Generator Recommendation

[57Mike]

Hello,

I am now strongly considering trying to purchase a generator thru GL. This will be my first purchase, but you have to start somewhere!

I would appreciate recommendations of which generator(s) are truly the ones to try to purchase.

I am interested in one in the 3-5 KW range as well as one in the 10-20KW range. As with most people, 120V - single Phase will be a must!

I assume that things like noise level, parts availability, and overall design are steering experienced buyers toward some models and away from other ones.

I look forward to hearing different opinions! I really enjoy surfing Steel Soldiers......it has brought me a wealth of knowledge!

Mike

 

[Coffey1]

Mep04A with ASK.

 

[swbradley1]

Mep-004a

 

[elkhtr]

I concur
mep 004a, not to big, super easy to convert to single phase.
Sewerzuk has excellent you tube video on the conversion process.
make a dummy load for it to make sure you work it hard enough.
search for wet stacking for more info.

 

[Triple Jim]

It really depends on your specific needs. For the small one you could go with a 5 kW MEP-002A or one of the smaller, more portable ones, depending on how much you plan to move it. For the 10-20 kW one, you might consider an MEP-003A. It's rated at 10 kW, but will do somewhat more than that. It's air cooled, much smaller than an 004A, and won't wet-stack if run under its rating most of the time.

Both the 002A and 003A are available with sound reducing enclosures, called ASK, for acoustic suppression kit. If you really don't need 15-20 kW and can do with 10-12 kW, you'll find that the 003A uses diesel fuel about half as fast as an 004A.

Both the 002A and 003A have switch selectable 3 phase or single phase output.

 

[1800 Diesel]

You really need to know what your load will be before deciding on a gen size (for the house unit)....Both MEP3 & 4 are excellent choices but there's quite a bit difference in capacity, weight, footprint & a slight difference in fuel consumption. General practice here in hurricane country as follows: For houses with natural gas or propane stove, HW heater & dryer, the MEP2 will handle the normal household loads such as AC, fridge & lighting etc. For houses with all electric appliances, the MEP3 will handle MOST loads on a selective basis, but not all simultaneously. If you want "unrestricted" output for an all electric house the MEP4 is the way to go, but load monitoring will be needed to avoid the wet stacking issue. Obviously if you have one of those 5000+ sq ft "mansions" with all commercial appliances and 10-15 tons of AC & walk-in freezers/fridges, a pool heater, four teenage girls with curling irons & hair dryers going at once, then a larger generator would be needed. Bottom line--we can all recommend the units we own or like, but the generator needs to be sized for your needs and expected loads.

Another consideration is where you live....is it a crowded, close-quarters neighborhood or do you have a few acres in the country? The diesel noise will be a big issue with "high maintenance" neighbors....Regardless of city or country I would plan on an outbuilding to shelter the generator from the elements and to reduce the radiated noise.

Last thought--figure out a plan to install a transfer switch or interlock to isolate the generator's output from the grid....lot's of good info can be found here and on the web...

Hope this helps.

 

[57Mike]

thanks for the replys...keep them coming.

The Mep-004A seems like a great unit, but
1. I will probably never use that much juice...so I would always have a wet stacking problem ( still not sure what this is )
2. this unit must be very heavy and even the units I see on GL attached to a single axle,dual tire trailer is more weight than my F150 can handle.

I should have mentioned in the original post that I wanted it to be as portable as possible...meaning either light weight or on a trailer.

What I have seen that looks attractive is the MEP-003's on either a M116 trailer OR on a M105 style trailer. OR I am sure I can always find a little trailer
to make a generator that I might buy have portability.

 

[Triple Jim]

Wet stacking is a fancy term for gooey carbon building up in the exhaust ports, mufflers, etc., caused by lack of enough heat. I'm not very experienced with diesel engines, but the consensus here is that air cooled diesels probably won't have the problem. The 002A and 003A are air cooled, which can be an advantage with reliability and maintenance.

 

[elkhtr]

wet stacking is a build up of unburned fuel resulting from not loading the engine enough.
i built a dummy load using three independently switched hot water heater elements in a section of 55 gallon drum.
if the load isnt enough just start flipping toggle switches untill the unit is loaded.
the folks on here are correct, too much generator is not always the way to go, but for my application i needed the 15kw in intermittant use.
when not using full capacity you can always dummy load.
my avatar is a trailer mounted mep004a behind a m923a1, that should give you a size comparison.
i recovered it from fort lewis with a 3/4 ton dodge, looked funny but towed great

 

[1800 Diesel]

thanks for the replys...keep them coming.

The Mep-004A seems like a great unit, but
1. I will probably never use that much juice...so I would always have a wet stacking problem ( still not sure what this is )
2. this unit must be very heavy and even the units I see on GL attached to a single axle,dual tire trailer is more weight than my F150 can handle.

I should have mentioned in the original post that I wanted it to be as portable as possible...meaning either light weight or on a trailer.

What I have seen that looks attractive is the MEP-003's on either a M116 trailer OR on a M105 style trailer. OR I am sure I can always find a little trailer
to make a generator that I might buy have portability.

Wet stacking is a problem more associated with mechanical injection pump type (non-electronic controlled) and generally non-turbo or naturally aspirated diesels. When the generator is operating at levels well below rated output, the fuel delivery is lowered but not enough to provide for 100% of fuel burn. During the exhaust cycle the unburned fuel droplets pass out the exhaust system, eventually collecting along with unburned lube oil on the muffler and exhaust "stack" interior surfaces and dripping down the side of the engine or out of the exhaust stack. When the generator is loaded, say about 60-70% or more, the increased cylinder and exhaust temps tend to burn more of the fuel mix delivered and therefore, the wet stack issue goes away.

