You Said I’d Burn the House Down! 1025R vs TURBO Johnny X on PTO Generator. 

I find the advantages of a PTO driven generator are, based on how rarely I have had to use a generator twice in 18 years, I don't have yet another engine to perform maintenance on, fuel is used by the generator only when it is needed not some every week like the autorun/exercise feature of the automatic units do, yes this is a small amount but if you only need to use it twice in 18 years that can add up to a huge amount. In my current case I use a Lincoln Ranger 9, 9KW, that I use a lot for welding I will always have a gas powered welder. The 2 times I have used it in the 18 years I have owned it (5 days one time, 24 hrs the 2nd) I've only used about 60 gallons of gas for generation for a power outage. That is a huge savings over however much propane would be used for 6 full days of of run time and all of the weekly exercise running. But building steel buildings, pipe fence, fixing equipment in remote places it get use as a generator more frequently for grinders, chop saw etc so the "portability" is a huge benefit.

Good job making the hook up simple and safe. One thing I will mention for the benefit of anybody who may read this, is that circuit breakers do, occasionally, fail, and they don't always 'fail safe' with power in the off position. Furthermore, I have seen where only half of a 240 V breaker fails. The breaker shows off, and if you check across the circuit you show no power.....but if you check from one leg to neutral or ground, you will see 120 volts. While I know you were dealing with new hardware, the safest bet is to not only double check that the power is off, but to test both legs to ground or neutral on a 240 circuit.

Your tractor has a governor too! It just bogs down when it runs out of power, stand alone generator is no different. I have one of these for my house as well, IMD and a little smaller at 22KW vs 30KW but it will also run my entire house. My house isn't very big, but it does have 2 heatpumps for some reason. It will run both of them though. Kept me cool in Texas not too long ago when a big storm knocked our power out for 80 hours. Also good job changing that connection. That Anderson plug looks like 175 amp which is plenty, the same size I use. That 50 amp plug was pretty suspect when I saw the power you were pulling through it on the other video!

Listening to you call out the kw usage made me think of Doc Brown!

My husband was watching this video and I couldn’t help remembering when in Northern Kentucky couple years ago we had a severe wind storm knocking out not just one but Two utility poles and one transformer. We were out for 4 days total, However, thanks to my husband with one generator on its own we were fine. Only think we weren’t able to run was coffee maker, Until he pulls up his tractor and used a converter so that the tractor powered our coffee maker. 😁 Great video.

I always try to keep the PTO shaft as inline as possible (little bend in the U joints) the more bend you have the less efficient the power transfer and the increase wear on the PTO. Of course with bush hogs and such you cant control it much but with a stationary implement it is a good idea to correct the angles.

I have a rebranded Kubota LowBoy 6500 generator, a Yamaha EDL6500S. I got it second hand 10yrs ago and it’s been great. I used it last spring for 5days nonstop when we had extreme straight line winds here in Nashville Tennessee. Best part is the tank is big enough I could fill it up when I left for work, and I wouldn’t have to fill it up until long after I got home from work.

So glad I do not have to deal with a loud annoying generator anymore now that I have the F150 PowerBoost with ProPower 7.2kw inverter on it. Besides the HVAC, I powered the whole house with it once during a storm. Super quiet, as truck doesn't have to run at all times, even when does it is quiet, 30G fuel tank. And completely portable with ease no matter where I am at.

We've used a smaller older version PTO genset for the last 40 years or so. We purchased it used in 1981 to provide temporary power to frame and finish a large house that we were building about 1/2 mile from existing power. We ran it ten hours a day for about 4 months. For the first few months we powered it with a Model M John Deere then used a Mannheim built 710 John Deere (53 hp?) The 710 was nice as it had both 540 and 1000 rpm pto shafts. We bought a conversion stub so that we could run the genset on the 1000 rpm shaft. That way we hit 60 hz with just a high idle. That kept noise and fuel consumption low. We used the genset for part construction of a couple more rural homes where the powerlines had not been run in yet. After that it became the backup genset at our farm here in Langley B.C.. I still have the genset ( Winpower 7/12kw) however something has broken in the internal gear drive, so I purchased a new 10 kw e start tri fuel genset as our backup. I intend to repair the PTO genset and make it the back up to the backup. Also handy for remote power needs, as Kristy points out.

