Which Diesel Generator Would You Recommend or NOT Recommend?????

[Blackbear]

Hey Rusty, I bought two 10kw's today 803A's, on the fender is writing in white chalk, DRMO, what's that mean?

 

[Gunzy]

Hey Rusty, I bought two 10kw's today 803A's, on the fender is writing in white chalk, DRMO, what's that mean?

Do they run and put out power? DRMO=Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office

 

[Blackbear]

Thank you Gunzy, yes they both run.

 

[rustystud]

Do they run and put out power? DRMO=Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office

What he said .

 

[m16ty]

A guy I know bought a deuce that had DRMO on it. I told him it ment Doesn't Run, Major Overhaul needed. Had him really worried until told him the truth.

 

[Bo1]

Now, that's just MEAN!!!!!

A guy I know bought a deuce that had DRMO on it. I told him it ment Doesn't Run, Major Overhaul needed. Had him really worried until told him the truth.

 

[Ray70]

So we've had some good discussions here as to the size generator you need, personally I see no need to go bigger than 10K. I run 5K units with no problem, but I think the 5K will struggle and possibly fail ( trip the breaker) if you are running a 5 ton A/C even if you do practice good load management! These machines use a breaker system that doesn't particularly like heavy inductive loads like motors and compressors starting when loaded.
I'd be interested to hear the recommendations as to which model is best... The MEP-003A Vs. 803A debate... Air cooled VS liquid cooled , not to mention sound levels. open frame VS ASK VS TQ.... We've touched on fuel consumption a bit and talked about wet stacking in other threads. What I'd be interested to see is more information on the reliability differences between say an 003A and 803A or 002A and 802A. Seems the general consensus has been 00XA is cheaper to buy than 80XA, easier to repair and less things to go wrong. ( ie. air cooled ) What else can those of you with experience with both machines add?

 

[m16ty]

All I can say is my mep-003 has done all I've ever asked it to, I don't have any experience with the others. I do know the air-cooled Onan used on the 003 is getting kind of hard to get some parts for. This engine has been obsolete on the civilian market for several years now.

 

[cuad4u]

I have several MEP 003A's and a MEP 803A. Either will easily run 10KW, When I increased the load both ran at 12KW. When I increased the load to 13KW the 003A kept going but the magnetic circuit breaker in the 803A opened. My 003A even load tested to 16.5KW for a minute without tripping. The 803A is definitely quieter - even quieter than a 003A with ASK. I have one of those too. IMO the 003A will be much easier to maintain and repair and to understand how it works. Most of the critical parts in a 003A are either in easily removed modules connected by Cannon plugs or the parts are easy to get to and the circuitry is much easier for a feeble mind like mine to follow and understand how they work. On the other hand the 803A is not modularized. No sub-assembly can be unbolted and removed just by unscrewing a few Cannon plugs. The 803A uses lots of magnetic relays and complicated fault detection circuits and IMO is much more complicated to understand and work on. When either is running and working properly I guess it is a toss-up but the 003A definitely has a larger reserve before the output breaker trips.

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,

I have taken my 2007 Fermont MEP-803A to around 16.5kw load. It just kept chugging along. I would throw some spikes at it, and it would really bellow some smoke, but would keep running. I did this under 120/240 single phase with a surplus load bank. The forum post is at Acquired a Military surplus load bank . I have a video there where I run thru varying loads. I ended up with a 16.5kw load at 67.2 amps per leg. I am very happy with the capabilities of the MEP-803A.

 

[rustystud]

For ease of operation and service the MEP-003a wins hands down. The MEP-803a is a great unit but it is a complicated machine. The MEP-003a is able to be dropped into the jungles of Vietnam and run nonstop, then taken out and put into service in Alaska with no problems. The MEP-803a is much quieter and has a bunch of fail-safes to prevent damage to itself, but this increases the machines complexity greatly. For a average home use situation I would still go with the MEP-003a. If you have the technical know how and tools a MEP-803a is better in a crowded neighborhood, just be ready for the extra amount of servicing this unit will need.

 

[Isaac-1]

Just a couple of notes here, the OP is located in Texas, there have been issues reported with using the MEP-002a / 003a with ASK in hot climates. Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to the topic of replacement parts, in general you will never buy replacement parts for a generator during a natural disaster. It does not matter the type of generator, the local generator dealers if open will be swamped with the idiots that have not changed the gasoline in their generators in years if they are open at all, the distribution chain will be stressed, again if operating at all, and simply put we have became a nation of just in time distribution, which works ok at best most of the time, but completely breaks down during times of major demand. This is a reason to have spare generators, so you can wait on that part, once life is back to normal.

As has been mentioned some parts for the MEP-002a / 003a are getting hard to find, however Onan built a ton of these small diesels, and while production ended 20 years ago, they did have a nearly 35 year production life, so there are a lot of used parts out there, in addition in the last year or two we have seen members from this group start producing drop in replacements for some of the more unobtainium bits like both AC and DC voltage regulators...

 

[Ratch]

It's not going to be really possible to guess at what size you need without a real good idea of your loads and tolerance for inconvenience. IE, if you're going to be running for a week after a hurricane, and you only want to use a 10kw unit, can you tolerate shutting off the AC for 2 hours to do laundry (assuming electric water heater and dryer)? If you can't, you need a bigger unit.

