Generator Project

[Jrblanke 840]

7 minutes ago, BESTDOGEVER said:

I am going to have to keep this in mind. My old generator is starting to  be troublesome to start maybe this is the answer. Nice work 

 

Plus, it gives you an excuse to get another tractor!

 

[BESTDOGEVER 218]

I  have 3 now and only 1 with a mower so  that wouldn't fly so  good.  But the 418 would look cool  with a generator hanging on the front :). Brother in law  is good at welding and fab stuff so might be fun 

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

49 minutes ago, BESTDOGEVER said:

I am going to have to keep this in mind. My old generator is starting to  be troublesome to start maybe this is the answer. Nice work 

Yeah, he did a nice job. I had been thinking about it, and was wondering if it would work, then I saw his post, and decided to make one for the WH

 

[roadapples 6,981]

On sale now, fri,sat.sun, Jan. blow out sale $299

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

I used a 25% off coupon, got it for $225, plus shipping. Came to $252

 

[cleat 4,984]

Do you happen to have the coupon code ?

[WH nut 553]

The RPM that the generator needs to turn is dependent on the Generator. double pole generators whish is the most common because of the cost need to turn at 3600RPM to output 110 volt.  With that being said the size of the pulley needs to be 1 to 1 with the drive motor WH Pulleys are 4 in on the inside groove so you would need a 4 in pulley on the Generator head. I thought about going with a 2 in driven pulley so I could run the drive pulley at 1/2 the speed but I already had the 4 inch so I went with that.

[JC 1965 1,528]

What size pulley would you need on the generator head if you only want to run the tractor engine at 3/4 throttle ? Would that work ?   

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

28 minutes ago, cleat said:

Do you happen to have the coupon code ?

It was back in early December, I'm sure it isn't good.  83173938 was the code, I think. They will be sending more out soon I am sure.

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

I have gone back and forth on this application. My ideal setup would be similar to the Pincor mount for the older Cub Cadets. I have the three 5xi with 18+ horsepower that have the PTO at the front of the tractor. The best would be the 523Dxi with the 23 horsepower diesel as it literally sips fuel. All I need to do is find someone to fabricate the mount for me.

 

The downside is, unlike a generator set, there aren't any safeties on the tractors to automatically shut it down. It would be fine for having a mobile source of power but I would be hesitant about leaving it run on its own say powering the house. The Kohlers could be rebuilt at a reasonable cost - but the Daihatsu may as well be scrapped. The diesel uses a manual cutoff to the fuel to shutdown so it might be tricky to wire in a way to automatically shutdown. The other downside to the diesel is re-priming the fuel pump if it runs out of fuel. A real pain on any diesel.

 

The other possibility is a propane-powered generator that could latch to a sleeve-hitch to make it mobile. More cumbersome and less convenient but without the drawbacks for auto operation..

[WH nut 553]

"What size pulley would you need on the generator head if you only want to run the tractor engine at 3/4 throttle ?" I would have to do the math, but a quick guess would be a 3 inch

3 hours ago, shallowwatersailor said:

I have gone back and forth on this application. My ideal setup would be similar to the Pincor mount for the older Cub Cadets. I have the three 5xi with 18+ horsepower that have the PTO at the front of the tractor. The best would be the 523Dxi with the 23 horsepower diesel as it literally sips fuel. All I need to do is find someone to fabricate the mount for me.

 

The downside is, unlike a generator set, there aren't any safeties on the tractors to automatically shut it down. It would be fine for having a mobile source of power but I would be hesitant about leaving it run on its own say powering the house. The Kohlers could be rebuilt at a reasonable cost - but the Daihatsu may as well be scrapped. The diesel uses a manual cutoff to the fuel to shutdown so it might be tricky to wire in a way to automatically shutdown. The other downside to the diesel is re-priming the fuel pump if it runs out of fuel. A real pain on any diesel.

 

The other possibility is a propane-powered generator that could latch to a sleeve-hitch to make it mobile. More cumbersome and less convenient but without the drawbacks for auto operation..

The only thing you would need auto shut down is low oil, and if you know your horse you just check it every few hours.

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

15 minutes ago, WH nut said:

The only thing you would need auto shut down is low oil, and if you know your horse you just check it every few hours.

