Will this $300 PTO generator Power the House? Was it worth fixing up?

[@FarrelAmongus]

Impressive… If it saves even one freezer full of meat from an outage, it will have paid for itself many times over. Well done sir.

[@johnrodgers9877]

Wow Evan , that is way complicated ! When my power goes off I just go back to bed and wait til it comes back on !!!!

[@oldcarpenter2372]

Clean power has to do with the sine wave form. To prevent damage to circuit boards on appliances, computers, and equipment, prior to using it you should check that generator for sine wave distortion.

[@Falney]

Glad I checked before commenting. Even if there is a problem, it is very repairable. Generators are pretty simple.

[@JohnSmith-qd8po]

Total harmonic distortion can be measured. Old generators are notorious for high THD.

[@2wwwilly]

Get a big wattage power station would be better..suggest trade in ..😅😅😂😂❤❤

[@Sev_Auk]

Totally agree oldcarpenter. From Evan's first video on the generator, you can see on the info tag that it wants a constant 520 RPM on the PTO to maintain 60 Hz. I'm guessing neither tractor can supply a governed PTO speed that adjusts to load variations. I'd use it to power lights and space heaters, but not much else. The welder is probably okay too. Basically, I wouldn't plug anything into that cost more than about $300 and even then, one at at time. I think Evan got lucky that he didn't fry any expensive electronics/appliances :)

[@joecummings1260]

@@Sev_AukThe big tractor was holding 59.6 HZ under load that's fine to run anything. And all your electronics run on DC, There is rectification, filtering, and voltage regulation before the power goes to anything sensitive. If I was worried about anything on that Winco generator it would be the voltage regulation, but you can retrofit new voltage regulators in them if that is a problem

[@stephenbulingame8631]

Dang you are smart!!!

[@joerodrigues3816]

As always mate thanks for a great video hope you all are well and god bless you and your family

[@Traci_S_Aaron]

Something to consider about the way you've got that set up With my experience, there's another possibility to think about And that is use your generator exclusively to replenish the batteries. That way you get the maximum energy and non-wasted from the generator as it will store the energy in the batteries Now I'm not sure if your battery chargers can handle that, but if they can accept 240 input 50 amp to replenish the batteries, that would be the ticket

[@toooldforgaming]

Was thinking the same thing, hooking it up to a high power capacitor to smooth the amperage pulses and have it output with a charging controller to a battery bank

[@Traci_S_Aaron]

@@toooldforgaming Yes, that would depend on the charging regulating circuitry and the inverters and what kind of quality was designed into them to handle that

[@colint]

@@toooldforgaming He tried that first! The generator output was not stable enough for the EPCube, but not sure he tried it with the big tractor - might have been okay

[@dropshot1967]

maybe also test if the battery system will take the generator input from the bigger tractor as that seemed to have stabilized the frequency compared to the smaller tractor.

[@DanKlein_1]

you caught that too.. that was going to be my question. 👍

[@charlesperry1051]

After reading comments I will say, don't fret the frequency. Most, if not all, household loads will be fine +/-2 or even 3 Hz. I also would not worry about the sine wave from the generator. It is an old school unit without power electronics. The sine wave will be fine. Most household loads are electronic now and they don't care much about frequency. They do care about power, which is why the little tractor did not work. It could not make the power. I only have 30 years of experience doing research and testing in this field, including running a power lab. I like the generator. Looks like a nice solid unit.

[@CountryViewAcres]

I think it will work with the bigger tractor. I will have to test it out when I get a chance.

[@Critical-Thinker895]

Glad to see this comment. There's no regulator on that generator except maybe a couple of capacitors. High end electronics in the house use switching supplies to protect your computers etc. His tractor is just underpowered and that's why the freq dips. The house doesn't really notice small changes.

[@jamessanders4310]

I am not an knowledged electrician , but you amaze me with this kind of video....

[@alithemagicbum]

He is an electrical engineer....full time 😊

[@leol1682]

Like the video Evan and it ran good with the biger tractor .

[@stevenbradford6824]

Another great video.

