Mep-016D How to connect wire to post.

[ub3rn00ber]

Hello I just got a mep-016d. It's in good shape with under 20hr, all parts appear to be attached. Now I'm wondering how do I actually connect my #6 wire to the post? Do I use just a big circle connector like I would use in auto wiring, or is there a special connector? I have searched the forum but cannot find a picture of what you guys are using. A photo would be helpful to me.

Also on this guy with 20 hours, should I bother with an oil change or leave it till I get to 50?

 

[Isaac-1]

You should have a split bolt terminal, similar to the split bolt connector shown in this image



You simply place the exposed part of the wire in the groove and tighten the nut down so it presses the follower into the strands of the wire. Yours will of course have insulation on the wire except for at the point of connection. You can google split bolt wiring for more examples

 

[ub3rn00ber]

Here is a pic of the gen and posts. Is there anything that looks abnormal?

 

[Isaac-1]

The only thing I spot off hand is the safety retaining wire that keeps the nut from falling off and getting lost from the top split bolt connection is missing. Is there something in particular you are trying to do that you don't understand, or something you see, or a specific question you want to ask?

 

[ub3rn00ber]

I am about to spend around 400-600 to get this thing wired into my house and wanted to see if there is something I'm obviously missing. It stars with 1 pull every time and outputs power via the side plugs so I think I'm good. I had a few questions though.

For the transfer switch I had planned on this one
http://www.amazon.com/Generac-6294-...d=1457500357&sr=8-14&keywords=transfer+switch
Is this a decent option or is there a cheaper one that will function the same that alot of people are already using? I have 4 dedicated circuits in my house for the above items then 3 for lights, that's why I'm looking at a 6-10 circuit switch not a 6.

I'm guessing I can cut the end of the plug off to attach the wires to the generator?

Is it feasible for the generator to run a fridge, deep freezer, up to 15 led light light bulbs, tv, and a 100g fish tank with a small DC powered sump pump. I know for an exact answer on this I will need to calculate the load of each item, but I just wondered if my expectations are to high of what 3kw will do. If you think it will run all of that, I'm guessing that's about max?

After the install I will turn on each item one by one and verify what exactly I can run, just looking for a ballpark answer.

My plan is to do everything myself except actually hooking it up to the panel, running the wire and mounting the box seems pretty easy.

 

[ub3rn00ber]

Hum I though I posted a reply buy I didn't come up...

Anyway. I'm looking for a transfer switch I'm thinking the "Generac 6294 30-Amp 6-10 Circuit Manual Transfer Switch Kit*". Will that work, or are there cheaper better options? From what I've seen in other threads I should expect 3500 max out put from my 3kw 16d, correct? I am trying to run a fridge, deep freezer, 100g fish tank with a DC powered sump pump (suppose to be alot more energy efficient), 15 ish led lights, and a tv. The fish tank in a emergency power situation will only have the pump running and maybe a heater if it's an emergancy but power would have to be off for a while for that. If I calculated my rough load from generic numbers I should be able to run all of that and be close but not at the 3kw. Does that sound feasible?

The generator starts with 1 pull and outputs power from the ac ports. I asked about the parts because I just wanted a second set of eyes on it before I invest in hooking it into the house. While I think everything is attached, I may be missing something obvious to one of you more experienced users.


Lastly on the generator wires with 3 prongs I can cut off an end and splice the wires directly onto the posts with the clamp you pictured in your first reply?

Thanks!

 

[rustystud]

Hum I though I posted a reply buy I didn't come up...

Anyway. I'm looking for a transfer switch I'm thinking the "Generac 6294 30-Amp 6-10 Circuit Manual Transfer Switch Kit*". Will that work, or are there cheaper better options? From what I've seen in other threads I should expect 3500 max out put from my 3kw 16d, correct? I am trying to run a fridge, deep freezer, 100g fish tank with a DC powered sump pump (suppose to be alot more energy efficient), 15 ish led lights, and a tv. The fish tank in a emergency power situation will only have the pump running and maybe a heater if it's an emergancy but power would have to be off for a while for that. If I calculated my rough load from generic numbers I should be able to run all of that and be close but not at the 3kw. Does that sound feasible?

