Generator head on a garden tractor???

14 years ago

I'm a newbie! I have found a few garden tractors in my area that are rather inexpensive. I have a 5500 watt generator head that I would like to hook up to the garden tractor. Since this is a smaller tractor it doesn't have a PTO so I would need to run it off belts like maybe off of the cutting deck? Has anyone ever done it? If so how did you hook it up? The instructions for my generator head say to use a 9hp (recommended) to 11hp (Maximum) size engine. I'm wondering if I can go with a 12hp engine if I make the pulley work into the math equation? The generator head will probably end up with a bigger pulley than the motor to "depower" the bigger 12hp motor to my 9hp to 11hp required size. If I'm sure with my pulley RPM for the generator head is 3540-3720 (per instructions) isn't that all I need to worry about? I can't think of any other way that the 12hp could be bad.

Comments (5)

canguy
14 years ago
Don't worry about over powering the generator but you do need enough to maintain 3600 rpm under full load. Just don't over speed it. Belt drive will work but there may be slippage issues.
rdaystrom
14 years ago
That's right. More power isn't an issue. RPM of the generator head is important. You could run the engine slightly slower since you have more power than necessary. To do that you would need to have the appropriate pulley sizes for the desired rpm. An optical tachometer would help you get the generator at exactly the right rpm.
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wheelhorse_of_course
14 years ago
Just to clarify, the driving belt pulley IS your PTO. At the very least you will want to take the mower deck belt of the pulley, or you could remove the entire mower deck.

As other have said, the pulley ratio's affect the RPM of the driven device, but the power remains the same. If the wide open throttle RPM of your engine is 3600 (it probably is) then that is the number you need to work with to determine the pulley ratio.

No problem with more HP.

Going too fast or slow will mean you are not putting of 60 cycles per second Hertz, Hz) AC. The quickest way to determine if you are close is a clock with a second hand. Test it against a known good watch and adjust accordingly. You do want to be pretty close.

I want to do something similar, but even the generator head will be more than I really can handle.
markymark-ca
14 years ago
I passed up and now regret doing so, a gen set unit that bolted to the front of rider mower.

6k unit went for for about 500 bucks. It mounted on the nose of a rider.

Never seen anything like it before or afterward.
broke_not
14 years ago
Most two-bearing generator heads advise against mounting them in any position other than horizontal. They are typically equipped with regular single row ball bearings and do not have a thrust bearing to adequately support the rotor's weight when vertical.

Companies like Winco and Voltmaster usually answer the mounting orientation question in their FAQ sections of their websites.

Here's a quote from the Voltmaster site:

"IMPORTANT - FOR INSTALLATION CONSULT OWNER'S MANUAL.
ALL MODELS DESIGNED FOR HORIZONTAL OPERATION ONLY."

;-)