[@namzat000]

I have a 80 amp baumalight pto generator. Lucked into to one by chance and got it brand new for 1/2 price. Definitely nice having one around

[@Dan-qy1rg]

Your test was a great one. Like what you did there, that generator was well worth the price you paid for it. Thanks for keeping us informed, have a goodnight and rest of week.

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Well Evan that swing turned into a GRAND SLAM with the new old generator. So glad your work paid off and lets hope you never need to use it for a long time. Stay safe around there and keep up the great videos and fun you both have around there. Fred.

[@outdoorstudios2022]

Good morning! Good morning!

[@brettstock7734]

You need to try it on the old A.C. Tractor. If you get an ice storm or snow storm you are going to want the cab tractor to move snow and brush

[@workhardlivefree3818]

You need a Country View Acres sticker on the housing of the generator

[@CountryViewAcres]

Yea, or need a stencil to paint it on.

[@craigwiest772]

Nice job. Curiousity and hard work win the day.

[@theElderberryFarmer]

Nice - put another mark in the 'WIN' column! Take care and God Bless.

[@TomBiggerstaff-gn1ws]

Ran the same generator with a 109 hp pto rated for 3 weeks to run milk barnand silo unloaders + reed conveyors at 1500 rph pto 540 pto was rated at 2400 its all about hp and rpm

[@DLRPyro1]

The B-52s I worked on in the USAF had a constant speed drive (CSD) between the jet engine output shaft and input shaft of the AC generator to maintain a constant frequency output from the generator regardless of the power setting of the engine. It was basically a transmission that a hydraulic pump powering a hydraulic motor and pressure regulators to keep the hydraulic motor at a constant speed.

[@JWTX]

Very impressive. Especially from a $300 generator. Now you have an extra layer of redundancy . Great, thanks for sharing......Jeff

[@jdschini]

Congrats on the successful restoration and testing of your “Little Red” generator! It is always a nice bonus when you purchase a low priced item, and it turns out to be a good investment for your farm.

[@elainedegoede6276]

Great stuff, Evan.👍

[@dpgoodall]

Sure helps to be a professional electrician for a project like this! Great job Evan!!!

[@batpherlangkharkrang7976]

Hi.... Evan thanks for showing your video homestead bye 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋👍👍👍

[@jamesharless5357]

Great video Evan!👍🏻

[@mrclaus859]

Thanks Evan

[@jeffreythomas7499]

Great job, don't forget to turn the mains back on at the electric meter.

[@albarrie4423]

Awesome. Huge success. Much appreciated that you shared.

[@SteveE6126]

Very interesting! God bless you all. Thank you for sharing.

[@TomSmith-me7ph]

Good video Evan.

[@dougdobbs]

Nice back up to your back up! Now you'll need to have a large supply of diesel on hand to make sure you can power the tractor. :) Of course, in a grid down situation, you'd probably only run the tractor for a few hours a day to keep your freezers cold, etc.

[@Falney]

If they put everything in chest freezers, they would only need to turn it on once per week or every few days if you live in a hot climate.

[@LittleYellowCreekFarmMS]

I’ve been looking for one of these for years.

[@stevenbenavente1229]

Good job

[@djohnsto2]

Wow I love your place. I wish I could live in a place like that.

[@ourv9603]

It sounds like you need the gen to charge your battery pack And use power thru a power inverter. I'm learning from you because I need to put in a whole hose genset too. !

[@None-xk7by]

Very very cool. That should come in so handy. Nicely done

[@tireddad6541]

I remember a farmer who had one of those. After a hurricane had knocked a lot of trees down, he came by and ran it to run freezers for a bit, so they would not defrost. As long as you don't open they can last a certain amount, but it was a help for us

[@Xmilker-zb8ig]

I have one of these. They are a life saver. I ran mine one week straight, 24 hours a day after an ice storm. I ran my whole dairy farm which included a 5 hp silo unloader and a 7 1/2 hp feed grinder, cooled the milk plus all the household apliances including electric range and electric dryer.

[@johnbichell8023]

Always thinking and experimenting.

