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Any Riding Mower Experts, Electrical Question

I know we got lots of smart folks here. Blown motor on a rider. That alternator rated at 13amps. Found replacement but only 9amps. It does have an electric PTO clutch. Any knowledge if I'll run into electrical/charging issues with a lower rated amps? Cost is the issue for replacement.
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    Any Riding Mower Experts, Electrical Question

    Hi,
    Seems to me you have a good size lawn tractor!

    The alternator will be rated to the total load capacity of the electrical system with some reserve as to not overheat the alternator.
    The PTO will draw the most amperage continuously and a slight amount for the ignition.
    Battery charging and headlights are additional.
    The starter motor and horn are considered intermittent loadings and are of no consequence.
    A battery is like a shock absorber in an electrical system to work with surges of power requirements.

    You need to at least meet the PTO load, of which, will probably be over the nine amperes.
    The total load should be at or over the nine in my estimations.
    If it had a 13 alternator the load is going to be less than the 13 provided.
    IMO I would not change it without a ampere reading and considering removing the headlights wiring altogether as a must if you go smaller.

    As far as charging the battery before each use, it should be kept on a maintenance charge all the time.
    If not, you will buy more batteries during the lifetime of mower.

    Hope this helps with options.

    Phil








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      Any Riding Mower Experts, Electrical Question

      Thanks. I have no accessories, lights etc. Everything I can find doing PTO amp drawn testing is in the 3-4 range engine not running. Does the amp draw of the PTO increase that much engine running? Right now I can't do any engine running amp draw test because the engine is toast.
      BTW. 19hp Kawasaki Vtwin.
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        Any Riding Mower Experts, Electrical Question

        Hi back to ya!

        A 19 horse motor is fairly chunky for a lawn tractor.
        If your machine does not have more than one PTO available and you don’t have an auxiliary shaft to feed accessories then your engine is really oversized for the frame or what it’s setup for.
        I have a 14 hp John Deere 172 model with a Kawasaki engine. It has a 38“ deck and it has plenty of power.
        I have no idea the size alternator and cannot look it up for you, as I’m not home.
        It has taillights bulbs for head lights though.


        I have seen some PTO clutches, on car air conditioning compressors, draw 4 amperes to as high as 10 amperes of magnetic clamping force.
        How you use that through gear ratios of belts and pulleys is another set of calculations left to clutch people.
        Most car A/C’s can need two or more tons of cooling.
        They are not insulated and they are glass bubbles!

        One ton of refrigeration is equal, in electric motor power, of 746 watts of work.

        When converting to gasoline engine power to equal numbers things get distorted again!
        Like, if you believe you can run a vacuum cleaner that peaks @4.5 hp on a 110v wall plug limited to 20 amperes is totally marketing bunk!
        4.5 hp X 746 watts = 3,357 watts. Divide by applied voltage of 110v = 30.5 amperes.
        Twisting around this stuff in relation to alternators with a 60 to 80% duty cycle can be a puzzle too!
        So, I think that the engine you are replacing had a larger electrical capacity than you ever used.
        It was designed to fit into many other applications.
        So, it was produced to sell more of them for a lower or equal cost as a smaller unit.
        Over kill to market is a safer method of customer happiness overall!
        Nothing Runs Like a Deere!
        I have had my JD/ Kawasaki for almost 30 years with the same spark plug let alone the engine but the seat has cracked vinyl!

        The engine you are looking to get should be setup to do NEARLY equal work that your mower is doing now.
        I assume you are staying with overhead valves and nearly the same horsepower?
        Like I said and IMHO your electrical load is probably quite a bit smaller than the old engine was setup to do.

        Just take what comes with the engine that fits your work load.

        Phil








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          Any Riding Mower Experts, Electrical Question

          Thanks for your knowledge. It a CubCadet commercial zero turn 48" cut that I picked up 8yrs ago for cheap. So I got my monies worth. Only using it for mowing.
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    Any Riding Mower Experts, Electrical Question

    I would run it with 9 amp alternator - if you have any problems, charge battery before each use

    or - try to fit a new higher capacity battery and charge it before each use.







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