Using a riding mower as a "generator"

[EternalArianne]

I recently saw a video of a guy who connected a 400W inverter (like the one connect to the battery of your car with alligator clips) to his riding mower battery and was using it as a "generator" to power small appliances or charge his phone.

It got me thinking, how feasible would this be, really? Is the charging system in these mowers really good enough to power an invertor for a decent amount of time? How big of an inverter (how many watts) do you think you could safety run? I've seen invertors 1000W+...

[ol'George]

Normally the alternator, or generator on older models, puts out a whopping 15 amps without any load, like a battery needing charging or a PTO electric clutch, or lights.

Volts x amps = watts.
you might charge a cell phone.
They made a front mounted, belt driven PTO powered power generator.
Google "pincor"for cub cadet
https://www.ihccw.com/electrical.html?product_id=11639

[EternalArianne]

I kinda figured they made something like that George! It seems there is no limit to the attachments for tractors lol

[cubby102]

Originally Posted by EternalArianne

I kinda figured they made something like that George! It seems there is no limit to the attachments for tractors lol

Good ol harbor freight sells a 10kw (max) belt driven generator head.


Its fairly priced. One of these days I plan to make a mount to hang one off the front of my 582 or 1872. Would be a pretty darn handy gadget

[EternalArianne]

$300 at HF for 7200W watts (10000W starting) isn't too bad. It says it runs at 3600RPM which is what most tractors run at WOT, but it recommends 16HP for best performance.

Might be worth looking into at some point, I already have a 5000W standalone generator that I got for free, just had to replace the carburetor and it works fine.

At least with a PTO driven generator that's one less engine you have to maintain, but you lose the ability to toss it in your truck and take it elsehwere lol

[ol'George]

Originally Posted by EternalArianne

$300 at HF for 7200W watts (10000W starting) isn't too bad. It says it runs at 3600RPM which is what most tractors run at WOT, but it recommends 16HP for best performance.

Might be worth looking into at some point, I already have a 5000W standalone generator that I got for free, just had to replace the carburetor and it works fine.

At least with a PTO driven generator that's one less engine you have to maintain, but you lose the ability to toss it in your truck and take it elsehwere lol

-----------Aw noooo, you DRIVE it into your truck and take it elsewhere

[EternalArianne]

Originally Posted by ol'George

-----------Aw noooo, you DRIVE it into your truck and take it elsewhere

Sure I could do that, but I'm not letting someone borrow my tractor if their power goes out. I might let them borrow a standalone generator though.

I guess you could always have both lol

[cubby102]

Originally Posted by EternalArianne

Sure I could do that, but I'm not letting someone borrow my tractor if their power goes out. I might let them borrow a standalone generator though.

I guess you could always have both lol

I'm with ya on that! Even though I rarely loan anything out lol. I have a old diesel light tower I converted to a generator so I don't really need one. But always thought it would be pretty cool to do. And the 82 series with their twins would be perfect for it

[MSS7120]

I have thought about making a generator similar to the pincore linked above.

I would use my 3000 series with the front PTO and a generator like the one linked below.

I have no affiliation with the site linked below. With the 2000rpm output of my pto and the 1800 rpm input on the generator these seam like a good match.



https://centralgagenerator.com/produ...ouble-bearing/

[Farmall450]

Originally Posted by cubby102

Good ol harbor freight sells a 10kw (max) belt driven generator head.


Its fairly priced. One of these days I plan to make a mount to hang one off the front of my 582 or 1872. Would be a pretty darn handy gadget

I'd love to find an original one, but they're unobtanium.