I had pretty good success with a MEP-002a (5kw) running my house, but it definitely felt the load when my water heater and pump were both on. Throw in 3 window shaker AC units in summertime, and it would trip the breaker. I switched to a MEP-802a, and found the same thing. I've run the 002a several days on very little fuel (5-10 gallons), 802a hasn't been needed long enough to measure yet.

Then I got a MEP-803a. That ran at 75% load with everything on in the house except AC. So for my house, we'll be just fine with a 10kw rated unit. Most likely using 1 gallon of fuel per hour, but again, haven't run long enough to measure.


A year ago, I bought a 23.5kw 1-ph/35kw 3-ph Onan DGBB with a Cummins 4bt that has 2 hours on it (one of which is mine just from running it to check it out). I got it literally brand new, it had been put in storage after being installed in a building that had no exhaust riser or rights (talk about expensive poor planning).
It's way too big for my house, so I'm most likely going to sell it, and will probably ask the same price as a privately sold MEP-803a. It's a commercial standby unit, much better designed and built than most any MEP. It also uses less fuel. And it does not wet stack with long no-load periods. I have experience with several units like this, wet stacking has never been a concern until I got into MEP's.
Good unit, too big for me, and might end up being the new motor for my Jeep...

 

[Blackbear]

Yeah, I liked the idea of a 15k unit for my ranch, plenty of power, but I could not justify the added fuel consumption, when you know your loads, you will do it in your sleep without any inconvenience. 10k is plenty, it's not worth a 50 percent in crease in fuel, you will probably run it at 50-60 percent load most of the time.

 

[Chainbreaker]

First, I think you need to nail down your electric consumption by doing an assessment. When I was shopping for my first generator I built a spreadsheet (pen and paper works too) and went around to every appliance and found the wattage. I really learned something from doing that (the power hogs were unveiled). Then you need to categorize how a load fits into your lifestyle when on back-up power: Is it essential, nice to have, or a luxury? Add up the totals of each column you listed those loads under and it will give you a much better idea of your loads during emergency back up power and how to best manage them. You can then match a generator's output capacity to your lifestyle and load management opportunities.

Secondly, you need to think about the longest power outage you want to be prepared for. In other words, how much fuel are you willing to store and how are you planning to store it - Jerry Cans, 55 gallon drums, diesel tank or...? So a gen-set's fuel burn-rate really becomes a critical factor as to how long you can last with the fuel on hand.

Lastly, what is your budget for purchasing the unit, maintenance/repairs and fuel costs? Is it $2k or $10k$

With those answers you can get better dialed in to the size generator you need. Although, I agree that a 10 kW military unit should power a typical house just fine.

However, my results showed I was on the cusp between a 5 kW and 10 kW unit due primarily having a propane water heater and propane cook-top. With my load information and an attitude that I could do well with some load management applied I chose to go with a 5 kw unit and that has worked out quite well. I know I'm not going to be able to run the hot tub when on emergency back-up power but that fell into the luxury column anyway.

 

[3dAngus]

My guess is, the OP is not the kind of person who wants to go to all that trouble, even though it is advisable.
Some people want to plan on a two martini lunch in a Cat 5 hurricane.
A 10kw would be fine for most any home, but, only if the owner is going to realize there is a natural disaster and you have to make sacrifices. Turn off the oven, and shut down the hot water heater when not using it.
Have a window air conditioner or two for emergencies instead of a whole house hog.
Manage your resources wisely in trying times.
Schedule useage. Become environmentally aware. Go with the times, and take care to conserve fuel.

I can run my whole house with two central units with the MEP-003, but sold it.
I can run my home with the MEP-002 in trying times with good management practices, but, the martini's go out the door for fuel savings.
I have a MEP-002, but, have to admit, would feel more comfortable with the MEP003 so my wife can wash clothes while leaving the hot water heater on and cooking on the stove top.
Every man need know his limits. Every woman will try to change that.
Everybody's situation is going to be different, but one thing is for sure, a 30kw is overkill unless you're running a small motel, and even then, you better be thinking about a 300 gallon diesel fuel tank with fresh fuel. It doesn't just stop with the generator size.

 

[Blackbear]

Now that we have that answered, how long can you expect a map-803a to last with normal maintenance, it terms of hours?
10,000, 12,000, 15,000, and when the will it need an overhaul. My guess is the generator will need rebuild first.

 

[Triple Jim]

The vast majority of generators I've read about on this site are far from needing a rebuild. My 003A had a bad hour meter when I got it, so I can only guess about when it will need its next rebuild, but it starts and runs fine, puts out rated power without blowing smoke or losing speed, and doesn't burn oil. I don't expect to put enough hours on it to wear it out in my lifetime, with the test runs and outages we get.

 

[Blackbear]

I agree if using for backup conditions but for people using it regularly, off the grid folks, that may burned it 2-4 hours a day to charge batteries etc.

 

[Triple Jim]

I've heard that the generators were rebuilt at 5,000 hours, but can easily go 10,000. If that's the case, most of the ones available to us will be able to run 5,000 to 10,000 hours before they need to be rebuilt. That would say that if a rebuild is going to be needed, it would be wise to wait until performance is suffering, so you get the 5,000+ hours out if it first. Considering the price of parts and the labor involved in rebuilding, it might be better to just buy more than one generator.