The MEP3s can be bought on the 3/4 ton trailers...get one with the bows & canopy if possible. Remember all these trailers need a pintle hitch to tow and get a set of magnetic mount tail & brake light set to get the trailer home. I would avoid the M105 trailer unless you get a 3/4-ton truck or bigger.

Your F150 would have no trouble towing the MEP4 (on the M200A1 trailer); the problem is stopping the combined gross weight of truck, trailer & genset....

 

[steelandcanvas]

An MEP-003A and M105 trailer combination weighs close to 4100 pounds. An MEP-003a and M116A2 will weigh in at approximately at 2100 pounds.

 

[steelandcanvas]

I built a dummy load using three independently switched hot water heater elements in a section of 55 gallon drum.

Care to post a few more photos of your dummy load in another thread so we don't hi-jack this one?

 

[Speddmon]

Determine what load you need first before you set yourself on a generator. As everybody has already mentioned, too much generator is not a good thing. Personally, I cannot think of a reason to go bigger that an MEP-003a. Even though it is rated for 10 KW, it will run a moderately sized home almost entirely with little to no load management. If you have an entirely electric home, you may need something larger, but if you don't cook and try to do laundry at the same time, you can probably bet away with less. And the MEP-003a is a lot less likely to have the wet-stacking issues mentioned. They can do it, but it would need to be pretty cold outside and lightly loaded for it to happen...but then again, wet stacking is a cumulative effect, so the next warm day you run it and it gets to temp it would most likely burn off any deposits left from the previous time. The same goes for the larger 004a, you don't need to fully load it every single time you run it. Depending on how much you use it, once every 6 months to a year fully loaded for an hour or two would be fine.

 

[elkhtr]

it's. really not that interesting, but i would be happy to share all the info i have on its's constructin with you.
pm me and i will give you all i have

 

[m16ty]

Personally, I cannot think of a reason to go bigger that an MEP-003a.

I've got a 2,500sq ft house. Now I can't turn everything on it the house running the 003 but who would want to. I can run everything that's needed at one time but I have gas hot water, heat, and dryer. Even if I were all electric I think I'd still be fine because you could manage them and not have it all running at the same time.

 

[quickfarms]

I would also like some info about the load bank.

 

[elkhtr]

[h=2]

Re: Dummy Load
i bought the hot water heater elements from mc master carr for about 11.00$ ea.
welded three 1" pipe fittings into the drum section.
wired the elements so that they could be turned on individually.
4500 watts each
three toggle switches, and you are good to go.
this gives an mep 004a about an 80% load when all are on.
great time to boil crab if you have them!
if you need more info let me know![/h]

 

[Isaac-1]

Ok, here is my take on things: All military generators are ultra conservatively rated compared to commercial models, and the ratings of consumer generators are a fantasy of their respective marketing departments. So a 3KW military MEP-016 family generator is closer to the kind of thing you would see marketed as a 4-5KW commercial unit or maybe even a 6 KW PEAK/SURGE rated consumer unit.

Now for a quick rundown on commonly available generators from GL

small to large:

3 KW Pow'r Gards - 21st century Consumer / light commercial units slightly modified and painted green probably used to fill demand

3 KW (well maybe 4-5KW in the real world) MEP-016 family this family dates back ton the Vietnam Era gasoline powered MEP-016a /016c (retrofitted a with electronic ignition) through the 1990's MEP-016b new production units, and the 21st century retrofits MEP-016d (which is a MEP-016c repowered with a Yanmar L70 diesel), and MEP-016e which is a MEP-016b (original diesel onan built engine) repowered with a Yanmar L100

There is also a MEP-701a which is a MEP-016b in an ASK housing, be ware of MEP-016e's in 701a housing as they have cooling problems

This MEP-016 family weighs anywhere from 280-525 pounds depending on engine / frame / ASK option with the MEP-016d being the lightest and most fuel economical, but also the one closest to being limited to the 3KW output rating, all have the same generator end

Parts are a lot easier to find for the Yanmar repowers, just note the quality of the conversions vary a great deal depending on if it was a field upgrade , contractor, etc.

5KW MEP-002a built from the late 1960's through probably the early 1990's at least late 1980's all are powered by an Onan DJEM militarized version of the 2 cylinder Onan DJB/DJE diesel engine family, real world output probably around 7 KW all military ratings are in extreme conditions 24x7x the service life of the unit . Most MEP-002a's found on GL today are mix and match units that have been through many rebuilds / factory resets so pay little attention to build date on data plates

10 KW MEP-003a (this is the big brother of the MEP-002a, they share a lot of parts, and it is powered by a militarized version of the Onan DJC engine) real world output is around 12-13KW

Other newer models show up from time to time, but parts are going to be a real issue on them as they are not common in the surplus market yet

Ike

 

[steelandcanvas]

it's. really not that interesting, but i would be happy to share all the info i have on its's constructin with you.
pm me and i will give you all i have

PM sent.

 

[elkhtr]

apparently i am not smart enough to figure out how to pm photos.
i apologize if this is seen as a hijack.
but here are some photos of the dummy load for those that expressed interest.