We installed a Cummins 50kw 208 amp whole house backup generator with an auto transfer switch last year on our home. The individual leg voltage varies depending on what is running. That's a super cool setup you have there.

I added a 10k portable, propane gennie plumbed into my 1000gal propane tank. It's a manual start process with a simple interconnect switch, but it powers most of the home when I need it. Cost me about $1200 all in a few years ago, but I did the install myself.

Tim You will find a numerous amount of ways to generate power for your home. Almost as many as negative comments about what and how you are doing this.. LOL I use just a 13hp gen set, 10000 watts. Have it wired in garage to back feed into house when needed SSHHHHH. I am very careful. I have an older tractor, and could buy a PTO genset that could power 2 houses for very little money. But to haul the tractor out and hook up genset, after all is said and done, just seemed like a bother. Just wheel the portable generator to an open door and plug it in. The cost of a standby gen, was just not feasible at $4-$5k, I bought the generator, new for $1200, everything else I had, except a plug end $20. Just wired an old dryer plug up beside the electrical box in garage, and plug cord into that and generator, and runs entire house, with the exception of the electric range. But other than that little to no difference in having the grid. Power at most would be off for a few hours normally, not a huge deal in summer, but if very cold in winter not great without furnace for hours. So very little money for a large convenience if needed. I am thinking in roughly 5 years I have ran it a total of 12 hours, and one of them times was 7 hours, so you get the idea. Had it the first 2 years and ran it for an hour. LOL But keep treated gas in it, and always ready to serve.

I was actually pleasantly surprised that Johnny would be able to produce that level of electricity And I agree, that would be plenty of power to get you through a severe loss of electricity, when you are sensible with your household demands. Dave’s quips are a hoot! Blessings.

I like this option, growing up in dairy country 30 years ago...every farmer had one next to the milking parlor. Managing the rpm/hertz will be the biggest issue, while scheduling time blocks for cooking vs cleaning vs heating. In-rush current for starting motors (heating compressor,well pump) is also a concern. Well done,and nice to have the data before you need it!

This is a very cool attachment for a compact tractor. In the right situation, I'm sure it would be a great option. However, for those of us with only one tractor, I think it would be better (in most cases) to have a large diesel (or propane/diesel) generator and use the tractor to move the generator where it's needed. With a PTO generator, you couldn't use the tractor to do minor tractor things, like help clear the road, clean up fallen trees, or gather firewood for emergency heat.

It's usually pretty easy to balance your phases! Use a clamp-on ammeter of any quality or price, Home Despot sells them. Recognize, looking into your power panel, that every other breaker screw going down each side is on the same phase. Using the meter check the two big cables feeding the panel's two bus bars. Once you have that, figure out which of the every-other breaker screw terminals are the over subscribed phase. Do this by simply switching breakers off starting with the top single pole breaker then skipping down every other one until you see on the meter the over subscribed phase dropping with switched off breakers. (Ignore all two pole breakers but include them in the every-other screw counting.) Note, if you've switched several breakers off in one of the every-other groups and the current isn't going down, you've got the "other phase". Turn the turned-off breakers back on and start switching the other group off. You will see the monitored phase current dropping with most the breakers you're turning off. Write down the amperage drops you see with the breaker that caused them. Once you've done all the breakers down both sides and have your list you're ready to "balance the panel". Pick maybe two of the higher ones and with the breakers off switch them with two lines on the other alternating breaker phase. Re-label as necessary. That's how it's done. You can monitor things and see if you want more balancing or less. Adjust until you have something close to balanced. The generator will be much less thrashed by driving a balanced load and will be able to actually support its rated output. I totally agree with @hagak1679 on that PTO shaft angle. U-joint angles should be 7 degrees or less. As the angle gets larger the shaft stops turning at a constant velocity and starts accelerating and decelerating twice every revolution. This screws up the sine-wave of the power delivery and stresses the entire drive train, including the gear boxes. Drive lines also have to have the SAME angle on both ends!! If that isn't the case then the drive line will move in-and-out twice every revolution and that's even more damaging to everything connected. 1 day ago

Excellent fix. Not sure how you could have done better. It was really cool to see you struggle to get more “load”. This scenario is versatile. As Christie mentioned lights in a field. You could power a full on “event”,in a very isolated spot. An idea. Attach/wire an electrical panel to the generator, like a “tool rack”. Then safely powering several small reasonable loads. Great job.

