PTO generators

[Patrick NC]

Yep. That was my last year up there. No power for 3 weeks,  some folks out for a month and a half. Not fun in January and February.  Don't miss those days at all.

[Greenie]

I've used a 15,000 watt Winpower PTO generator with no damage to electronics. When a heavy load comes on the governor on the tractor maintains RPMs - there might be a momentary drop in voltage - for a second, but it quickly recovers.

Wow - what kind of tractor do you have that governs the RPM output on the PTO?  All of mine are just a simple friction lock on a mechanical throttle - no governor at all.
I think that I'm about to get "tractor envy"  :D

Any tractor I connect the PTO generator to. I've used 3 different tractors - all maintain RPM with varying loads. Kubota L3400, Kubota L4600, John Deere 790. I set the throttle with the PTO generator attached and leave it run. The wife turns on the electric range or electric dryer and the tractor comes under load and continues to supply 120/240 VAC. When the wife turns off the appliances the tractor responds... 120/240.I'm not running outside to adjust the throttle each time a load comes on or goes off.

[Southside]

Yep. That was my last year up there. No power for 3 weeks,  some folks out for a month and a half. Not fun in January and February.  Don't miss those days at all.

Was that '98?  We got about a foot of snow in Aroostook, but the southern part of Maine was decimated.  

[Patrick NC]

Yep. 1998. Where I lived there was 9" of ice. Then more snow and the temperatures plunged to 20 below. We ran 3 farms on that generator. Finish milking at one and move it to the next. Everyone helped their neighbor back then. 

[newoodguy78]

I was milking cows out that way then and remember hearing about that storm but fortunately it wasn't in my area. That type of storm makes for some real long miserable days. 

[scsmith42]

What tractor? Any tractor I've ever seen has a governor. From a 1923 Farmall regular to present day. You couldn't run any pto implement without one, or not very well.

Kioti DK65, and a New Holland 3010.
Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I always interpreted mine as being a simple friction throttle and not a governor.  When I'm mowing, bush-hogging, going up a hill, etc, the RPM will drop depending upon load.  Going downhill the opposite occurs.

[chevytaHOE5674]

You have a governor. The load is just more than it can compensate for.

[DMcCoy]

I run a 15,000 watt Onan on my kubota 1750 (20 Hp)  I know it won't pull it at full load so I adjust.  My kubota has a 2 speed PTO and if my loads are light I use the 848 PTO rpm. 
This saves on fuel big time!  I might burn 5 gallons in 24 hrs and the tractor isn't screaming along while I'm trying to sleep
I use a bar clamp to hold the throttle is position, using the screw clamp allows for fine throttle adjustment.
The biggest thing I have learned is to adjust the PTO speed according to frequency and not voltage. I have a fluke meter with a frequency setting.  Getting the generator dialed in at 60 Hz has been a game changer.
I run electronics through a battery backup which has so far protected my stuff.
My biggest headache and largest automatic load is my submersible well pump.  When it kicks in it causes a lot of flickering. I keep my water heater off unless we are taking showers and then I run it separately.
I run our nursery at the same time as the house and having motor loads is beneficial in my opinion. In my case greenhouse fans. Someone smarter than me could perhaps explain why.  Heater loads don't seem to help as much with smoothing out the power as motor loads.
Lastly I try and keep my generator under constant and consistent load as much as I can.  Having the tractor pulling a little makes it settle down and run smoother.
My generator was cheap to buy and I have used it over 20 yrs without having an incident.  I feel like I still get the expected life out of fridges and freezers. 
The new inverter gen sets are incredibly cheap.  If I was buying today that is probably the direction I would go.
 

[Ianab]

I run our nursery at the same time as the house and having motor loads is beneficial in my opinion. In my case greenhouse fans. Someone smarter than me could perhaps explain why.  Heater loads don't seem to help as much with smoothing out the power as motor lo

Possibly because the spinning motors act like an additional flywheel in the system? If you suddenly dip the voltage to a running motor, it actually generates back EMF from it's momentum and it's power draw will drop off temporarily, much more than a resistive (heater load). That would make it easier for the governor on the tractor to boost the power to match the new load. As long as the dips aren't extreme you barely notice them.

There are also 2 types of computer backup. One simply runs the devices on mains, and if that fails switches over to battery, fast enough so the computer doesn't shut down. A full inverter setup puts all the power into DC (across the battery), and then creates clean power from that DC source. It costs more, but the power is much cleaner as it's fully isolated from any mains fluctuations. 

[Magicman]

There will also be a huge difference in fuel usage between a self-contained unit and the tractor/pto.