[@rongray4118]

Time to find one for us to install on the 406 Unimog and charge the Battery bank and supply house power. Thank you!

[@ronaldclemons5520]

Very good test, and investment Evan. Blessings

[@billyhaddock5540]

Great Job Evan on setting-up ur PTO Generator to see if it will work for ur home. small tractor-no bigger tractor-yes.

[@squirrellyacres]

Very successful test of another power source.

[@jamesmorrison1884]

Looks great Evan

[@ChicagoDoItYourself]

What a great setup you have there !!! : ))

[@loulauer5853]

I bet you're tired of having to reset all those clocks on appliances after all those power changeovers. Also, beware of the hidden costs of unstable power freq and voltages. I lived in a foreign country for a while and the power fluctuated pretty much all the time. Had many pieces of stereo, tv's, and appliances that had problems and needed repair or replacement.

[@puirYorick]

Ditto ^THIS^

[@mfletch392]

Good test to the limit; Thanks.

[@TimsToolTime-bx1es]

I made the same set up using an old PTO generator with the same problem with trying to dial in the correct RPM to meet the 60 hertz target needed. I took it a step further and bought an old Kubota tractor with a bad transmission and used the engine to add to the PTO generator setup. At this point I added a governor control unit to compensate for load variations to keep the targeted voltage and hertz perimeters in spec. It is mounted under the lean to off my shop and can be remotely started from inside the house. I am in the process of adding auto start to it now. Great video and set up...

[@franciscojaviertrev]

Many thanks this s something I want to do in Mexico....

[@donb1082]

As I recall, frequency shifting is part of the A/C coupling scheme for grid-connected solar systems; the inverter may have stopped by design. A popular way to clean up noisy generator power is to use the EG4 Chargeverter; it takes generator power and provides a clean signal to the inverter.

[@TimHavens]

This is really helpful, I've wondering if my 24hp tractor could do this. Thanks for this content!

[@Roxyboarder419]

That works great. It may be a good idea to add a 50amp rv surge protector to protect your solar and other electronics.

[@athloneduke]

Evan, great video, $400 for a backup generator is great value

[@MichaelHerringValdosta]

You amaze me! I so love what y'all have going on!

[@MichaelHerringValdosta]

Been watching a long time. I sure do appreciate seeing the mistakes. Lessons learned are precious.

[@bay9876]

The idea of the smaller tractor was to save on fuel. Wonder how much the larger tractor burns per hour of energy generation for whole house activation?

[@J-1410]

That's not how engines work. General Motors found that out with their Chevrolet pickup line a few years ago. A smaller engine at full load will use more fuel than a larger engine at an insignificant load. Their smaller engines in the same pickup at the same load got worse mileage than their larger engines in the same pickup at the same load.

[@SwampDonkeyHomestead]

My Z482 12hp on my tractor will run my bush hog on 1 gallon for 6-7 hours

[@bryanlloyd1099]

That generator done a great job!

[@Rbs35405]

You are AMAZING 😮

[@miguelavelasquez8056]

Glad to see the generator working for you nice job on putting that together Evan thank you for sharing blessings to you and your family

[@houstonfirefox]

Evan, consider that during a power outage you really wouldn't be ramping up everything in the house, you'd go the opposite into conservation mode. One thing not checked is if the larger tractor would charge the batteries. If so, I'd go that route to protect the sensitive electronics in the house from being fried by the extremely dirty power from the generator (although the dirty power might eventually damage the inverter). It is important to consider that if the tractor runs out of fuel or is otherwise disturbed while powering the house directly then you could brownout/burnout or otherwise destroy a lot of sensitive electronics in the house (computers are in everything and they are notoriously intolerant of dirty power). Just a FYI - love your channel.

[@kingkong7617]

Evan, you have this back up power figured out and if something happens with the power, you can keep on a normal run. That generator was a really good buy.

[@JR-xw5dk]

The eg4 Chargeverter 100amp chargers may be a good investment. We have one of those generators and used to milk cows in 1979. I am glad my dad bought it a few years earlier. It also cooled many hanging beef.