That was cool Tim and Cristy ! I was surprised that a tractor that small would run an entire house ! I would have thought a 50+ hp would be needed. Great video!

Gotta love the keyboard electrical police! Probably already know this but you can easily balance your load by swapping your high draw 110 breakers to the other leg with something that draws very little. The only thing that can sometimes can become a issue is wire length, but that can be solved.

Great comparison running the power loads with the two tractors, no sweat for Johnny X!

Thanks for the great video with little Johnny I always wondered how well a tractor that size would work on one of those generators

6:05 I like how Kristie says "my dryer" and "my induction cooktop". I get the impression you're not allowed to use those appliances, Tim. It may be worth looking into why there's such a load imbalance between the two legs. It may be possible to get them closer just by swapping a few wires around. If you had something like an Emporia Energy Monitor system, you could actually track the energy usage of various appliances and circuits. (Edited: change phases to legs)

The direct mathematical conversion is 1HP = 745.7 watts. So 14kw is just under 19HP (in a perfect world). That really puts the parasitic losses of the system (both mechanical and electrical) into perspective. No getting away from that though. Pretty sweet setup though!

A few years ago, I helped set up a large outdoor concert. They brought in a large generator for the electrical service to run the stage. I was surprised how much it took to run their boards. All of the sound crews would check to make sure they had enough power so their equipment wouldn’t get damaged. I was amazed how much equipment used to produce those shows. It was eye opening to be back stage.

I was at the National Farm Machinery show yesterday I was hoping to meet you but unfortunately our paths never crossed. I was hoping for an opportunity to interview you but maybe some other time. Love your show.

The way you just showing how you hook your generator up that's the way mine's hooked up but I'm on a light pole I have a poll top

If y'all are on a well, running the pump can be a significant draw, especially at start up. high draw for a split second can overwhelm a small portable gen.

Tim, I'd shoot for 61~62 Hertz. Current will decrease on inductive loads ( motors) above 60 Htz. Resistive loads won't care what the frequency is. I can hear in imbalance in the fields. That's some of the shaking. Best to try and bring that current in balance. Especially when the gen is being driven with a smaller engine. Just a thought not a big deal, I'm just knit picking. 🙂

Time I tried to find you at the expo today for about 2 hours with no luck (sad face ) soooo many people. I even checked the concession stands a couple times - LOL It was after 11am so I looked for you at the discount hydraulic booth using the map which I could also not find... user error I am sure. I hate so bad I missed meeting you and Kristy, I have you both on my list of folks I want to thank face to face for all the inspiration and information. Maybe next year if I can get off work again. Thank you so much for your videos and lifting up when I need it!! travel safe back home.

Got to meet you and your family at the national farm machinery show today had a great time talking to you

AVE also loves to say "contact" in a fun way. I like that generator! Cool to see how it performs behind a stock 1025.

Nice work comparing the two tractors. I am wondering if the vibration you were seeing was the ujoints on the pto shaft. Possibly blocking the tractor up 6-8 inches would reduce the vibration. But nice setup and now you are ready if the power goes out which means you should be good for 3-5 years before it goes out.

that man with you looks sooooo much like Ron Jeremy....even my g/f said he looks like him LOL

Dang, little Johnny-X is impressive. I thought about a PTO generator, but I got a standalone Duromax XP12000EH for this purpose, as I own only one tractor :P

Great video Tim. I wired my gen plug same as you did except I was cheap and used #6 copper. However my place is very small and I do not need to as much juice as you guys did. I have a 15kv pto gen, a 7kv gas portable and 4.4kw hrs of battery backup. I like having the options.

nice set up

Thanks Tim. That gearbox is noisier than the Tractor ?? Nice load test but You have to remember when in an emergency situation You are gonna run as minimum as possible for Fuel economy Mike M.

DDWD on TTWT A natural fit

Very interesting comparison! Thanks for sharing your experience.

crazy how the generator started shaking at one point.🤣

Many homes in south Alabama have stand by units for hurricanes. You can go 2 weeks without power and that's hard without power In the south during hurricane season. But that's another option.

You hit on the head. All in what you want to power, I back feed my home on 50 amp breaker with 10.000 watt. Now the wire that feeds it is 8-3 been working for me

Thank you for pushing American John Deere!

Great video! Any plans for doing more sub compact jobs? Rototilling jobs for customers etc?