The generator starts with 1 pull and outputs power from the ac ports. I asked about the parts because I just wanted a second set of eyes on it before I invest in hooking it into the house. While I think everything is attached, I may be missing something obvious to one of you more experienced users.


Lastly on the generator wires with 3 prongs I can cut off an end and splice the wires directly onto the posts with the clamp you pictured in your first reply?

Thanks!

The MEP-016D will not put out 3KW at 240 volts single phase. It is more like 2.6KW .

 

[Guyfang]

Check the fuse holders on the side. They were always a pain in the patootie. Loose, and the terminals inside were loose and or bent. Also look at where the wire are soldered to the fuse holders. Often poorly soldered on. Those suckers I would replace with something made no later then 1808.

The clips that are sometimes missing from the load terminals can be made out of paper clips. If you want to see some pictures, the PS magazine has them. I might also, if I look at my files. But easy in any case. Are the control panel lock down screws tight? they were also a problem. Leak water into the control panel when they are missing. The split ring to hold them in the lid were often missing.

Tin the leads on your wires before hooking them up to the output terminals.

Oh that Yanmar engine and electric starter kit made life soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good! The gaser was a pain. Yours looks to be in good shape.

 

[Isaac-1]

Assuming the refrigerator and freezer are reasonably modern I don't think you will have any problem powering your listed load with this generator. I am somewhat concerned about your knowledge of electricity though, or at least as it relates to this generator. Since I am not sure about your exact knowledge, I will start off fairly basically:

Household power is provided as 120/240 volt split sing phase power, this is often referred to as simply 120/240. In household wiring you have 4 wires, 2 hots, 1 neutral and 1 ground, you get 240 Volts between the Hot Lines L1 and L2, and you get 120 Volts between either hot line and neutral (L1-L0, or L2-L0), the ground wire is there for safety and should never carry a current.

Assuming you already have a good grasp on the above, this generator gets a little more complicated as it can output a variety of voltages depending on which position the output voltage selector is in (knob under the top cover), you can get 120V single phase only, 240V single phase only, of 120/208V 3 phase. If you will note NONE of those match your household 120/240V split single phase, so you have a choice.

You can connect the loads at your house through a 120V only transfer switch set the generator to 120V only and be happy since all the things you want to power are 120V (this is what I would suggest you do), or you can modify the generator to output 120/240V single phase (easy modification) http://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109251&highlight=mep+016a+jumper (the MEP-016D you have is a repowered MEP-016 A or C so control box is the same) The downside of converting to 120/240V is the chance of burning out the generator with unbalanced loads as you are essentially taking a 3KW generator and turning into a pair of 1.5KW generators when it comes to 120V loads that are still powered by an engine that can produce over 3KW of motive power.

As to picking a transfer switch, if you go with a 120V only 30 amps transfer switch (the rated output of your generator is around 28 amps at 120V only), I would search for one with an L5-30 3 wire plug connector. Reliance made one with 4 breakers and one with 6 breakers, but seems to have been discontinued, but may still be in stock some places. See http://www.mayberrys.com/Honda/accessories/32316-30216A1.aspx

 

[ub3rn00ber]

I have no appliances I need to run on 240 power in an emergancy. So I will take your advice and stick with 120. I do not want the additional hassle of load balancing 2 1500w outputs. I dont quite understand why that plug is the one to look for if the generator doesnt have the matching one. Thanks for the help Isaac!

What is PS mag?

 

[Isaac-1]

That receptacle (L5-30) for the transfer panel is a 3 wire 30 amp 120V volt twist lock plug (opposite gender from a typical outlet), it is also the largest common 120V twist lock so is the appropriate plug / outlet for the size and voltage you need. Most of these small transfer switches will have a L14-20 or L14-30 which are 4 wire 120/240 inlet connection where half the single breakers would be powered by L1-L0 connections and half by L2-L0 on a 120/240V generator. In theory you could rewire this to feed 120V to both sides, but then there would be a danger if you ever used a different generator that had a 120/240 L14-30 outlet on it, so it is best to use the right plug for the job. This used to be a big problem with RV industry as they commonly used the old style 3 wire 30 amp 240V dryer outlets as 120V only 30 amp RV outlets (still the most common outlets in use at camp grounds), unfortunately those same 240V 3 wire dryer outlets were commonly used for buz box welders so can be found around barns and work shops, so over the years many newbie RV owners have burned out their electrical systems thinking because the plug fits it must be right. ( I know of 2 or 3 personally).

