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[netwerx-r-us]

I was looking at some options around power in case the electricity went out so I still have heat in my 2 greenhouses

I know several of you went the generator route , I was actually thinking on getting a converter and hooking to my tractor and let idle in case of an outage , I have a diesel kubota and it will idle 2 days on a full tank of fuel

I see this unit at harbor freight , why couldn't i hook this to my tractor ( http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-watt-continuous4000-watt-peak-power-inverter-69662.html )  , run a line to my stove and a line to my 2fans , all I need for heat

my 2  pumps are wilo star 21 , pull .92 amps , my 2 fans are 20 inch fans  fans , I think 1 or even 2 of these hooked up in a circuit , pull the tractor up , hook it up and ill have power for my 2 greenhouses ( heat )

what do you think

[slimjim]

I run my chip boiler and 250 on a 2500 watt inverter while I go down the road on my way to shows, it will not run the fans as they pull too many amps for the alternator, 130 amp , your Kubota I would expect puts out maybe 50.

[ITO]

 Can use your PTO to drive a generator, they are nearly as expensive as a motor driven unit though (unless you can find one used for the nice price!), you wont be able to just idle the tractor under its load though.

[netwerx-r-us]

Slim , your right about the output on the kubota alternator . these are the fans I use in my home built heater units http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010041GS/ref=oh_details_o01_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm trying to pull up some info on the amps these use? ,I may need to step back and rethink , I shied away from a generator because of run times on a tank of gas are low , 3-4 hours at best  , the PTO generator while a bit more expensive would certainly run a lot longer and put out more 

[ITO]

 This is a fan similar from Grainger, has the current draw requirements that may help you.
http://www.grainger.com/product/DAYTON-Orbital-Air-Circ-10R359?s_pp=false

[netwerx-r-us]

ok, that helps , a little bigger than mine but using those numbers , 1.5 amps per fan x2 and 1 amp per pump , x2 = 5 amps or 500 watts , my kubota puts out 50 amps as Slim said , it might be worth a trial run to see if it works , I already have the converter ,

[ITO]

 Just using these numbers, 2 fans plus 2 pumps, total of 5 plus you need about 25 percent more capacity to compensate for starting current of motors so 6 amps at 120 volt equals 720 watts needed. I think your alternator would be rated at 50 amps 12 volt equalling 600 watts and you lose a little to the AC convertor so it looks to me you would be short. You could do one pump and fan and use an ammeter to get your actual draw. Careful on your load on the alternator, running motors can produce higher current draw, they want to run and regardless of dropping voltages, increased load, stalled rotor or whatever variable they compensate by drawing more current.

[netwerx-r-us]

Well I had to do it,we lost power going on 2days,I hooked a 750 watt inverter to the stove and another 400 watt for the fans.works well so far .had to keep 2 vehicles running all night But both greenhouses right at 60 degrees where I set them.

So in pinch it does work after this I'm going to get a 3pthitch generator

[ITO]

 Curious then Netwerx, how many fans and pumps did you run? Did you get a chance to put a meter on it and see actual load? Glad it worked for you!

[ecc_33]

Be careful doing this. You WILL burn up alternators.

[netwerx-r-us]

Ito,  I had 2 Wilo star 21's running along with the electronics on the OB unit running on the 400 watt inverter and my suv running it ,I did turn my pumps down to medium  it took 1/2 tank of gas for 41 hrs of idle time before we finally got electricity back at 8 pm last night

I had 2 fans for my heating units running from my 750 watt inverter and my truck running at idle , it also used 1/2 tank of gas at idle

it amazing how much we take electricity for granted , I definitely have some planning to do as this was an eye opener

it was not the perfect solution , I had to do what i had to do in a pinch , of course there wasn't a generator to be found when the power went out , it worked and that's what matters , I had 2  large greenhouses kept at 60 degrees and saved all my wife's tropical plants and all my birds I raise ,

unfortunately I have not hooked my house and hot water up yet , that's coming soon , but I will have to come up with a different solution , as stated it worked in a pinch and i hope i don't see any effects on my vehicles because of it

I am curious as to what it takes to run the very large inverters I saw while at harbor freight , the 5000 watt model

[ITO]

 Glad it worked out for you, sounds like a hassle for sure. I dont believe that a vehicle alternator is putting out full load at idle, if you got away with it this time you probably didnt hurt your vehicles, keep in mind that a stalled pump or fan will draw more current.
 The 5000 watt inverter should handle close to that 5000 watt value in a resistive load but motors and some lighting need to have that 25 per cent factor also start up surge is a consideration plus with inductive loads there are more losses in the inverter.

[Michael]

I have a 4000 inverter from Harbor Freight. I used it for a Christmas parade float. It work ok but my load was less than of the 4000 and it was peaking out.