Well mixed message. I clicked the like button. You inspired me to go ahead and fix everything up so I am ready to go. Putting on my safety hat ... you are not going to leave that wire hanging out there where that door can slam on to the wire and vibrate the insulation away ... i hope ... maybe you will care for it before the end of the video ... heil safety

Corntact. Don't let the angry pixies out!

For balance ... you could check the large wires going into or out of the panel. For the sides ... each side, every other breaker is on the other leg. So you could put ever breaker on one side and be balances ... now if you skipped every other breaker then you for sure you would be unbalance ... and a littie weird to do that too! semi humor, semi serious .. thanks for the videos

Great video!

For the first time in years my wife watched with me for a bit. She said, "He looks older." 😂😂

Is the gear train not lubricated square cut gears? The only other attachment I've heard be that loud was a snowblower with open, grease lubed right angle gears.. I'd go insane with that much noise.. I'd have to change it over to belt & pulley.

Great video, thanks for the comparison 👍🏻

I ordered 2 more Knipex yesterday.

Let’s get started !

I'm going with Dave. While the computer may have computed in kg-newtons, etc, you can bet your bottom dollar that the parts of the lunar lander were engineered and built in US Customary Units. I'll be darned if there's a 6 or 7 mm bolt or rivet vs a 1/4", or some metric number vs 0.032" thick aluminum sheet, or the metric wire size vs AWG.

Very interesting video. I am picturing in a real power outage, situation you would likely hook old Salty to it, mainly because of it hours being so high it really wouldn’t effect its value to rack up a bunch of hours in a major multiple day outage type situation, plus bigger fuel tank, and extra pony’s would be an advantage as well.

Dave is right Despite the USSR's early space race dominance, the United States is still to this day the only country to have successfully landed humans on the Moon - having done so another five times after the famous Apollo 11 mission.

If you really want to push something to its limit, you’re welder alone, if it is able to do high frequency TIG over a kilowatt. I wouldn’t be surprised if your air compressor pulls a good bit most power tools will pull quite a lot and anything that you have that runs on 220 V you kick all of them at once you’re gonna get a large spike depending on exactly what kind of motor your lift has. It may be able to pull a couple of kilowatts at least right when it kicks on.

Tim waiting on 2038r test - located in Central Ohio with Waterfurnace 5, curious if emergency heat will still work.

I've got a PTO generator too. My 1025R is NOT big enough for my house. It will work everything except our HVAC system (a Geo-Thermal Heat Pump). When the heat pump tries to kick on, the RPMS fall, bringing the voltage and frequency down to a point where the heat pump gives up and goes into safety shutdown.

Can you demonstrate using auto throttle it will work. For example, using the 2038 R John Deere it has other capability, and that the smaller ones I love Dave’s comets.

That would be a cool test to see though now you mention it is to see it in action in a simulated emergency field repair with a Mig Welder. You probably pre-jinxed yerself with breaking something that needs on the spot welding. Could be a good dry run test.

Interesting video thanks for sharing keep the video's rolling🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

In our area, I don't think your interlock device would pass muster! A double pole-double throw switch is required. Lots of bucks!

I am curious to know does the turbocharged Jonny X consume more fuel than a stock 1025R or less? Keep up the good work your videos are always informative and Tim and Christie’s quality guest make them more enjoyable

If you dont already own a tractor thats one thing, but isnt it much much cheaper to get a PTO generator if you do?

GREAT SCOTT you needed One point twenty-one Gigawats to run everything.😂❤ happy valentines 💝 day. Love the vid.

Hey Tim, I think you have a good solution there. I've used a PTO generator and they work well as long as you have a working tractor and you have plenty to choose from. Best of all you are already exercising the tractor regularly and a single purpose home-generator can fail just when you need it. However, I am curious why you did not set this up in your shop and back-feed back to your house so that you could leave the tractor out in the shop/shed or in a covered area like a lean-to next to the shop. To keep the tractor protected but still provide cover. You can always leave a door open or if you use a lean-to it is outside but covered.

Very nice! Is it just me or is that thing incredibly loud?

I was always told you need 2hp per kw with a pto generator and it looks like that was close to what you found to. For those comparing the price of a home generator to a pto generator and saying they are similar must be comparing a smaller kw home generator then a pto. Also the home generators are lighter duty and a 2 pole generator

That is really loud. What about having it in the barn where the tractor and generator is secured inside? This would also get it away from the house and cut down on the noise.

