Riding Mower-Mounted Generator "Goes Anywhere"

Riding Mower-Mounted Generator Goes Anywhere ENERGY Miscellaneous I ve never had a standby generator at my place so I always felt a bit vulnerable to power outages I decided to mount a generator on front of an old riding mower equipped with a front pto and I couldn t be more pleased with it It lets me produce portable electric power any time and any place I need it says Patrick Lucas Fairfield Ct
    He bought a Howard Price 1260 Turf Blazer riding mower cheap equipped with a Yanmar 40 hp diesel engine The mower was originally equipped with two wing decks and a front-mounted pto-driven deck All 3 decks were hydraulically raised and lowered He removed all the decks and mounted a new 16-kw generator on front A small crane made from 2-in angle iron is welded to the lift linkage that was already on front of the mower The crane and a small chain are used to raise and lower the generator for transport
    He made a dolly out of 2 by 4 s and mounted the generator on it The dolly rides on 4 heavy-duty caster wheels allowing Lucas to transport the generator without having to lift it all the time
     I built it about five years ago and use it 2 or 3 times a year whenever we have a power failure says Lucas We had a tornado here last June and I was able to help neighbors keep things going too
     I put a Gen-Tran switch in my house so that I can plug in an æumbilical cord that s attached to the generator I use the generator to operate my well furnace stove refrigerator freezer and a sump pump in the basement
    Lucas paid $2 200 for the generator and bought the mower for next to nothing
     I spent more than 40 years in the golf course maintenance business as a superintendent so I m familiar with most types of equipment used by golf courses At one time Howard Price mowers were very popular at golf courses parks athletic fields airports etc although they re not being made any more But many places still have them just lying around or in limited use
     You can buy other brands of used out front mowers such as Jacobsen Toro and Deere which would do the same thing But they re usually more expensive whereas you can usually buy Howard Price mowers for little or nothing Your local golf course superintendent should be able to put you in touch with equipment sales people who know what kinds of used equipment is available Or check out the website www TurfNet com and click on æused equipment
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Patrick Lucas 1055 Banks North Road Fairfield Conn 06824 ph 203 292-6282; pal golf@yahoo com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.