[@charlesletterman6245]

Jolly good show

[@Wheelloader__]

Cool video. Keep lots of fuel on hand. I have a TYM T494. That thing sucks down fuel like nobody’s business.

[@alan-jt7ts]

Probably not the size of the small tractor but the quality of the governor to be able to hold the revs constant.

[@thetazva]

I would have checked to make sure the output frequency is correct so that it doesn't damage the electronics in the newer appliances as well as any electronics in the house. Like computers, TV, sound systems, etc.

[@bernardjones6162]

Nothing like an “OLD GENERATOR “ to be a back up! From an Old Man!

[@ianhaggart1438]

Good evening from scotland.. a flywheel would of probably sorted that issue but would probably give more issues to overcome 😮😅.. the big tractor works and its handy info to know for future.. thanks for sharing.. Hope the better half knows how to work it all to... 😁.. stay safe 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@J-1410]

That is what is in that gearbox on the front of PTO generators, a big flywheel and gear, both bathed in oil.

[@ianhaggart1438]

@@J-1410 I think your more likely to find a gearbox not a flywheel on most pto generators like these especially this age... large gear small gear to gain the correct ratio for probably 540 rpm.

[@J-1410]

@@ianhaggart1438 On our similar one, it has a flywheel mated to the large gear. I don't think it has much of a point, as the entire PTO drive train probably has more mass than it, but someone at some point thought it was a good idea.

[@ianhaggart1438]

@@J-1410 that's engineering and design for you... when you have an issue you try to iron ot out but when you already have another option there probably no point.. 😆

[@larrybourne4176]

The point has been made about "dirty power," and it's a very valid one. Some years ago, I came into a deal on a gas generator - small one - that I figured would be great to run a few lights, refer....and computer in the event of a power outage. In monsoon season here, thunderstorms make outages a regular thing. Point about the sine wave was made on a forum, so I called the generator mfr and asked. The technician told me the sine wave config was wrong for sensitive electronics and "DON'T" use it. It's very worth checking out. Also previously stated - in a real life power outage, you'd be running minimal appliances/lights/etc. and the little tractor would likely be plenty. Very nice work. I'm enjoying your videos, but have a lot of catching up to do.

[@stevenichols4639]

You forgot to retry, feeding the PTO generator into the battery bank to see if the frequency was stable enough to match and stay connected. Sadly my system is to take a nap and hope.

[@CountryViewAcres]

While I was testing the generator, the batteries charged up, since I wasn't using the solar. So I will have to test it again another day.

[@susancarter9862]

In the UK we would have to put a wheel clamp, chain with padlock and security alarm on the tractor to stop our undesirables stealing it when leaving it running. Nice job with that generator Evan, it's very useful now. Thanks for the video.

[@bobkanno6797]

It takes the extra hp available at the speed that you are running the tractor to stabilize your frequency and the typical governor in the fuel pump the tractor engine has is in the 5 to 10% range for droop under load.

[@av1204]

I have the same system with pto generator. Use a dedicated battery charger. Works perfectly

[@philipstreechon4523]

Nice

[@robertschroeder1978]

Great video and the restore on the generator looks great. Thanks for the video and channel content. Your skills as an electrician certainly has saved you a lot of money along this journey.

[@TheBockCast]

Great video

[@J-1410]

Your frequency and voltage is directly related to your PTO RPM. The North American standards are roughly 105 to 125 volts (the standard states something like 110 to 120 +/- something like 10%, 105 to 125 is conservative by a few volts )and then the 50 to 60 cycles. When we had a power outage a decade ago, we ran a gasoline tractor that was 10 HP more than the PTO generator called for, and at 15 gallons an hour, $5 gas, for two weeks, that was never going to happen again, especially since we had two of them going for the farm. Recently, we had a similar event, a week without power during calving. Right after that last event a decade ago, one meter got converted to a automatic LPG(propane) generator, so we only had to have one PTO generator going. This time we put a 160 HP Diesel on the PTO generator, a 1000 to 540 PTO Adapter, and then ran the PTO at the necessary speed, usually about 520 RPM. Since everything is electric heat, we put full load on it, got the volt and cycle reading, then went to "No load/base load" and adjusted so we did not go over 125/60. It worked, as long as everything did not kick on at the same time and was more efficient than the old way, but the LPG generator paid for itself on efficiency alone(dollar per kwh wise) compared to the Diesel and the gasoline tractor. So, we found another LPG auto standby. It may take a decade for it to pay for itself, but it inevitably will, and each one has a few thousand gallons of LPG sitting by it. Also, isn't this the channel that condemned generators for a big battery?

