wheelhorsenut69 0 #1 Posted October 3, 2011 Has anyone here ever tried making a front mount generator for the front of are horse's I know that there are wheel horse factory generators out there but for the sake of tinkering on something I have a older Montgomery 5 hp 1750 watt generator but the motor is bad just was wondering how big of a chore it would be to make this work???? :thumbs2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kelly 1,031 #2 Posted October 3, 2011 I know others have built them, but the issue you may have is the gen. head may and probably will not have a shaft sticking out to mount a pulley on, most gas powered gen. use a engine with a taper crank shaft, but it never hurts to take a peek. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #3 Posted October 3, 2011 You also need to know if the generator head can take a side load from a belt rather than being coupled direct to an engine crank. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CRE1992 135 #4 Posted October 3, 2011 Unless it is a belt driven generator already, I would not recommend it, generators that are belt driven have bearings to deal with the added side load stress of a belt with tension against it, one that does not have this is not a good idea. It may seize or even blow up . Yes, I've witnessed a generator explode when I was younger, it was not a pretty sight. -Charles Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr.pipes 4 #5 Posted October 3, 2011 Northstar and others make belt driven generator heads. Member HorseFanatic has a homemade setup that looks pretty nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HankB 16 #6 Posted October 3, 2011 It's on my to-do list to provide more info on my setup, shown here providing power during an outage this summer. (I don't have a transfer switch so I just ran extensions to critical users inside.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JUSS10 250 #7 Posted October 3, 2011 hank B, how do you set your belt tension? does the frame of the generator literally hang under its weight to tension it? Justin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HankB 16 #8 Posted October 3, 2011 hank B, how do you set your belt tension? does the frame of the generator literally hang under its weight to tension it? Justin Yes, the weight of the generator provides the belt tension. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jusjeepn 59 #9 Posted October 4, 2011 It's easy enough to skirt the side load problem with a simple jack shaft mounted with pillow blocks. You still have to attach the gen unit to the jack shaft! :thumbs2: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shorts 182 #10 Posted October 4, 2011 Most direct drive generators are single bearing design with a bearing at the endcap of the generator and they use the tapered crankshaft and crank main bearings on the engine end, the stator then bolts up to the block and is aligned by the machined pads on the block. belt drive generators are 2 bearing models with bearings on both ends of the rotor/generator head. most small generator heads are built to run at 3600 rpm to produce 60hz A.C. so the engine and gen pulleys should be the same diameter and run the engine at governed speed of 3600rpm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HankB 16 #11 Posted October 4, 2011 ... most small generator heads are built to run at 3600 rpm to produce 60hz A.C. so the engine and gen pulleys should be the same diameter and run the engine at governed speed of 3600rpm I sized my pulley to be the same size as the smaller PTO pulley. I wound up with less than 60 Hz. I don't know if that's because the engine on my 314-H is governed at less than 3600 RPM or due to belt slip because I do not have a tachometer. I moved the belt to the larger groove on the PTO and got 60 Hz. I used a Kill-A-Watt to measure frequency. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
71_Bronco 1,072 #12 Posted October 4, 2011 It's on my to-do list to provide more info on my setup, shown here providing power during an outage this summer. (I don't have a transfer switch so I just ran extensions to critical users inside.) Very cool Hank. During Irene, we were out of power for 4 full days. We were using an older 5000 watt generator that was bought by my dad during Hurricane Gloria in '85. Chugged along nicely, though we ran it on and off to just keep the necessities. I would love to have a front-mount set-up for my tractor, seems like it could come in handy. BTW, great idea with the casters on the bottom, I'm sure it makes it easier to lug around when not in use or on the tractor. EDIT: Just had an idea for ya Hank, what if you were to rig a solid bar to the lift, so that when you needed to lift the generator to get the belt on / off, you could use the mechanical advantage of the tractor's lift instead of lifting it with one hand and trying to finagle the belt with the other? Of course, a simple floor jack would work as well, but is dependent on if you have one or not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
littleredrider 409 #13 Posted October 4, 2011 Harbor Freight has them for $400. I keep saying I'm gonna do what Hank did, but need to get a tractor together first....$400 buck too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HankB 16 #14 Posted October 7, 2011 Very cool Hank. During Irene, we were out of power for 4 full days. We were using an older 5000 watt generator that was bought by my dad during Hurricane Gloria in '85. Chugged along nicely, though we ran it on and off to just keep the necessities. I would love to have a front-mount set-up for my tractor, seems like it could come in handy. BTW, great idea with the casters on the bottom, I'm sure it makes it easier to lug around when not in use or on the tractor. EDIT: Just had an idea for ya Hank, what if you were to rig a solid bar to the lift, so that when you needed to lift the generator to get the belt on / off, you could use the mechanical advantage of the tractor's lift instead of lifting it with one hand and trying to finagle the belt with the other? Of course, a simple floor jack would work as well, but is dependent on if you have one or not. The advantage for me is that I use the tractor year 'round and I know it's going to start when I need it. I don't have the discipline to start an auxiliary generator frequently enough to keep it running reliably. I suppose I could drain the fuel and store it with a float charger on the battery, but the tractor is more fun anyway. The casters were copied from prior art found on this site. They're not so good for moving the generator around because as soon as I tilt the generator up, they tend to cause the generator to roll sideways. They do make it a lot easier to align the quick-tach while mounting. I'm sure I could work out some kind of lever to use the hydraulic lift to raise the generator. It's not the kind of thing that needs to be done often so I didn't think it would be worth the effort. I did make a T shaped piece to put in the front quick-tach. I can use it to lift the generator off the belt in case I wanted to motor longer distance with the generator mounted. (I've never used it.) I use a jack to lift the generator to install the belt. And ... The generator is on sale right now for $290! http://www.harborfreight.com/10000-watts-m...head-45416.html I just posted more information on this under attachments: http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/index.php?showtopic=31930 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
