Belt driven generator

[RickF 8]

Has anyone put a belt driven generator on their GT14? What brand and what size did you use? Thank You for your response.

[Racinbob 10,595]

http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/files/file/4232-generator-1980-1982-5kw-07-50gn01-tiplpdf/

Wheel Horse had a 3kw and a 5kw which were made by Generac if my memory serves me correctly. I had a 5kw when I lived up north. Just about any pulley driven generator would be easy to fit on a Wheel Horse. You'd have to fabricate a mount for it. Check out the link to get an idea. Figure that you need 2hp per kw.

[wallfish 16,373]

To add to Racinbob's comments,
The belt driven units have bearings for the side load of the belt powering it. Units that are coupled directly to the engine probably can't handle that side load or at least do it for very long. BUT, you could add a shaft which is supported by bearings to use one. It would be a bit more work to do it but the generator heads are much more common and therefore, probably cheaper.
Harbor Freight was selling a 10,000 watt pulley driven gen head fairly cheap. You wouldn't be able to use the full capacity of it with a 14hp engine but how often will you need 10,000 watts of power all at the same time. Still, a 14hp should handle close to 7000 which is usually enough to run a whole house.
A little internet research on the subject will give you a good idea of what and what not to do if you decide to make one yourself

[Racinbob 10,595]

Actually John, directly coupled gensets don't have anything on the shaft side. The motor supports that end. Here's a pic of one I just sold. The shaft you see is actually part of the crankshaft that I cut off and there's nothing supporting that end.. I thought about a flange bearing but there wasn't enough length for a bearing that size (1 3/16"). I couldn't find a smaller tapered shaft and didn't have the machining capabilities to make one. With the right shaft a flange bearing could simply be bolted to the end of the case. 
That's good info on running a 10kw with a 14hp. The 5kw Wheel Horse unit I has was plenty for our all gas home in Indiana. It's a different story with this all electric home here in Florida but as long as I used common sense I got by. I just looked at the Harbor Freight unit. It's 10kw surge and 7.2kw running. That would be a great choice RickF.

[wallfish 16,373]

What about leaving the gen head connected to the engine block but removing ALL the unnecessary parts of the engine and using a pulley on the flywheel side of the crank to drive it? I might be a redneck!

 

[Racinbob 10,595]

Not a redneck idea, a good one! I looked at doing that and cutting the excess away but the design of the Tecky that was on it and the way it connected wouldn't really allow it. I should have taken pictures of it . Edited August 19, 2015 by Racinbob

[RickF 8]

I guess that sideload bearing stress is the weak link for belt driven generators. So 7Kw running seems to be about the limit. I was guessing that when I was looking at belt driven gens on eBay. I'll take another look at direct coupling a unit, Direction it needs to turn might become a factor in its mounting. Thanks John and Bob for the info. It looks like hurricane season is about to start. Every time I get these ideas, it's because I trake another look at that tractor and say " It's a shame to only use it for towing", So I buy a deck, then a snowplow, And say "It's a shame to only use it for those things", and the escalation continues.

[Racinbob 10,595]

No Rick, side load really isn't a factor. If a generator is designed to be belt driven it will be fine. I kinda side tracked you by discussing converting a direct drive to a belt drive. The wonderful thing about running one off the PTO is no motor to maintain. Most generators sit idle 99% of the time. If you make it a monthly routine to run them they will be fine but few folks do that. No worries about direction. They can operate in either direction. 

Edited August 19, 2015 by Racinbob

[wallfish 16,373]

Here's that Harbor Freight unit I was referring to. 16hp to run it at MAX but your 14 will run it.
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=generator
There are less wattage units on Ebay too. Some are 1800 RPM
You will need to buy a pulley the same size as your PTO pulley for a 3600 RPM unit or twice the size for an 1800 RPM unit.
 

[RickF 8]

That's exactly why I at least wanted to use the tractor engine, I don't want another engine taking up space that I need to be worried about maintenance for. But now you have me thinking about fabricating a platform near the PTO, and going direct. maybe even using the PTO clutch by modifying it for when I want to hook up the generator. (Just brainstorming though, my imagination. . .)

Edited August 20, 2015 by RickF

[Racinbob 10,595]

Going direct to the PTO.........as in no belt?? I'm thinking that would be complicating things needlessly.

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

Looking at the parts diagram, I never realized that there was a tube with flag connected to the rockshaft. I always thought it was just gravity that kept the belt tight.

[bmsgaffer 2,043]

Yep, im with them, use a belt driven unit and run it off the front attachmatic. It doesnt get much simpler than single belt drive and quick attach system on these tractors!

As a side note: you may want to look into putting a Y fitting on the fuel system so you can run a auxiliary fuel tank. The 3 gallon tank under the fender is good for just a few hours at most, especially under full load.

[RickF 8]

I guess it's best to keep thing simple.  I was just starting to think that direct drive might have been better for a higher output, but still, if 7Kw can power a whole house. (and mines only 980 sq ft) I'd probably be best to stick with the existing solutions to the problem.

[bmsgaffer 2,043]

yea if you do the calculations, 7.2kW will handle most of your standard needs.

I got a stand alone generator about that wattage to support running my electric hot water heater (i have two small children, so its a necessity). We switched the furnace to gas.

The only thing I have to limit when we are on generator power is the electric stove. We have about 1600 sq ft and use less than 7000w in almost every scenario except cooking and we have a grill for that.

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

Too bad this is so pricy, it looks like it would be simple to adapt. At 15K running watts, you wouldn't have any problems, except maybe keeping it fueled. Edit: Maybe not, at 540 RMP max, you would need a pulley, what, 7 times larger than the PTO?

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/16000-watts-max-15000-watts-rated-tractor-driven-pto-generator-65309.html

 

I was at the store today and saw one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/13500-peak11000-running-watts-22-hp-670cc-gas-generator-epa-iii-61725-10521.html

That Predator 22HP engine is a huge beast, holy cow!

 

Edited August 20, 2015 by WNYPCRepair

[squonk 39,704]

   

[Racinbob 10,595]

Too funny Mike

Rick, you can't figure what your load will be by the size of the house. Our house in Indiana was 3200 sq ft and a 5kw did everything. Our Florida home is 1700 sq ft and, by the calculations, requires a larger unit. The difference is that the heat, water heater, range, dryer etc. were gas in Indiana. We're total electric here. You need to determine what you want to power during an outage. You also have to plan on how you're going to transfer the power to your homes system if that's what you want to do. It MUST be done properly. Do not listen to the morons that say to just back feed a range or dryer receptacle and turn off the main breaker. I installed a separate panel and a manual transfer switch. The link below is another good method. I have been asked countless times for help rigging up a generator system. About the same number of times I've told them that I'll help if they intend to do it right. If not, I won't even answer questions.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_182534-48019-30216+BRK___?productId=3131281&pl=1&Ntt=transfer+switch


 

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

And if they ever forget to turn off the main and fry the power company electricians....