Cub Cadet 86 with side mounted generator

[IACubCadet]

Hey guys, its been awhile! Finally getting in the groove with a new job and being able to get in the garage to work with the Cubs.

Over the summer I acquired a Homelite alternator that was mounted to a Tecumseh motor. In short, I hate Tecumseh engines, so I removed the alternator from the engine and decided to make it fit onto my Cub Cadet 86. I thought about mounting the device like others would mount (on the front that clips in the mule drive brackets), but that is really too low for what I want to use it for. My intentions for this are to be able to run portable power to anywhere on the farm for light jobs. Obviously its a little bigger unit now than the original "carry anywhere" setup it once was. But, I thought it would look cool like this.

Here are some pics of the progress. I made two steel brackets and bolted them in place using existing holes. Then I made slotted holes in the brackets to be able to tighten the belt. The belt will run off the pulley in between the flywheel shroud and the clutch driver. The pulley on the alternator is a tad bit smaller than the drive pulley, so I shouldn't have to run the full 3600 rpm's on the engine like the alternator requires. Here's some pics of the progress.

Note: Nothing is "tight" yet...just left everything loose for minor tweaks and adjustments.

As always, comments are welcome!

[jonjunk]

neat idea, would be great around the farm for me too, or in the woods for electric.

or in the fish house for me but the cub is a little heavy to be an ice fishing rig lol.

[dbuck]

Good job. But I would tri-angle that frame with some down riggers to the tractor frame. As it looks like a lot of weight hanging there.

[CADplans]

Great idea!!

Now, you can watch the Saturday football game on the flat screen, while you mow!!!

Or a movie???

The side mount leaves the front mount available for the flat screen!!

[Berwil]

Cool idea! So is the plan to have it spinning all the time? Is it ok to just run the unit with using the power it's making? Just wondering. I guess if this is a dedicated generator tractor it wouldn't have a lot of excess run time, but that takes away from it being mounted so you can still use the front pto. I'm probably way over thinking it. I know your not done, but I would add some braces like dbuck said. Good job!

Bigcat77 needs one of these so he can just plug the log splitter in!

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=34931

Bill

[DoubleO7]

Have you strung a rope around the pulley yet to confirm clearances and alignment?

In order to not be running the generator all the time, this might be a good app for one of those segmented belts.
That way you can easily put one on only when you need it in a few minutes time.

[IACubCadet]

Thanks for the comments guys. I did think about adding braces to the brackets, I may end up doing that. My next step is to wrap a string through the pulleys to see what the total length is. The downside to this is that the belt will have to be crossed in order to spin the generator the right way. I may also need to make bigger slots in the brackets to allow more room for tension on the belt. I like the idea of a belt that could be split to allow the generator to be run when one wants it rather than all the time.

[bolivier]

No room to spin the generator around to avoid crossing the belt? Even on the other side?
I don't think the segmented belt will handle the crossing.

[CADplans]

Originally Posted by bolivier

No room to spin the generator around to avoid crossing the belt? Even on the other side?
I don't think the segmented belt will handle the crossing.

I was wondering about that,,,,, You would think the belt would smoke if crossed, and pulling a heavy load.

Maybe mount the generator so that the shaft is vertical, so the belt would not have to rub against itself,,,,??

[DoubleO7]

Mount on other side facing the rear.
Or take the grill out and mount it in the space with the pulley directly above the front pto ?
It would look like it had a jet engine in it.