IH generator

[Michael Eiskamp]

I have a friend with a ih generator. He is looking to sell it and I was wondering a fair price to offer him. The generator is 12.5 kw and in great shape. Assuming everything works is it collectable and what's a good price range

 

[gene bender]

Those Electrals are worth good money. If he advertises it could bring 1000 or more
 

[The Red]

Gene would an H or M have enough PTO speed to run that? That is a nice size output generator!
 

[Red Dave]

Yes, they are very desirable to collectors.

Check around on Ebay and other sites for International Harvester Electrall. You may be surprised what it is worth.
 

[David G]

Multiply KW * 1.5 to get needed PTO HP.
 

[gene bender]

They di because they came out and were used when we still had 540 PTO speed. Some were also mounted on the belt pulley to run a baler with an electric motor and lots of them were mounted on a trailer like the one in the pic. Another use was for lighting up areas for plowing when the 460 @ 560s came out so they could demonstrate the plows after dark. I remember seeing the 560 with the demo seat plowing at nite. Now those demo seats are in demand. Does anyone know where there is a 5-14 Golden demo plow or does Wilson have the only one left.
 

[Wardner]

Gene,

Not sure if you are suggesting that a 460 or 560 could run a side mount Electrall. Absolutely no way on the 460. The 560 would need a new IPTO driving and driven gear which would also affect the speed of the 540 PTO at the rear. That would cause an overspeed. The driving gear would have to come from SMTA, 400, 450. The gears need to be swapped so that the constant mesh Electrall gear can mesh with the IPTO driven gear as shown below.

Kinda hard to imagine a snowplow tractor towing a trailer mount Electrall. They don't back up well due to the short wheelbase.


 

[Wardner]

$1000 is too low but it is what I would offer. It gives you some room to raise your bid. Those units typically sell for $1500-$2000 at auction. If you can't reach an agreement tell him to put it on eBay.

They are geared for 540 RPM.

If I had it, I would convert it to Fast Hitch. They are considerably rarer. Would need to consult my Electrall parts book to see what was necessary.
 

[Wardner]

I made an error above. My picture is the side mount Electrall gearbox which meshes with the IPTO driving gear at the center of the SMTA, 400, 450.
 

[gene bender]

No they had other tractors running the gens pto ones and had portable lights on small towers lighting up the area the 460 and 560s were plowing. I dont remember what the tractors were running the gens. Thers a guy here in IOWA has one mounted on the belt pulley with a baler i think its a 400. Its the only on ive seen belt pulley mounted but there are several here with the pto ones and you are rite as they are worth good money.
 

[Wardner]

Gene,

IH did not build any Electralls powered from the belt pulley. All the mid mount Electralls used a constant mesh Electrall gearbox as shown in my picture in the other post. If they were driven from the belt pulley, one could probably see several units at most tractor shows. One can actually mount the Belt pulley and an Electrall gearbox at the same time on the same tractor.

The guy in IA probably has the largest Electrall collection in the country. He is north of Des Moines. He was featured in RPM 10 years ago. There are other baler/tractor combos in MN and NY.
I think there may be one in IN as well as he has quite a bit of Electrall stuff.

I'd venture to say I am the only one with two mid-mount Electralls on one tractor. The left side Electrall is not factory. It runs from a Cotton Picker PTO


 

[Wardner]

Gene,

IH did not build any Electralls powered from the belt pulley. All the mid mount Electralls used a constant mesh Electrall gearbox as shown in my picture in the other post. If they were driven from the belt pulley, one could probably see several units at most tractor shows. One can actually mount the Belt pulley and an Electrall gearbox at the same time on the same tractor.

The guy in IA probably has the largest Electrall collection in the country. He is north of Des Moines. He was featured in RPM 10 years ago. There are other baler/tractor combos in MN and NY.
I think there may be one in IN as well as he has quite a bit of Electrall stuff.

I'd venture to say I am the only one with two mid-mount Electralls on one tractor. The left side (seen from seat) Electrall is not factory. It runs from a Cotton Picker PTO


 

[mkirsch]

Wardner,

Looking at a standard Electrall installation, most people would call it "belt pulley mounted" because it is in the same general location as the belt pulley.

Technically it's a whole different mount but these are so rare that most people will never see them up close to notice.
 

[Wardner]

mkirsch,

Yabut, I have had to make this correction probably 8 to 10 times over the years. Gene has been around for a while and should know better.

When one thinks about it, it makes no sense to have the Electrall run through a clutched drive like the belt pulley.

1. Electricity can be "off" or "on" with a low current switch. Side mount Electralls have a dash switch for the field circuit. Why use two disconnects in parallel with both accessible from the operator's platform?

2. The side mount Electrall was meant to be "live" so the baler could continue to run. With the clutch disengaged, the rig can stop forward motion to digest a baler overload. The Electrall performs like a LPTO. It would have been retro engineering in 1954 to attach a new non-live power source to a tractor. IH built an experimental Electrall in the '30's that was live. It was on a 10-20 and ran off the crankshaft.

3. A belt pulley gearbox drive would require another right angle gearbox. If I were a buyer in 1954-59, I'd shake my head and walk on by. Poor engineering.