Quote:
Originally Posted by fireant911
red-beard,
Thanks for your willingness to share your knowledge AND your patience with those of us that are eager to know more! I was a bit shocked when jims5543 stated that his propane generator appeared to use 70 gallons of propane a day but after investigating further that is in line with estimated hourly consumption. Like others have stated, a diesel engine may be much better suited for this application; however, diesel configurations are way more expensive... unless the unit providing the power is already available (think - tractors).
I was speaking with my younger brother this morning regarding this generator quandary and he mentioned using my tractor with a pto-driven generator head. A quick search revealed that these heads can be purchased much cheaper that the cost of a complete propane-fueled package. During my search I discovered that issues may arise from the usage of pto-driven generators - Tractor-Driven Generators: Producing Quality Power
Would you share your thoughts about diesel pto-driven generators (or did I already answer my question with the link above which quite clearly lists a plethora of cautionary warnings about such configurations)? |
If you have an old tractor you don't mind putting a ton of hours on. I would go for it. You would also look at the # of poles on the generator head. 3600 rpm vs 1800 rpm.
Most of these applications are DIY. Buy a used or new 4 pole generator head. Mount on a frame and hook up a pto drive shaft and splines on the head. similarly harbor freight and eBay have units that are plug and play. Personally that is the last thing I'll be using my tractors for. Especially the new one. The cost per hour on the tractor is 4x that of my old pancake 6kw head and a 1l Kubota engine.