True for the oil but the diesel also has coolant to monitor as well. And it doesn't allow for the unexpected. I'm sure that there could be a work-around for these issues. It definitely would be convenient with one less engine to maintain, plus the WOW factor on RS.

 

Looking back, our power company has been pretty reliable and it has been over two years since last losing power. If I had said to myself at that time, "That's it, i need a generator." it would be unneeded. The HF Generator Head is on sale currently for $299.00 (less with a coupon) and I would estimate that a mount that was fabricated would be about $350.00 +/-. A dedicated generator of close to similar size would be less than that.

 

I am still going to consider it though.

[WH nut 553]

350 for a mount? All I used was some 2 in square tubing and a piece of 5/8 rod.  Ther are only a couple welds. 50 bucks tops.

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

I haven't priced it but this is similar to what would be required for the 5xi. Not quite the same as for a Classic Wheel Horse.

http://www.xtrememotorworks.com/Parts%20Catalog/Cub%20Cadet%20Parts%20Pincor.htm

 

The mount shape would be similar to Snowmobileaddict's hydraulic pump mount on his 522xi..

[WH nut 553]

That would be a bit of a problem

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

1 hour ago, shallowwatersailor said:

I haven't priced it but this is similar to what would be required for the 5xi. Not quite the same as for a Classic Wheel Horse.

http://www.xtrememotorworks.com/Parts%20Catalog/Cub%20Cadet%20Parts%20Pincor.htm

 

The mount shape would be similar to Snowmobileaddict's hydraulic pump mount on his 522xi..

Yes, I would love to use the 522xi, or the GT22, but it is much simpler on a WH. I'll either use a 520 or the C165, haven't decided yet. 

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

I agree on the simplicity of a mount for the WH.  The tractor of choice for me would be the 523Dxi because of the fuel economy. It would also fit the other two 5xi which would be an advantage. My two 520-H are gone so the most horsepower I have with a WH is 14 hp on the C-145. But then I have the 417A to get running, and there is also the 10hp diesel on the DC-105.

[bds1984 1,382]

Well, with all this talk of generators being powered by a Horse, I decided to create one of my own design.  I bought that HF head unit for $250-ish just after Christmas and had to wait three weeks to receive it!  Anyways, since I plan on using my 520H to power the generator, I designed the generator frame to attach to the mid-mount attachment where the mower deck would usually go; this machine will not have a mower deck since this M18 has no thrust bearing on the crank.  The engine has a 4" pulley while the generator has 3".  I don't really feel the need to use a four inch pulley with an 18hp engine since that much power is not required to run it (746 watts = 1 HP anyways), plus this engine is governed to 3200 RPM anyways as it came out of a Cub and is labled as a "Magnum 15".  Well, here are the pictures.  You'll see that I attached two casters on one end so it can be easily moved around.  All that is left to do is hook it and find the right length of belt and then fire it up!
 

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

7 minutes ago, bds1984 said:

Well, with all this talk of generators being powered by a Horse, I decided to create one of my own design.  I bought that HF head unit for $250-ish just after Christmas and had to wait three weeks to receive it!  Anyways, since I plan on using my 520H to power the generator, I designed the generator frame to attach to the mid-mount attachment where the mower deck would usually go; this machine will not have a mower deck since this M18 has no thrust bearing on the crank.  The engine has a 4" pulley while the generator has 3".  I don't really feel the need to use a four inch pulley with an 18hp engine since that much power is not required to run it (746 watts = 1 HP anyways), plus this engine is governed to 3200 RPM anyways as it came out of a Cub and is labled as a "Magnum 15".  Well, here are the pictures.  You'll see that I attached two casters on one end so it can be easily moved around.  All that is left to do is hook it and find the right length of belt and then fire it up!
 

I was at the steel store the other day, looking for a nice chunk of scrap to use to build a mount. The manual called for 1/2", I just don't see that it needs to be that thick. I think 1/4" should be plenty, but I guess I will use 3/8" to be safe. 

Can't wait to see yours working.

