few hours normally, not a huge deal in summer, but if very cold in winter not great without furnace for hours. So very little money for a large convenience if needed. I am thinking in roughly 5 years I have ran it a total of 12 hours, and one of them times was 7 hours, so you get the idea. Had it the first 2 years and ran it for an hour. LOL But keep treated gas in it, and always ready to serve.
If y'all are on a well, running the pump can be a significant draw, especially at start up. high draw for a split second can overwhelm a small portable gen.
I'm due to replace my pump this spring and I'll be installing a soft start Grundfoss exactly for this reason
Is the gear train not lubricated square cut gears? The only other attachment I've heard be that loud was a snowblower with open, grease lubed right angle gears.. I'd go insane with that much noise.. I'd have to change it over to belt & pulley.
There's got to be a bearing or shroud or something rubbing on that thing. It sounds horrible!
Gotta love the keyboard electrical police! Probably already know this but you can easily balance your load by swapping your high draw 110 breakers to the other leg with something that draws very little. The only thing that can sometimes can become a issue is wire length, but that can be solved.
I was at the National Farm Machinery show yesterday I was hoping to meet you but unfortunately our paths never crossed. I was hoping for an opportunity to interview you but maybe some other time. Love your show.
We published our meetup times. Sorry
Thanks Tim.
That gearbox is noisier than the Tractor ??
Nice load test but You have to remember when in an emergency situation You are gonna run as minimum as possible for Fuel economy
Mike M.
The way you just showing how you hook your generator up that's the way mine's hooked up but I'm on a light pole I have a poll top
Time I tried to find you at the expo today for about 2 hours with no luck (sad face ) soooo many people. I even checked the concession stands a couple times - LOL It was after 11am so I looked for you at the discount hydraulic booth using the map which I could also not find... user error I am sure. I hate so bad I missed meeting you and Kristy, I have you both on my list of folks I want to thank face to face for all the inspiration and information. Maybe next year if I can get off work again. Thank you so much for your videos and lifting up when I need it!! travel safe back home.
Sorry. We had published times and booth numbers. RhinoAg was at 2pm
Tim, I'd shoot for 61~62 Hertz. Current will decrease on inductive loads ( motors) above 60 Htz. Resistive loads won't care what the frequency is. I can hear in imbalance in the fields. That's some of the shaking. Best to try and bring that current in balance. Especially when the gen is being driven with a smaller engine. Just a thought not a big deal, I'm just knit picking. 🙂
Great video! Any plans for doing more sub compact jobs? Rototilling jobs for customers etc?
Sure. It HAS been winter ya know :-)
The direct mathematical conversion is 1HP = 745.7 watts. So 14kw is just under 19HP (in a perfect world). That really puts the parasitic losses of the system (both mechanical and electrical) into perspective. No getting away from that though. Pretty sweet setup though!
A few years ago, I helped set up a large outdoor concert. They brought in a large generator for the electrical service to run the stage. I was surprised how much it took to run their boards. All of the sound crews would check to make sure they had enough power so their equipment wouldn’t get damaged. I was amazed how much equipment used to produce those shows. It was eye opening to be back stage.
Go check out a traveling midway sometime when they are set up at a county fair or festival. The amount of power they use for all their rides, food stands, games, lights, etc is phenomenal.
Dang, little Johnny-X is impressive. I thought about a PTO generator, but I got a standalone Duromax XP12000EH for this purpose, as I own only one tractor :P
Tim waiting on 2038r test - located in Central Ohio with Waterfurnace 5, curious if emergency heat will still work.
Many homes in south Alabama have stand by units for hurricanes. You can go 2 weeks without power and that's hard without power In the south during hurricane season. But that's another option.
Interesting video thanks for sharing keep the video's rolling🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
If I remember right you have this generator inlet connected to a 50 amp breaker. Why did the breaker not trip when you were getting over 50 amps?
No, it is not connected to 50 amp breaker.
That is really loud. What about having it in the barn where the tractor and generator is secured inside? This would also get it away from the house and cut down on the noise.
It would cost $5k in wiring.
Like he mentioned lighter wire in a short run.
@@2chipped I believe it is already wired. Should lead from the meter, possibly to a breaker box in the house, then to the barn. Has 220 in the barn, so should be just fine. Would only need the 220 plug from the breaker box in the barn ran if he has room in the breaker box. If he had to run wire to the barn which I doubt he would have to do, would be cheaper than having a tractor stolen in the middle of the night. Just saying.