I feel that this generator would be something I'd be using to power up the essentials during a long power outage. Curious to know what the fuel consumption/hr would be (qt/hr).

If I remember right you have this generator inlet connected to a 50 amp breaker. Why did the breaker not trip when you were getting over 50 amps?

“1.21 Gigawatts!”😂

we have a 22kw Generac 500lb tank it was about $10,000 installed the transfer switch came with the generator

Balanced amp loads should give you a lower power bill. I think the meter spins based on the highest amp load.

As an electrician, I am concerned you have that much of a load imbalance on your home. I would suggest you have someone do a load test on each circuit to determine where it is coming from.

You want to be above 58hz. So no load you should be at 61 to 62hz on throttle settings

Sounds like too many 120vac appliances are connected on one leg. Probably kitchen outlets and appliances. With a coffe maker, microwave oven, dishwasher, refrigerator all on the same leg but different breakers can cause that severe imbalance.

Tim, I am not an electrician, but have basically double the amp load on one leg, could be indicating a potentially serious problem with your house’s electrically service. One thing a non electrician homeowner can do with no risk is to record the loads on their panel. (Again if possible you want to consider loads not breaker ratings). I realize in some areas this is hit or miss, but a rough process can be estimated. If your furnace, oven etc are all on the same leg-you have a major issue. But also look for rooms you use verse rooms you use very little. If these rough calculations of load seem closely balanced, then you may have more serious issues such as loose connections-unfortunately these may be anywhere in your home. Checking these are probably best left to an electrician.

12:13 if NPR wrote it, it's probably true

In my opinion, the PTO generator is not good for your electronics in a home setting. It is also very noisy. You would have a hard time sleeping. But, if this is the only way to have power, during a power outage, well it better than nothing. I know this was just a quick test, but i was wondering how much fuel are you going to use on an hour. I have a portable 15kw generator, gas engine, that uses 1.5 gallons / hour. Thanks for the test.

I agree with the Jack Black comment!

What does that cost compared to a similar sized standalone generator? I can't think I would want to put the hours on the tractor and listen to that loud noise 24x7. Seems to be more useful if you need power away from a grid power source. It is easy enough to check the standard for electrical wire Amps/length. I'm not sure your splice is proper for that much amperage though. Does Apple know if you have solar and battery backup or are off grid?

Good video. I'd like to know how many gallons/day Johnny burns while acting as a back-up power source? I think fuel storage (volume) is often overlooked when people buy generators for home back-up. Sure, generator XYZ can power your home, but what good is it if it burns 15 gallons of fuel per day and you live in a hurricane zone and need to plan for 7 day outages?

One lineman on RU-vid was working on a down powerline, and they could hear a nearby house with a generator running. As they connected the powerlines to ground just to ensure the lines were safe to work on he made a flippant voice comment about seeing if they could burn the guys generator out. But no, the generator kept on working so he said good that obviously the homeowner had some kind of interlock device working. So if he can be flippant, I don’t see why you can’t. The heck with the haters

Shaking partially because of the imbalance in load. Turn the computers off when running the generator.

What Induction range top did you select? I am looking for options in the near future. It appears that European manufactures are better that the American options.

It's good to know that the electric safety police are monitoring this channel

PS ... if it helps my Dad is an engineer .. he said the NEC is like the bible, there are exceptions everywhere. A big one is TEMPORARY .. you can get a way with a ton of things if they are Temporary ... temp generator that sounds temporary

Does the generator have an Inverter to provide clean electricity for electronics? Many products have electronics: refrigerator, furnace, TVs, computers.

Tim did you forget Christy is in charge and always has been?

Tractor generator is portable people!

What is the THD% for the generator?

That sucker is pretty loud. How long could it run like that?

If you want more of a load, anything that heats. Microwave, toaster, coffee pot, water heater. Your interconnect also protects your generator. Depending on where the supply is broke, if you're trying to power the entire neighborhood, it will be a problem also.

I would think that a lot of appliances, refrigerator, stove, dryer, furnace, ect would not be happy when the cycles go below or higher than 60 cycles

I never wanted to shame you. I just wanted you and your family to be safe.

Great video. Could Johnny X have extra water coolers added. Or is that all ready done.

Great video guy’s! Does your generator have plugs that can be used out in the field for say power tools?

What was the website again that gives you an estimate of the value of your tractor