 

[bds1984 1,382]

I had to do a double check at the measurements as well.  Half of an inch is a bit much for something that weighs ninety pounds and will just sit atop it.  I believe I used two 3/8 x 1" flat-stock that was welded to the frame of 1-1/2" angle iron and 2" flat stock.  I originally planned on using two, sixteen-inch pieces of 2" flat stock but the price per single piece at TSC was a bit much so I just sourced everything from left-overs of previous projects.  I think my design will be more than enough to handle the task!  I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

8 minutes ago, bds1984 said:

I had to do a double check at the measurements as well.  Half of an inch is a bit much for something that weighs ninety pounds and will just sit atop it.  I believe I used two 3/8 x 1" flat-stock that was welded to the frame of 1-1/2" angle iron and 2" flat stock.  I originally planned on using two, sixteen-inch pieces of 2" flat stock but the price per single piece at TSC was a bit much so I just sourced everything from left-overs of previous projects.  I think my design will be more than enough to handle the task!  I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.

If the engine were mounted to the same piece, maybe, there would be a bit of torque, but even then I think 1/2" is overkill. 

The trailer hitch I built out of 1 1/2" angle iron and 2" flat stock carried my trailer with a 520-H right up against the front gate with no trouble at all. I have no idea what the weight at the tongue was, but it has to be way over the generator head. 

Are you going to use an idler, or just use the weight of the generator for tension? 

[Pullstart 59,713]

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 8:48 AM, JC 1965 said:

What size pulley would you need on the generator head if you only want to run the tractor engine at 3/4 throttle ? Would that work ?   

 

here's a link to all my figurin's on a tiller pulley swap, the math comes out like this I think:

 

pi for all intensive purposes is 3.14159 (close enough for pulley math)

 

pi * 4 = 12.566

pi * 3 = 9.425

 

9.425 / 12.566 = .75

 

I guess since the only difference in any of this math is the pulley size, 3" / 4" would have done the trick but in my link I was comparing two different sets of pulleys to determine overall output speed difference.

 

 

[bds1984 1,382]

12 hours ago, WNYPCRepair said:

If the engine were mounted to the same piece, maybe, there would be a bit of torque, but even then I think 1/2" is overkill. 

The trailer hitch I built out of 1 1/2" angle iron and 2" flat stock carried my trailer with a 520-H right up against the front gate with no trouble at all. I have no idea what the weight at the tongue was, but it has to be way over the generator head. 

Are you going to use an idler, or just use the weight of the generator for tension? 

I'm planning on using the weight of the generator for tension on the belt; that's one reason I built the frame so long.  But, I do have some extra pulleys floating around from mower decks that I will use just in case. 

[bds1984 1,382]

Okay, since there is a snowplow in my 520H, I decided to test out the generator on my C165 instead.  Attaching wasn't much of an issue, but proper engine speed is!  It looks like the PTO pulley on the C165 is about 5" so at 2000 RPM I was generating over 200 volts!  At a straight idle on my C165 I was getting around 120-130 volts while I had 1100 watts of lights on it with the engine running around 1500-1600 rpm like nothing was there.  Needless to say, I will not be running the generator on the C165.  The governor is all shades of not working correctly because I am either 900-1800  at idle and if I bump the throttle, she goes right to 2800 RPM but will stay there all day long unless I open it up more and no in between.  I can change the pulleys no problem, I'd just never use this machine for generator duty since I'm having issues maintaining a constant engine speed.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,496]

Have you tried resetting the governor? Do you know how to do it?

 

When you increase the throttle control it should pull on the governor spring that is located between the throttle cable and the governor arm. Sounds like that spring is loose at the low rpm position. Reposition the throttle cable casing at the engine end to tighten it up so there is always slight tension on the spring.

 

Throttle cable tries to increase engine rpm by adding tension to the governor spring.

Governor tries to reduce engine rpm.

The balance of those two forces is the rpm you end up with.

 

Often the rod that joins the governor to the carb or the levers themselves will wear so the governor and carb lever don't have a solid connection. One way to fix that is to add a very fine weak spring between the governor arm and carb throttle lever. The spring needs to hook into the levers close to the connecting rod locations at both ends. Sometimes a new pair of holes are required in the levers to do this. The weak spring tension eliminates the wear. Kohler originally did this to some models.

 

Garry