That would be a cool test to see though now you mention it is to see it in action in a simulated emergency field repair with a Mig Welder. You probably pre-jinxed yerself with breaking something that needs on the spot welding. Could be a good dry run test.
For balance ... you could check the large wires going into or out of the panel. For the sides ... each side, every other breaker is on the other leg. So you could put ever breaker on one side and be balances ... now if you skipped every other breaker then you for sure you would be unbalance ... and a littie weird to do that too! semi humor, semi serious .. thanks for the videos
You hit on the head. All in what you want to power, I back feed my home on 50 amp breaker with 10.000 watt. Now the wire that feeds it is 8-3 been working for me
I feel that this generator would be something I'd be using to power up the essentials during a long power outage. Curious to know what the fuel consumption/hr would be (qt/hr).
More like gallons per hr I'd think!
Hey Tim, I think you have a good solution there. I've used a PTO generator and they work well as long as you have a working tractor and you have plenty to choose from. Best of all you are already exercising the tractor regularly and a single purpose home-generator can fail just when you need it. However, I am curious why you did not set this up in your shop and back-feed back to your house so that you could leave the tractor out in the shop/shed or in a covered area like a lean-to next to the shop. To keep the tractor protected but still provide cover. You can always leave a door open or if you use a lean-to it is outside but covered.
Think about the wiring…and be reminded that this is UA-cam. I would be slaughtered if I had no back feed protection.
I did not mean no backed protection... But you are correct. @@TractorTimewithTim UA-cam commenters would slaughter you. But isn't that also good for the channel? Best of luck. Next you could do solar, you are in Texas so lots of sun on your shop area to absorb. Thanks for the videos.
They are in Indiana. Not quite as good for solar.
Well mixed message. I clicked the like button. You inspired me to go ahead and fix everything up so I am ready to go. Putting on my safety hat ... you are not going to leave that wire hanging out there where that door can slam on to the wire and vibrate the insulation away ... i hope ... maybe you will care for it before the end of the video ... heil safety
Good grief. Absolutely no way to win with you nazis.
@@TractorTimewithTim There ya go ... that sounds 'playful' ... I watched your ventrac factory tour ... was going to give you grief about the sodas that were NOT cheerwine .. because NC. PS tarheels really? Red wolves are way better! :)
Thank you for pushing American John Deere!
Can you demonstrate using auto throttle it will work. For example, using the 2038 R John Deere it has other capability, and that the smaller ones I love Dave’s comets.
No. Auto Throttle is a totally different feature from what you are thinking. Sorry.
Good video. I'd like to know how many gallons/day Johnny burns while acting as a back-up power source? I think fuel storage (volume) is often overlooked when people buy generators for home back-up. Sure, generator XYZ can power your home, but what good is it if it burns 15 gallons of fuel per day and you live in a hurricane zone and need to plan for 7 day outages?
I agree with the Jack Black comment!
Very nice! Is it just me or is that thing incredibly loud?
Very interesting video. I am picturing in a real power outage, situation you would likely hook old Salty to it, mainly because of it hours being so high it really wouldn’t effect its value to rack up a bunch of hours in a major multiple day outage type situation, plus bigger fuel tank, and extra pony’s would be an advantage as well.
Exactly!
we have a 22kw Generac 500lb tank it was about $10,000 installed the transfer switch came with the generator
What does that cost compared to a similar sized standalone generator? I can't think I would want to put the hours on the tractor and listen to that loud noise 24x7. Seems to be more useful if you need power away from a grid power source.
It is easy enough to check the standard for electrical wire Amps/length. I'm not sure your splice is proper for that much amperage though.
Does Apple know if you have solar and battery backup or are off grid?
What Induction range top did you select? I am looking for options in the near future. It appears that European manufactures are better that the American options.
crazy how the generator started shaking at one point.🤣
Great video guy’s! Does your generator have plugs that can be used out in the field for say power tools?
Yes.
@@TractorTimewithTim hmmm, we have been thinking about a home generator. This makes me rethink everything. I’ll have to look into which one would work best for my 22 2025R.
What is the THD% for the generator?
I believe it's 1%
That sucker is pretty loud. How long could it run like that?
