New to the MEP family!

[Mg84648]

I recovered an MEP-002a from Ft. Jackson last week sight unseen. I took the trusty oh-nine and a prayer and drove the four hours to pick it up.

The pics looked good so I figured it would be in good shape. It sure looked great when I got there. All the lights worked, two new tires, fresh coat of CARC so far so good.
I hooked up, secured all loose ends and began the journey back to ATL.

Well made it back safe and sound, grabbed a beverage and began a thorough inspection. The filter bowl and bolt were missing. The fuel tank drain cock was missing. Both batteries were gone. "Great, that's going to be at least $300 just to see if I have a runner", I thought.

I continued the inspection and opened the storage box on the front. Behold, all the aforementioned parts along with steel ground rod, spare filters and packings. Two jerry can nozzles, fire extinguisher, start switch knobs, several NOS ground rods, fuel filters, external fuel drum adapter with hose and ground rod slide hammer.

Changed filters, cleaned fuel tank, topped off fuel, installed 51R batteries, bleed fuel system and had it running on fourth attempt. Glow plug terminals were dirty on the first few cranks and weren't coming on. I took them out and cleaned them up.

I put it at 60 Hz and 120 v and works like a champ. Although I still need to load it up for a good final checkout.

Im pretty happy with the outcome for sure.

 

[dmetalmiki]

That looks a really good purchase. Congratulations on a successfull trip also. What voltages can those sets be made to put out?. Would, they do 240 volts 50 cps?

 

[Mg84648]

I'm a generator rookie so as far as I know it does 120V (single phase, 2 wire), 120/240V (single phase, 3 wire), 120/208V (3-phase, 4 wire)As of now I've only ran 120V single off the courtesy outlet. I haven't loaded it yet.

 

[Isaac-1]

Congrats on getting a runner, what did you have to do to install the draincock, I thought they were welded/brazed in?

 

[Mg84648]

Congrats on getting a runner, what did you have to do to install the draincock, I thought they were welded/brazed in?

Nothing, just screwed it in. It looks just like the picture in the parts book.
Yours was brazed?

 

[Triple Jim]

That looks a really good purchase. Congratulations on a successfull trip also. What voltages can those sets be made to put out?. Would, they do 240 volts 50 cps?

They're made to be used for 120v single phase, 120/240 single phase, and 208v 3 phase, front panel switchable.

I've run my 003A at 50 Hz (1,500 rpm) to test the AC regulator at that speed, and it didn't mind a bit. But the regulator's output current to CVT1 was very low, meaning it was allowing nearly full exciter field current from CVT1 and the diode bridge to keep the voltage up. This made me wonder if it would hold 120/240 under load, but I didn't go as far as to load test it. So the answer is maybe they'll work at 50 Hz.

 

[steelypip]

Triple Jim mostly covers it: If you were really serious about getting rated power at 50 Hz out of one of these, you would almost certainly have to do something to get more exciter current, which is kind of hard with this gen head design. As for getting the engine to govern speed properly at 1500 RPM, all of the control variables on the governor are adjustable.

 

[R Racing]

very nice unit !!!!! Mine always seem to molested before I get them.

 

[Triple Jim]

Triple Jim mostly covers it: If you were really serious about getting rated power at 50 Hz out of one of these, you would almost certainly have to do something to get more exciter current, which is kind of hard with this gen head design. As for getting the engine to govern speed properly at 1500 RPM, all of the control variables on the governor are adjustable.

I wish I had put a load on mine when I ran it at 1500 rpm. I'm not sure it won't put out its rated current at that speed, it just depends on the particulars of that magnetic amplifier type transformer, CVT1. The regulator output through the control windings of CVT1 doesn't really change a lot from no load to full load. The system supplies more exciter current as load increases without the regulator's help, so the regulator really doesn't have to do a lot to keep things stable. If I get time I'll try it, but at the moment all I have is a 5 kW load.

 

[Chainbreaker]

You scored the mother load in that storage box! Extremely nice looking unit and trailer! The icing on the cake would have been if it had come with a trailer cover, but those are rare as unicorns these days.

How many hours on the Hobbs and what year is it?

 

[steelandcanvas]

Nice score! May I ask what you gave for it? Just trying to get a market feel for a friend of mine.

 

[Mg84648]

It's 1990 Libby with 5100 hours. It has no overhaul date on the data plate but it looks like it's always been covered with the exception of when it was sent to DRMO. I've read on here guys suggesting that these have the potential to run upwards of 20k hours if maintained properly. Would I have preferred to have one with 5 hours on it, of course. But I think this will run for years.

The winning bid was $1100 but after taxes and fees the bill was $1330.
I still can't believe they charge $20 for a bill of sale

 

[Chainbreaker]

At that price you did quite well considering the trailer and the other accessories included. A 1990 that has been run a fair amount is a good thing!

Just my opinion, but I would take a higher hour later year model unit (original hours on OEM build) over a lower hours (reset) older model 60's/70's/80's vintage unit that may have already been completely run out and rebuilt. Rebuild quality most likely varies by location, the technician doing it, etc. 5100 hours shows your unit has been run and you probably didn't find any rust in the fuel system. If you are just using it for residential back-up purposes I doubt you will ever put enough hours on it (monthly test runs + occasional pwr outages) to even worry about having to rebuild it anytime soon. As an example, if you were to run it for an hour a month for test runs and averaged ~80 hours of backup power per year you won't even put a thousand hours (920) on it in ten years! So...run it like you stole it! Just don't ever idle it!

 

[Mg84648]

Great, that's what I wanted to hear! As far as idling the set, I haven't done that. Actually when I first started it it went up to full RPM until I figured how to get the HZ set. It stays at what should be 1800 RPM while running with slight adjustments to keep HZ at 60.

One question though. All the needles bounce a fair amount which makes matching HZ up challenging. Is this normal?

 

[Chainbreaker]

Yes, that is pretty standard with a 2 cylinder diesel, they vibrate a lot. The fix is to get a Kill-A-Watt meter and plug into your convenience outlet via a short extension cord and set it on the Hz reading. You can then hold it in your hand if you want to so no vibes at all. Or you can buy a digital frequency meter drop in replacement and no bouncing needles then either.

Also, make sure your trailer tires are inflated to the proper pressure as stenciled on the wheel wells. My trailer's TP is 30. If significantly overinflated they might not dampen trailer vibrations as well with unit running. You might also visually inspect your control cabinet's vibration mounts just to insure they are all there and no obvious issues.

After unit is warmed up, with no load applied, you should set your frequency to 61.5 Hz. If your governor is adjusted right it should keep it right around 60Hz under normal loads.