PTO - Power Take Off

PTO is the acronym for Power Take Off, and it's a device which transfers mechanical power from an engine to another piece of equipment that does not have its own motor.

In the majority of cases, the PTO is used to operate a hydraulic pump. This provides the hydraulic system the power to provide mechanical force to operate a ram (hydraulic piston), or a motor (as used on a salt spreader).

The term PTO can involve a wide variety of equipment and applications, and can even deviate from the traditional understanding of what a PTO is, and how it functions. For instance, a PTO can be fully mechanical as in a farm tractor, or electric, where power to a hydraulic pump is required intermittently, as on a boom truck.

Most importantly, the PTO being engaged, is in itself not an indication that work or the attached equipment is being used. The PTO being engaged only means that the attached equipment "could" be used. For this reason, the PTO is not an accurate or reliable source of "working status" telemetry.