AVE also loves to say "contact" in a fun way. I like that generator! Cool to see how it performs behind a stock 1025.
For the first time in years my wife watched with me for a bit. She said, "He looks older." 😂😂
Well, he IS!
“1.21 Gigawatts!”😂
Great video. Could Johnny X have extra water coolers added. Or is that all ready done.
Dunno if there is room.
@@TractorTimewithTim 👋👍🏻
I've got a PTO generator too. My 1025R is NOT big enough for my house. It will work everything except our HVAC system (a Geo-Thermal Heat Pump). When the heat pump tries to kick on, the RPMS fall, bringing the voltage and frequency down to a point where the heat pump gives up and goes into safety shutdown.
Interesting. Guess this is an excuse for a bigger tractor? …or maybe the hydrosplus turbo kit?
@@TractorTimewithTim I just added another tractor to the barn, one you may be a familiar with, an LX3310 Cab. As you probably know, it makes 25% more horsepower than the 1025R, 100% more torque. I'm waiting for the next power failure when I'll find out if the LX + Generator will fire up the heat pump.
@@MikeSouzaProjects I'm just a little familiar with the LX3310. I own one :-)
What was the website again that gives you an estimate of the value of your tractor
Tractorzoom.com
I'm going with Dave. While the computer may have computed in kg-newtons, etc, you can bet your bottom dollar that the parts of the lunar lander were engineered and built in US Customary Units. I'll be darned if there's a 6 or 7 mm bolt or rivet vs a 1/4", or some metric number vs 0.032" thick aluminum sheet, or the metric wire size vs AWG.
I am curious to know does the turbocharged Jonny X consume more fuel than a stock 1025R or less? Keep up the good work your videos are always informative and Tim and Christie’s quality guest make them more enjoyable
More
Shaking? Could it be the PTO shaft angle?
Might be..wasn’t shaking earlier on the other tractor.
Possibly drop the trailer off the hitch, letting the front of the generator sag down possibly making the angle gentler?
Does the generator have an Inverter to provide clean electricity for electronics? Many products have electronics: refrigerator, furnace, TVs, computers.
Why was the PTO shafts on both tractors not spinning while testing for the power load? Does the generator run itself without the PTO shaft?
There us a PTO shield (protects you from the spinning PTO shaft) that does not spin if properly installed.
@@coypatton3160 as someone that has grew up on the farm. Even a new PTO shaft shield on level ground will spin with the PTO shaft. As there is nothing to hold it in place from spinning freely with the PTO shaft.
The outer shield is chained to the 3 point to keep it from spinning.
The ‘I grew up on a farm…’ is uncalled for. The original reply to your question is accurate.
12:13 if NPR wrote it, it's probably true
Ha!
that man with you looks sooooo much like Ron Jeremy....even my g/f said he looks like him LOL
Balanced amp loads should give you a lower power bill. I think the meter spins based on the highest amp load.
Corntact. Don't let the angry pixies out!
Tim... Stop touching the genset! If a wire comes loose when it drags down and touches, you're not going to be with us anymore.
GREAT SCOTT you needed One point twenty-one Gigawats to run everything.😂❤ happy valentines 💝 day. Love the vid.
I'm sorry to hear that you had a loss in the family, God bless, and I will be praying for you and your family.
I was always told you need 2hp per kw with a pto generator and it looks like that was close to what you found to. For those comparing the price of a home generator to a pto generator and saying they are similar must be comparing a smaller kw home generator then a pto. Also the home generators are lighter duty and a 2 pole generator
The KR30 model he's using is a 4-pole generator. Single phase.
Tim, if you burn down your house you will be able to show how to cleanup the mess with your tractor! In regards to the metric system on the moon, the last time man was on the moon the US was not pushing the metric system off on Americans!
If you dont already own a tractor thats one thing, but isnt it much much cheaper to get a PTO generator if you do?
Shaking partially because of the imbalance in load. Turn the computers off when running the generator.
In our area, I don't think your interlock device would pass muster! A double pole-double throw switch is required. Lots of bucks!
My understanding is that the NEC has approved it.
You are probably more up to date than I am. Thanks for all your great videos!!@@TractorTimewithTim
Sounds like too many 120vac appliances are connected on one leg. Probably kitchen outlets and appliances. With a coffe maker, microwave oven, dishwasher, refrigerator all on the same leg but different breakers can cause that severe imbalance.
