Semi OT: PTO generator or standalone?

A Winpower 7KW PTO generator came up on the local craigslist, and I'm thinking... Boy would that be cool to have to hook to my Super A when the electricity goes out.

Given your choice to power a household, which would you choose?

1. PTO generator and the old Farmall.
2. Standalone engine-powered unit.

The PTO unit is a pretty good deal; it includes the transfer switch and a long cable. I can get a cheap engine-powered unit rated the same for less than half the money, though...

The power only goes out 1-2 times a year around here and then only for a few hours at most. Still, I understand about planning for long-term outages and all. A 7KW generator would run all my critical systems (light, heat, food preservation), plus a few "comfort" systems.

Cost... I can get a 7KW engine-driven unit for as little as 1/3 what they want for this one. But, it's cheap junk that might not last 100 hours. But, chances are it will sit for long periods of time, and not even get run 100 hours in the next 10 years. In the meantime a bunch of my money is tied up. On the upside, the PTO unit will be worth what I paid for it if not more if/when I sell it.

Reliability I'd consider a wash. 54 year old tractor vs. a cheap Chinese engine...

Deployability... The engine generator would sit in my garage, but the PTO would be back in the barn. Open the garage door, yank the cord, and I have juice... I could spend hours slogging 300' through waist-deep snow to get to the barn for the generator.

For ANYONE owning a tractor, a PTO generator is the winner hands down. One less engine to maintain, and it WILL fail when needed. A SA will run a 7 Kw well at 100%. I think it requires 24HP to run 13 Kw at 100%. Winpower is a good brand and not cheap new. My father has a 16 Kw on a 3 point and my grandfather has a 15 Kw on a trailer. We live in hurricane territory and in rural areas 1-2 weeks without power in not uncommon after a good hurricane demolishes 100's of miles of power lines.

I am looking at a North Star 13 Kw or 27.5 Kw unit. After I finish building my house I plan to buy one. I will have my transfer set up at the shop where I can operate the generator under the lean to keeping the electrical dry.

IT IS IMPARITIVE YOU HAVE A PROPER TRANSFER SETUP!!! This is to protect you when the power comes back on and to protect the workers when th lines are down. If your main is on and you are generating 220V power you can send it to the transformer and step it up to line voltage and kill a lineman.

Good luck.

Charles

Part of my decision to go with the PTO unit was portability. I can have 60 amps of 240-volt power (15kW Winpower unit)continuously anywhere the tractor can go. This includes the ability to help family and friends during long outages.

For home use, please follow the advice given below about a transfer switch. It really could save a life.

I agree with the PTO option. I have a 15kw PTO generator that comes in handy when there is a power outage which isn't too often where we live. That is the best part about it as the engine powered generator could set for months without use and when it came time to use it, it probably would not start unless you start in on a regular basis. My Father-in-law had an engine powered generator for running his milking machine when they had a power outage. They didn't have a power outage that he needed it for several years. When he finally needed it the engine would not start.
You certainly need the right switch gear if you are going to connect to your house. I just use an extension cord, unplug what I am going to power up, and plug in to my generator. If I need the furnace I disconnect from the breaker. I was too cheap to buy the switch gear. Roger

My vote....PTO driven. We have a 12kw PTO generator mounted on a trailer. We can connect her to any of three tractors we have so the likelihood of one of the tractors not starting or being available is rear to non-existent. (Knock on wood).

Just as an FYI, the standard is usually 2HP for every Kw. We run ours mainly behind a 24HP diesel utility tractor and it does well but she lugs down hard when pulling a good amount of that 12Kw power.

Lastly, like with any generator PTO or otherwise, suggest that you test it out at least quarterly. That way you can ensure that the generator itself (e.g. windings, etc) are all ok and won"t leave you in the dark at the worst time.

A pto setup is good, if you have a later model tractor with fairly accurate governor, but older tractors such as an A did not have a stable enough governor to maintain the correct generator speed under changing loads. it will result in both fluctuating voltage and frequency.