PMG who's to buy

[Halfcrazy]

Ok I think I am in the market for a PMG for my 6/1 here is my question Georgia generator has 3.5kw and 6.5kw both are 650 bucks then George at utterpower has a 3kw for 699 with pulley and shipping both designs seem different.

Which one would you buy?

[bschwartz]

Utterpowers looks like a nicer unit, and well sealed.  The Georgia generator unit 6.5 is rated at twice the output however.  I went with the Georgia 6.5 unit as I didn't want to worry how much of a load I drew from one leg.  In theory, I can pull all the 6/1 will provide on one leg without any concern for overloading.  The Utterpower unit (conservatively) rated at only 3k will by its specs. only happily supply 1.5k per leg for an extended period of time.  I often run heavily unevenly loaded legs (500 watts on one leg and 2700 on the other) and the generator doesn't seem to mind at all.
(Tom Osborne is GREAT to deal with by the way!)
Hope that helps.

[wagspe208]

George has none in stock and has no idea when any will be available.
Any other suggestions?
Wags

[Diesel Guy]

I like these PMA's. Good quility.

http://stores.ebay.com/Central-Georgia-Generator/_i.html?_fsub=823419012

Diesel Guy

[flywheel]

George at www.utterpower.com has two different size PMG's.  You can see both of them under my posts in the PMG section under Perkins/utterpower PMG.
                                                                       flywheel

[wagspe208]

George at www.utterpower.com has two different size PMG's.  You can see both of them under my posts in the PMG section under Perkins/utterpower PMG.
                                                                      flywheel

I called George last week and he said out of stock until ?? (he was my first choice)
So, like my last post... what now?
Wags

[wagspe208]

Utterpowers looks like a nicer unit, and well sealed.  The Georgia generator unit 6.5 is rated at twice the output however.  I went with the Georgia 6.5 unit as I didn't want to worry how much of a load I drew from one leg.  In theory, I can pull all the 6/1 will provide on one leg without any concern for overloading.  The Utterpower unit (conservatively) rated at only 3k will by its specs. only happily supply 1.5k per leg for an extended period of time.  I often run heavily unevenly loaded legs (500 watts on one leg and 2700 on the other) and the generator doesn't seem to mind at all.
(Tom Osborne is GREAT to deal with by the way!)
Hope that helps.

How is this piece holding up? I have an 8/1. Should I still go with the 6.5 kw piece? Or can I get something bigger. Honestly, the 6.5 is probably large enough for my needs, so maybe slow down the 8/1 to conserve fuel?

Do you have a link to the one you purchased?
Thanks again.
Steve

[LowGear]

Hi Steve,

The rule of thumb is two HP to one KW output.  In much of the world engines are rated in KW rather than HP.  Technically 1 HP = 0.745699872 kilowatts but I think most of the 6 HP Listers are driving 3 KW heads even though they pencil out to 4.4 KW.

Casey

[mobile_bob]

the difference is the efficiency of the generator and its drive

so if you have 2hp or about 1.5kw mechanical and using the 2hp per kw electrical

you have about 1 / 1.5 or about 66% efficiency, however
in practice you will be close to 75%

so the reality is you probably can get 1 kw electrical out of each 1.75hp give or take.

the 2hp per kw electrical output is a rough rule of thumb that will put most any application in the ballpark.

so an 8/1 is good for about 4kw electrical, but probably will do closer to 4.5kw electrical in most cases, and maybe
a bit more in some very cases with very efficient generators and drive systems.

long and short of it, a 6.5kwatt head ought to be more than adequate for an 8/1, but might be on the edge if you want to
draw full power off of one winding.

one could always use a 4-5kva transformer and put both windings across the primaries at 240volts, and take all the engine
can deliver out the secondaries at 120volts,, and still leave the ability to get 240 available, just not at the same time of course.

might be overall a more efficient setup, depending on several factors, and ones ability to source a transformer at an affordable price.

bob g

[bschwartz]

Steve,

Re: "How is this piece holding up? "
It ran flawlessly for about 800 hours.
I started having voltage drop and came to an ugly conclusion.
It is a vented unit, and I was doing some welding and grinding nearby......
I suspect that the metal bits got sucked into the unit (powerful magnets you know) and are causing an issue.  I have not opened up the unit to verify.  I am current limping along on a ST-5 with it's own voltage issues.

Had I been more careful about the metal filings, I'm sure the PMG would still be performing beautifully.  It ran quiet, and smoothly.  Very stable.

[wagspe208]

So, what I am hearing is I can get the 6.5 KW gen head as long as I do not over load it. And the Georgia gen is ok??
Is that the link on ebay to buy?
Thanks
Steve

[Randybee1]

So, what I am hearing is I can get the 6.5 KW gen head as long as I do not over load it. And the Georgia gen is ok??

... and keep it in a clean environment! ie.. no welding or metal work done nearby

[bschwartz]

Yes, that it the link.  I would highly recommend them.  Tom Osborne it the best vendor I've ever worked with.  He'll return calls, stock spare parts for what he sells etc.

[Geno]

Steve,

Re: "How is this piece holding up? "
It ran flawlessly for about 800 hours.
I started having voltage drop and came to an ugly conclusion.
It is a vented unit, and I was doing some welding and grinding nearby......
I suspect that the metal bits got sucked into the unit (powerful magnets you know) and are causing an issue.  I have not opened up the unit to verify.  I am current limping along on a ST-5 with it's own voltage issues.

Had I been more careful about the metal filings, I'm sure the PMG would still be performing beautifully.  It ran quiet, and smoothly.  Very stable.

This is what Tom has up on ebay right now. It doesn't look vented. Is this the same unit as the one you have?

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-5-KW-Rare-Earth-Permanent-Magnet-Generator-Alternator-/160499729388?pt=BI_Generators&hash=item255e8783ec

Thanks, Geno

[bschwartz]

No, I have an older 3600RPM model.  (I wish it were the newer 1800 version)