Of course, but i submit everyone's house is that way. ...you just don't know it because you aren't measuring it.
Tim did you forget Christy is in charge and always has been?
Just out of curiosity would a bx 1880 Kubota 18 hp be able to handle the generator?
Yes, but not at full load.
Dave is right
Despite the USSR's early space race dominance, the United States is still to this day the only country to have successfully landed humans on the Moon - having done so another five times after the famous Apollo 11 mission.
are you on a well?
I am a well tech was wondering the same.
Yes….240v
Tim what size is the generator
30kw
@@TractorTimewithTim Great WTH a 40hp 1979 2040 as my backup tractor hooked to this generator would probably run my house also . Diesel consumption is only about a gallon an hour.
It's good to know that the electric safety police are monitoring this channel
I would think that a lot of appliances, refrigerator, stove, dryer, furnace, ect would not be happy when the cycles go below or higher than 60 cycles
Tim, I am not an electrician, but have basically double the amp load on one leg, could be indicating a potentially serious problem with your house’s electrically service.
One thing a non electrician homeowner can do with no risk is to record the loads on their panel. (Again if possible you want to consider loads not breaker ratings). I realize in some areas this is hit or miss, but a rough process can be estimated.
If your furnace, oven etc are all on the same leg-you have a major issue.
But also look for rooms you use verse rooms you use very little.
If these rough calculations of load seem closely balanced, then you may have more serious issues such as loose connections-unfortunately these may be anywhere in your home. Checking these are probably best left to an electrician.
Again, no one would know if we hadn’t connected the generator.
To prove that point, is YOUR house balanced? What is the relative load on your house?
@@TractorTimewithTim I didn't know until I connected my generator years ago. It was a relatively simple process to balance. I just moved a few breakers up or down 1 slot to shift loads to the other leg since breakers alternate legs in the box. I think what coypatton3160 might be saying is that those big loads on both legs might be drawing harder from one leg than the other due to a line issue on the other leg. This happened at my parents house several years ago. Issue was a loose connection outside on the pole. The idea of an oven only being on a single leg as he implies doesn't make sense to me. HVAC, electric oven, electric water heater, etc. are all going to be 2 leg, 240V connections and should have a balanced draw on each leg. Electrician isn't needed. Just turn off all your breakers, then turn on your 240V loads one at a time to see if you have uneven draws on your PTO generator.
unbalanced panel like what Tim has just indicates he has probably 1 or more 110V circuits on the same phase that have a high draw. Which is why when they turned on all those 220V devices the imbalance stayed. I have an imbalance as well and it can not be really solved because it is the circuit for my server rack which is 110V/20A all my other "big" loads are 220V. When the house had incandescent lights it probably was more balanced but once I went to LED the server circuit became a much heavier single phase load over any thing else.
@@hagak1679 Lol, the voice of reason. All great points. Figuring that out should be pretty easy then. You just get a Kill A Watt and go along checking your major loads like frig, freezers, humidifier/dehumidifier, etc.
@@hagak1679 Sounds like you need to get another server rack to put on the other "leg" of your service, your service will be balanced and everything will be magical from there, problem solved, your welcome 😁
I am of course kidding, please take nothing above as being serious or actually directed towards you, I am only joking. Just saw "it can not be solved because...." and said, really, I can solve that, it will be in a way that is not necessary and likely not practical for you, but i can solve it......🤣 ( I know, and you clearly know, that your unbalanced panel is not a problem 👍)
Have a good one!!👍
In my opinion, the PTO generator is not good for your electronics in a home setting. It is also very noisy. You would have a hard time sleeping. But, if this is the only way to have power, during a power outage, well it better than nothing. I know this was just a quick test, but i was wondering how much fuel are you going to use on an hour.
I have a portable 15kw generator, gas engine, that uses 1.5 gallons / hour.
Thanks for the test.
One lineman on UA-cam was working on a down powerline, and they could hear a nearby house with a generator running. As they connected the powerlines to ground just to ensure the lines were safe to work on he made a flippant voice comment about seeing if they could burn the guys generator out. But no, the generator kept on working so he said good that obviously the homeowner had some kind of interlock device working. So if he can be flippant, I don’t see why you can’t. The heck with the haters
You want to be above 58hz. So no load you should be at 61 to 62hz on throttle settings