Energy 3 pt hitch pto Generator

I have a 3 pt hitch 25 kw generator pto driven, It has 15 amp circuit, 30 amp circuit 50 amp circuit and a 100 amp circuit. My question is, on the 100 amp circuit can I run 600 amp welding cable. What I would call cab tire. Not the welding leads but the actual welder plug cable. It is a 3 pin plug in at the generator with a breaker. I picked it up at a farm auction and it seems to work fine. I have used all the circuits except the 100 amp. What I was intending initially was a pin and sleeve connection at my outside service panel, which I would just plug into. But used ones are as scarce as hen's teeth and new ones are 6-700 dollars for the 2 pc. connection. That is as much as I paid for the generator. So what would I have to do to connect this safely, without a automatic switch question number 1 so as never to backfeed the mainline from grid. #2 would the welding cable work safely. #3 how would I connect into the main panel so as to feed my system. What is the correct thing to do, it does fine on the 50 amp using the 50 amp circuit that was installed for the rv. Hard to get an electrician.

 

To run legitimate 100 amps through the wire it needs to be at least 3 gauge.

 

sent you a pm.

 

I am a real fan of 3 point gensets. The odds that the genset will start after it set in the lawnmower shed for 2 years, you really did intend to run it, but never got around to it are not good. If you have a 20 or so hp small tractor with a pto, the odds are high that you run it every few weeks, cycle your gas thru it as you use it, know how to start it, etc. I have replaced brushes and changed bearings in a 3 point genset, bit if hooked up properly as deMolay is doing, and load reset after genset is up to speed, I have never seen one thrown away. I have worked on ones used as standby power for a farm, milking, lights, house, that was 40 years old and worked perfectly. Kept out of the weather, watch brushes and bearings, seem to last for ever and as they are universal, will fit a new tractor. Might not be what you want to power a shelter for 6 months or longer, but if you have a small tractor and don't have a standby automatic genset, very hard to beat. They seem to be the most reliable way to go.

 

What I like about this genset is it is very ruggedly built. It came out of a small dairy farm. Way I see it with the proper modifications I could power it with just about any source of HP. We have a newer gasoline 6500 watt generator on wheels, then a 1500 watt Patriot solar set up. And I built a small gasoline powered 150 amp truck alternator charging system for charging batteries for various uses around the homestead.

 

The cable to the Farm Power panel is about a 15 ft run. So I took the cover off the control box on the genset and yah they look like a #2 -#3 was intending to go same size.

 

What I learned the hard way about not running your generator is that you can lose the polarity in the generator and it will not put out anything. So at least every 6 weeks I fire up the gasoline portal unit and run a saw or drill off it while it is running. Or if I am welding I will run my grinder

 

Older ones used the residual magnetism to start the current and would lose their ability to start over time, you can use a battery and "flash it" but it easy to burn it out. Many of newer ones have a magnet built in and are ok.

 

That's called "flashing the field" and takes some DC current as Duane says. It does not take much, and in fact behaves as a direct short across the battery terminals, which often lets out the magic smoke, after which you could be permaf__ked. Newer machines have permanent magnets (again as Duane says) and it behooves you to know which. That said, just because there is no need to flash the field, you still need to start, warm up, and run under load for a while periodically.

 

The PTO genset is an older Winco unit