Go BottomInverter Installation On A L3240 Kubota
 | Sassi7855
Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 52 Georgia 
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2012-10-30 185338
I have a need this winter to trim and remove small trees in the three to six inch diameter range, and tree limbs along fence lines. I am considering the idea of installing an inverter on my Kubota L3240 such that I can carry a pole saw in the FEL and as I travel along the fence lines stop and use it to cut the limbs and small trees that need removal.
I need to know the pros and cons on this. I have never done this before and am wondering if others have.
How would you connect an inverter on a Kubota L3240 since it does not have a "cigarrette lighter" plug in on it? What size (capacity) inverter should I use for a pole saw? Is this idea even workable?
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 | auerbach
Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2168 West of Toronto 
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2012-10-30 185342
I use mine all the time for such tasks. I mounted it permanently to the frame, grounded it well, hardwired the live terminal through welding cable to my battery positive, and made a weather cover for it. And I hardwired a 50' extension cord to each saw, leaf blower, string trimmer, etc.
Inverters (other than little cigarette-lighter phone chargers) have two numbers, the number of watts CONTINUOUS and the PEAK capacity (usually twice the former). Ignore the latter. Most every electrical tool has a plate giving the number of amps it draws (at 110v). Multiply by 100 to get the approximate minimum wattage needed in the inverter. For instance, if your saw draws 8 or 9 amps you'd look for an inverter rated about 1000 watts continuous.
Let me know anything else you'd like to know. ....
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 | billtreat
Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 21 los alamos calif
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2012-10-30 185347
I have an L3410 with a inverter on it mounted over the engine cover. It ran down the battery so I added another battery. Works fine. Put on the largest you can, you may use it for something else. ....
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| auerbach
Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2168 West of Toronto
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2012-10-31 185349
Yes, if you run a tool out of it long enough, it will drain the battery, although a modern one will trip out before the voltage gets that low (hit reset or turn it off and back on). It will also show you the battery voltage when it's on. Many will give a warning when the battery is weakening but you usually can't see or hear it.
When using mine for more than a minute, I keep the engine around 2000 RPM. ....
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| Sassi7855
Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 52 Georgia
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2012-10-31 185351
"Yes, if you run a tool out of it long enough, it will drain the battery."
That was one of my main concerns when using an inverter. This thought of installing an inverter is still something I am considering, although I can always load my generator onto a trailer and pull it around behind my tractor when I do this planned project. I could also just buy a pole saw with a gas engine on it too.
A permanently installed inverter just would give me the freedom to be able to do those (special) tasks when you need to do them quickly. ....
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| auerbach
Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2168 West of Toronto
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2012-10-31 185352
Arborists attach a hydraulically-powered polesaw to their tractor. But that, like trailering a generator, seems a bit of overkill. There's at least one consumer line (YardWorks?) comprising a rechargable-battery unit that operates a variety of garden tools, including a polesaw. ....
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 | candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1932 North Dakota 
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2012-10-31 185353
Sassi7855,
A good friend of mine installed a 2500 watt inverter in his Chevy pickup. It's great for powering electric drills, saws, vacuum cleaners, trouble lights, etc. It will even power my home furnace.......for a few minutes. The blower on my furnace draws about 2200 watts. The current draw is way too much for his pickup's alternator. His charging system simply can't keep up.
If you plan to use your inverter for more than just a few minutes at a time, you'll need to upgrade your tractor's charging system. Kubota offers upgrade kits for your tractor's alternator and charging system......but even that upgrade won't be enough to power a heavy electrical tool, such as a hammer drill, at least not for very long.
I went with a PTO driven generator rated for 12,500 watts. It easily powers my plasma cutter, welder, grinders, etc. It takes about five minutes to connect it to my 3-point hitch. I put the welder and plasma cutter on a pallet and carry that around on my loader forks. A heavy 6 gauge RV cable runs back to the generator.
In my honest opinion, inverters aren't worth the time or money. They are a lot of work to install properly, with little output capability as a reward for all that hard work. They work great for charging a cell phone, or a cordless drill, but not for much else.
Joel ....
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| auerbach
Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2168 West of Toronto
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2012-11-03 185369
Lots of options; depends what you need. My inverter was under $200 on the web, took a few hours to attach to the frame and a few minutes to the battery and ground, and not a minute since. I imagine a PTO generator is pretty costly. ....
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| candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1932 North Dakota
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2012-11-03 185379
Auerbach,
You are correct, Sir. PTO generators aren't cheap. However, when I decided to purchase a backup generator for emergency power, I decided that I'd much rather have a PTO model.
Since emergency generators don't get used too often, it's only natural that they also don't get much medical attention.
I didn't think I'd use my emergency generator all that often, so I went with the PTO model. However, now that I have the capability of powering my welder and plasma cutter wherever I want to, I find myself using the generator far more often than I first thought I would.
When I compare the cost and capabilities of both systems, I'd much rather have a real generator.
Joel ....
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