[@HeavyFCCHeavyFCC-l9m]

The RPM input needs to be correct (what the PTO generated calls for) you can check the output to make sure it’s 61.5hz with no load or 60hz with load Also check to make sure the no load output with multimeter (when running at proper RPM) is at 128 volts or 256 volts across both legs At load 120 or 240 If hz is off correct your RPM If voltage is off correct voltage regulator output adjustment on the regulator If the generator has a capacitor make sure the proper capacitor is installed or is not faulty

[@marymigliore3396]

I LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!!

[@justinauman5438]

Glad to see the generator works and can run the whole house but in actuality in the event of a outage would you be running the dryer and the other big loads at the same time

[@rt3box6tx74]

Probably so. Would likely do a flurry of activity once a day for three hours to do household chores, then shut it off.

[@terrycastor8299]

Maybe either the Allis or the Case will handle the load as well if you don't want to tie up the TYM

[@--_DJ_--]

I wonder if those would handle the varying load on the generator like the new one does.

[@InquisitiveSearcher]

YES!! the Allis D17 would definitely carry the load of that generator! * BACK TO WORK ON THE ALLIS!! * * BACK TO WORK ON THE ALLIS!! * * BACK TO WORK ON THE ALLIS!! * * BACK TO WORK ON THE ALLIS!! * 😁 Can you tell that I'd love to see the Allis worked on?

[@InquisitiveSearcher]

@@--_DJ_-- : Interesting question. But the Allis D17 is a 63HP tractor so that may give it an edge in maintaining a steady RPM.

[@SetitesTechAdventures]

I wonder if this would work if you had an EG4 Chargeverter. It's designed to let dirty generators charge a 48v off grid battery.

[@rt3box6tx74]

Good to test before deep snow day. How about topping off the tractor tank, running the PTO gen for an hour and retopping the tractor diesel tank. It would be good to know how much diesel the tractor burns per hour on the gen. Most places there are times power is out for 2-5 days. How much diesel would you need in that scenario? I've noticed most haul diesel in 5 gal cans. I don't get why people don't buy in bulk for delivery to a 500 gal gravity tank? Is theft a problem in your area? Theft pressure here isn't constant, but random instances do occur every few years. I wouldn't want a 500 gal gasoline tank around like we had in the 1980s.

[@allenferry9632]

Can you use the tractor to just recharge the batteries. After all in an emergency you wouldn't necessarily need to wash and dry your clothes while cooking a roast and heating or cooling your house. When we loose power which is usually in the winter, we lite the fire places and turn on a fan to move the heat around. If its off for a while I'll fire up the generator to cool the refrigerator and freezers and charge the phone so I can watch your older videos. Life's good.

[@CountryViewAcres]

I will have to test the solar again with the big tractor on the generator and see if it charges the batteries.

[@Poorehouse]

@@CountryViewAcresthe trick to the mechanically governed generators is to set the unloaded RPM at about 61.5 or so, so when you switch the load over, including battery charging, the load pulls the generator down to 60hz - so the frequency is correct enough that the inverter can use the power for recharging the batteries. You also might be able to widen the input tolerance on the inverter stack to accept a bit more frequency drift. My Outback Radian lets me set one of the inputs to a wider frequency range for generator use - without kicking off the input if the frequency wanders a bit. If your setup doesn’t offer than, ask their support team for a feature enhancement. Many home generator setups won’t be too terribly stable as the loads vary.

