To run a PTO generator, you're going to need a very large water wheel.
And do you really NEED that kind of wattage. Personally if I was designing something like that I would use multiple automotive alternators run through a small battery bank into inverters for clean fairly stable power. A straight up A/C gen head is very speed sensitive and it is hard to get clean power for sensitive stuff.
I can GET water a lot of ways.
For gasoline storage... I have a Suburban with a 40 gallon gas tank.
The trick I think, is to design your system, so that you only need very little, high power electricity and only for short periods of time. Trying to run a generator for 24 or even 6-8 hours a day, is a dead end after a few days.
I've personally had 3) Honda EU2000i generators go over 20,000 hours each yes you read that correctly twenty thousand hours each. The only way you rack up hours like that is running them 24/7/365 which we did for a couple years before we had enough solar and battery power. Interesting fact switching to synthetic oil increased the fuel economy by about 1/5th to 1/4th after the break in period of 100 to 500 hours.
Impressive. If that was a car engine, it would be on the order of a million miles. Those must be some of the most reliable engines known to man.
They all quit between 23 and 24,000 hours and I decided they weren't worth fixing at that point. They all got new a cam gear and timing belt between 12 and 15,000 hours they also got regular oil changes every Sunday so every 168 hours roughly with Mobil 1 synthetic 10w30 oil. Closer to 1.3 million miles the way I figured it @Aerindel .
That's what I have, but it's kind of work horse. I think? Coleman Model #534502
Briggs engines seldom make it much past 5,000 hours.
I hear ya. You just missed my edit: ETA: Okay... it's a half-assed work horse and not meant for long term service. sigh
I have a half dozen or so briggs engines and generators they serve a purpose and do it well. You and I and everyone has a budget and Honda's are pricey especially the larger ones. I know I never could afford $4-5k for a 4000 - 5000 watt inverter generator. Little as I use them the $800 Briggs generators are just fine with me for running the welder and large tools the Little Honda's can't run.
I paid $200 for mine, and from a city-dweller that bought it new. It wasn't used often. The seller up-graded to a whole house back-up system.
Just curious, with the 2 12kw generators (without fuel), your solar panels, batteries, controllers and inverters, how many dollars have you invested in your setup?
I'll guess it's more than I make (or should I say earn?) in a year.
Lol I got all of mine used also. I also ran a small engine shop for several years and know a little about them.
I'm a mechanic by nature, or it's in my blood.... something like that. Anyway, I know it's the valves that goes first on those engines. The trick is keeping the valves adjusted, when there is no valve adjustment.
a few carefull file strokes between the tappit and valve tip, followed by a magnet, and an couple of quick oil changes (its going to burn the valve or seat anyway so what can you hurt.I'm a mechanic by nature, or it's in my blood.... something like that. Anyway, I know it's the valves that goes first on those engines. The trick is keeping the valves adjusted, when there is no valve adjustment.
Yep, I hear ya. Works to get a few more hours out 'em. The thing is the vales get pounded in-to the seats, as you know... It's actually not a bad job to pull the valves, clean-up the seat area, grind sharp edges off the valve and take a few thousands off the valve length. Final adjust is hand lapping the valves into the seat and/or use valve seat grinder until there's about 8 thousands valve-lifter gap. The trick is catching it before the valves burn.
Believe it or not some of the newer stuff has hydraulic lifters and zero lash. Older OHV engine B&S, Tec, Koh .006 int .008 ex honda .004 int .006 ex
I believe it, in fact I know. But the older B&S with purely mechanical valve lifters are actually pretty forgiving with valve lash... and it's better to go with more gap as the valves will settle-in and you'll get more hours of run time before having to go thru all that again.
What always surprised me was the fact that you could have the same exact two engines in side by side with valve lash issues and one would be no lash and the other might have .060 lash. It just depends on which parts are wearing faster. Which tends to lean in the direction of oil changes. The ones that got regular oil changes would slowly get deeper in the seats. The ones with less frequent oil changes would wipe the cam lobes and grow a larger lash pretty quick.
That I did not know. I haven't had to dig that deep into a Honda engine. Well, except for a 900cc inline 4 bike engine.
Are you talking about if you buy something, your friends, neighbors, family end up getting the same thing or similar? Probably a topic for a new thread but it happens to me all the time.
