Energy The different kinds of generators out there

Discussion in 'Off Grid Living' started by oil pan 4, Jul 19, 2016.


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  1. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    The MEP803 is one of the Replacements for the MEP002 GenSets, I can't look up the Specs tonite, as my Internet is DOG SLOW, due to a Cruise Ship being at the Hoonah Dock, and all the Touristoes are sucking up all the 4G Bandwidth from the only CellSite within 50 Miles... Those old Onan based GenSets are BEASTS, AND RUGGED as the Day is Long... You can still get most of the InFrame Rebuild Parts, for them, if you look around. The MEP003 is also a great Beast of a Genset... The civilian J Series Onans are just as Strong as the Military versions, and can be had for a lot less than you are looking at paying... Check out the Genset Buying Thread in the buy & Sell Forum... I post units that I see posted for sale, if they are a Reasonable ..
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2016
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  2. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    I am showing the mep 803a as having a brushless 3 phase alternator and liquid cooling system.
    It lists 3 phase and split phase connections.
    I read some where that this generator uses a "special 24 volt battery" some where on the internet which is BS, looks like they use 2 optima batteries in series. Or any two 12v batteries that will fit in the spaces.
    The alternator schematic vegly shows a wye wound 3 phase with 2 legs of split phase coming off it.
    I think the alternator is wound like a welding alternator with 3 phase and split phase windings.
    That's only going throught the first 200 pages of the 700 page manual.
    I say use the 3 phase as much as you can. It takes 11% less engine torque to provide drive power to a balanced 3 phase load compared to a balanced split phase load.
     
  3. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    I seem to recall that these are a Yanmar, or Kubota, 3 Cyl, Liquid Cooled, Engine.... some maybe Retrofitted by Depot Maintenance, in recent years....
     
  4. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    I see kubots and yanmar in a lot of small diesel military equipment.
    If I was going to build something with a small liquid cooled diesel engine I would be looking for a Kubota as my #1 choice and yanmar as #2. Only because the Kubotas are easier to find parts for.
    The only part I have replaced on Kubota engines is the electric shut off solenoid. So if you start one and cant turn it off, its the shut off solenoid. Its like a $20 part and it wont keep the engine from running.
     
  5. Bandit99

    Bandit99 Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    I got an email from the guy today. He said he doesn't have power output cables which after looking at the Tech Manual that I downloaded it doesn't matter because it has terminal lugs. He also said they replaced both (2 ea.) batteries with new Optima batteries. I am going to call him tomorrow and see how low he will go. Part of me is saying that it is money well spent for it is a good generator on a good trailer and tires. The other part of me (including my wife) is saying I really don't need anything this great or costly for a few power outages a year. We'll see...
     
    Yard Dart likes this.
  6. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Nothing wrong in having a Good GenSet, around the place... It is just a question of "Cost/Benifit" for the Piece of Mind, that comes from having a Backup Power Source...
     
  7. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Remember you can always sell the trailer for a few grand.
     
  8. arleigh

    arleigh Goophy monkey

    This reminds me,
    I need to fire up my 6500 watt diesel gen yan mar Trojan . and my gas engine driven welder Dayton/Tecumseh ,they haven't run in a while. Leaving fuel in the diesel is not bad but I leave the gas empty .even treated here, it get's too hot .
    I've got an older Coleman 4500 watt that hasn't run since I rebuilt the carb 5 years ago, but it should be fine. I have other little ones and they need run as well . In some environments I have seen the commutator glaze over and not respond till I cleaned them up again . they don't like sea air and humidity.
     
  9. I preface this entire response with *this is not an advertisement*.

    This is exactly why I have started buying these military generators directly from auction, and going through them myself. I have 3 right now ((2) MEP-803A 10KWs and (1) MEP-002A which is a Tier 2 Rebuild). All three each have under 20 hours (two are under 10!). My intent was to get myself an unstoppable backup for my house, but then my father in law saw what I was doing... and he is interested in one now! I will probably get one of these going for him.

    It is a total crapshoot from the auction side. Those people who are near large military installations have the benefit of being able to directly preview the gensets or to pick them up in person. I have had to truck all three of mine in on LTL.

    I actually bought two to start, because I was unsure of what I wanted for power. I can get by with a 5kw, but that means that I can run everything but my fancy new double wall oven. We have lost power for 7-14 days at a time, so my internal struggle is do I trade off power output, for fuel consumption (5kw consumes roughly half of what the 10kws use). Of course there is the whole air-cooled versus liquid cooled debate.

    Remains to be seen what I end up settling on, but certainly here in New England... reliable power is worth its weight when the lines start coming down.
     
    Bandit99 likes this.
  10. Bandit99

    Bandit99 Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    @Light in the Dark If it was me, I would go with the larger one even though it uses more fuel. I also didn't need a 10Kw but man-oh-man I sure wanted that one, at least you have the skill set and tools to repair one but I don't even have all the tools I need since I haven't been back stateside for very long. I am still thinking about this generator as you can tell. It's a big lay out of cash, $6000, but it's brand new with a great trailer...but I cannot justify the cost for a few days a year.
     
  11. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Your MEP-002a will easily do 6Kw without even breathing hard.... The civilian version of that engine, is an ONAN DJE.... Which was rated for 7.5 Kw @ StandBy Power Rating.... The only difference between the two, are 24Vdc Electrical System on the MEP, and usually the MEP, had the Optional Oil Cooler, plumbed into the Airflow, under the Cooling Shroud. The MEP-003a is the .MIL version of the ONAN 4 Cyl, DJF... Again, 24 Vdc electrical System. These were rated @ 15Kw StandBy Power Ratings. Onan also made the RDJE and RDJF which were the Liquid Cooled versions of the DJE and DJF.... They were rated at 8Kw and 17.5Kw Respectively. All, are 1800Rpm Generators and Brick CrapHouse Rugged. All the Onan J Series Engines were built around a Common Set of Parts. The difference between the DJB and DJE, as well as the DJC and DJF is in the Bore of the Cyl. 3.25" for the Previous and 3.5" for the later... 30 years ago, I ran a pair of DJCs for my Primary Power, and they were rated 12.5Kw StandBy Power Rating. Replaced them with a Pair Northern Lights 20Kw Units, and when those were at 66,000 Operational Hours each, we replaced them with another Pair of Northern Lights 20Kw Gensets, that NOW have right at 20,000 Hours on them. Both are due for a Head Job, next spring. Only had to replace the Water Pumps, on both units, at 13,000 Hours, other than Oil Changes and Filters, every 200 Hours. Still have both the ONANs in the Warehouse. Both were rebuilt, and stored away, for secondary BackUps, if needed.
     
  12. We lost power for 9 days back in 2011, and in that time frame our ancient oil furnace jacket split... so that outage cost me over $15k in replacement cost (including full labor and install of new wall hung propane with buried 500g tank). I have had a small Honda EB5000 ever since just to be able to keep the thing running.

    To me... that 6k doesn't look like a bad trade when put into perspective.

    Liquid cooled gensets should be roughly paired with the loads to be put on them. If the set is too big for most normal needs, they never run in their optimum range, and can wet stack and cause all sorts of other issues that could be avoided. This is where the air cooled units shine for me.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 17, 2016
    Bandit99 likes this.
  13. Two of my three. The last is olive drab, and shows up in a few days time.

    gensets.
     
    Yard Dart likes this.
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