[@chaunceypullman3380]

Glad it worked out fine. That would be your last lines of defense. All the generators are good as long as you are there to plug them up, start them up or switch them over. Your solar will do what it is suppose to do. Me , I put my faith in my 7hp whole house and some generator connected to gas itself. Automatically cuts on when power shuts off. Then turns off once power comes back on again. I do not have to do a thing. Older than you, so I have been through more than you. I am your Dad's age. So my knowledge comes from time itself. No building on my place depends on any other building to operate. You and Rebecca will get there in your own time. Good start, and props on all that you 2 have achieved and accomplished thus far. Looking forward to you alls next year of achievements.

[@terrypomatto907]

If you had a power loss would you have everything operating at maximum. It is nice to know that you wouldn't have a shorting of power supply for total use of power. Well done and good investment in the long run.

[@NightyNite94]

Im actually amazed in how good that generator works to get get a modern generator to power a house today would cost alot more

[@l337pwnage]

I'm impressed you can run all that on only 50 amps. It's probably a good thing that solar system has built in protection. Modern electronics require pretty clean power. Those fragile electronics are also a great way to make sure people keep buying new appliances instead of keeping their old ones.

[@crslyrn]

That generator will be really handy to hook up to the house if there would just happen to be an electrical issue during the winter months. Just being able to run the furnace, a few lights, well pump, & the freezers would be ideal.

[@beefitter]

I didn't read all the comments so apology if there is duplication. Have you considered using a separate battery charger to charge the solar batteries without going through your solar inverter. Like an EG4 Chargverter 48v charger. If your batteries are 48v. or, the proper charger that the battery company recommends.

[@xavierkost9264]

You should have a manual bypass on the solar system.

[@boeroe45]

A small tractor is not ideal for your solar ATS system. When the load is to big the RPM of the tractor dip and so does the frequency. Lime you said the EP cube ATS only sees the gen when the frequency is within the small range. That is why a normal generator engine has a governor. The frequency is kept stable through the governor which controls the rpm of the motor.

[@hayfork100]

Must be a good feeling to know you can get power in an emergency as long as you have tractor fuel available.

[@gurubhat2403]

You can use a Dynamic Frequency Regulator (DFR) to regulate the Unstable Power Conditions (low or high or unstable) frequency to a constant 50 or 60 Hertz cycles.

[@douglasjackson1998]

My LS tractor has a feature which would be handy in this application. It has electronic engine speed control. Click it on and it will hold a given engine speed regardless of a varying load. There should be no engine speed (hence frequency) dips when big loads like the A/C or oven switches on or off..

[@julianlavergne]

All you need is a few lights and the freezer. Make some coffee. Although you have to think about the animals too.

[@rt3box6tx74]

Water is #1.

[@georgemoomaw9437]

You are brave. I would have feared smoking the A/C compressor, or dryer. Your amp draw on those two loads must have been very high with that first test.

[@--_DJ_--]

I don't think the amperage would have changed much. The frequency can change with the voltage remaining the same, I think. He never mentioned the voltage dipping that I heard, and that is what would cause an increase in amperage.

[@georgemoomaw9437]

The flickering lights concerned me. IF it was from a low voltage situation the amp draw would have increased. If Evan checked the voltage, I missed that. To me it seems an unknown. @@--_DJ_--

[@CountryViewAcres]

The voltage changes with the RPM. So when the frequency dropped so did voltage.

[@jerrylong3580]

I wonder if with the small tractor you didn’t have all the lights on and the dryer that it would satisfy your energy needs

[@pedrobatista4439]

A 20kW generator needs about 40HP to power it at full capacity. Even at 10kW, it would need about 20HP, so the 2515 was just on the limit for that, probably a bit lower. You should be able to use the T654 at 540E easily and still get full capacity.

[@mikemullen2952]

My pto generator I run it on the 1000 shaft with a adapter so I don’t have to run my tractor at high Rpm

[@CountryViewAcres]

I have ran the generator before on a Higher RPM setting, but it is hard to get 60 hertz frequency. Seems like a small bump of the throttle changes the frequency + or - 3 Hertz.