[AT] Generator LP fuel consumption

[Mike Sloane]

For whatever it is worth, my backup electric system is my Farmall 560 
diesel with a 25KW PTO generator and a manual whole house transfer 
switch. The tractor burns about 1 gallon of fuel per hour, which is 
tolerable. The only downsides are 1. that I have to fetch the tractor 
from the barn area, drive it up to the house, hook up the tumbler bar, 
get the tractor up to speed, then throw the transfer switch. All of this 
usually in the middle of the night in a driving rain/snow/sleet storm. 
2. I have to keep looking out to the barn to see when the power has been 
restored. 3. having the tractor running full speed right next to the 
house is somewhat noisy.

I used to have a Farmall 706 gas that had a two speed PTO, so I could 
use the 1000 rpm shaft to run the generator at half engine speed, which 
was much quieter. Sometimes I wish I had kept the 706, but the 
transmission linkage was a big problem that I could  never quite fix, 
and it drank a lot of gas.

Mike

Cecil Bearden wrote:
<snip>  I prefer a slightly oversized old style generator.
> Driving an oversized generator with a smaller powered engine will allow 
> the generator to start heavy loads easier without paying for the fuel of 
> the larger engine.  It also stops the power surges and spikes when 
> motors stop on the line.  If you have central heat, it is better to run 
> the fan constant than to cycle on a generator.  Less power spikes.
> 
> I hope this makes sense, If it serves your purpose, it wasn't a mistake. 
>   Just keep a service schematic around and know how to wire around the 
> circuits..
> 
> Cecil in OKla