Ike

p.s. there is some concern of overloading house neutrals with wiring a house with 120/240V split phase to a 120V only generator if some of the circuits being used have shared neutrals, however the risk of problems is minimal with this small of generator. This is easy enough to check for when making the connections inside your existing breaker box, as long as you know to look for them (make sure no 2 of the circuits you are powering share a neutral on the wiring), this can be a bigger issue if connecting a 120V only generator to a whole house transfer switch or breaker interlock device.

p.p.s. Also you may wish to wire up a short pigtail with an L5-30 outlet on it to the output lugs, then use an L5-30 generator extension cord to connect to the transfer switch inlet. This will add $10-$15 of expense, but give you a removable cord which you can store indoors.

 

[Guyfang]

P.S. Magazine is A magazine for the army. In more or less cartoon form, that give some very good information. P.S. had several articles about load terminals, Missing load terminal clips and how to fix up a replacement clip out of steel lacing wire, or a paper clip. It seems that over the million years that the army has had power generation, the missing clips were always a deadline deficiency when generators were inspected. You can't get just the clip. Sooooooooooooooooo, joe the generator mech would order the whole load terminal, just to get the clip.

To alevate ordering something that cost between 4-20 dollars a pop, just to get a few inches of steel wire, (and tossing out the millions of perfectly good terminals that no one could use) the Army made what is called a "field fix. Take a paper clip, straighten it out. Re-bend it to make a load terminal safety clip. And to get the word out, printed it in P.S. magazine. At least 4 times in the last 30 years. Long story for something stupid. I hope this P.S. article is readable. It is simple to make. Having told this whole long story, I have to admit in the 28 years of fixing generators, I have maybe seen the safety clips catch the load terminal nuts, 4 times. I do not think its worth the time and effort to make the stupid things. If you go to LOGSA, and get an account, you can read present and past P.S. Magazines. Lots of good info there.

 

[ub3rn00ber]

Assuming you already have a good grasp on the above, this generator gets a little more complicated as it can output a variety of voltages depending on which position the output voltage selector is in (knob under the top cover), you can get 120V single phase only, 240V single phase only, of 120/208V 3 phase. If you will note NONE of those match your household 120/240V split single phase, so you have a choice.

For the 120/208 voltage, you use L0, L1, L2, and L3, so wouldn't that work out to 4 plug configuration? I ask because I like this transfer switch http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/APC-32316-UTS6H/p11840.html due to the fact it can auto bypass circuits if I overload it. I am having a lot of trouble finding a L5-30 besides the one you listed. I would like to make the plug something more universal like the 4 prong, because when I sell the house I don't want to leave it with a 3 prong no one can use.

now if im understanding this correctly, the main issue I will face with this is the fact that l1 will put out like 163 and l2 will put out 55 so that means I will need 3/4 of my circuits on one and 1/4 on the other or is that not how that works at all?

Im trying to research more into this so I understand it before I start buying parts. I will be doing everything my self except hooking the transfer to the main panel, I will have an electrician do this. Are there any resources you can point me to in order to get a better grasp on this so I don't have to keep asking questions that are probably obvious to anyone with a little knowledge.

 

[ub3rn00ber]

Why did it say on my last reply moderator has to approve post?

Edit: I'm guessing because I posted a link to a transfer switch?

if I run it in the 120/208 and use l0, l1, l2, and l3, wouldn't that be a 4 prong connector setup and be viable with more switches?

 

[Isaac-1]

Sure it would, but then you would be essentially splitting that 3KW generator into 3 1KW generators and then throwing out one of them since no off the shelf transfer switch will take connections from a split single phase panel and put them into a 3 phase transfer switch panel, if such a thing even exists in transfer panel form . This gets back to that whole balanced load issue again. For the military using one of these generators to run an appropriately sized 3 phase motor this would not be an issue since the motor would draw from each phase evenly, this would not necessarily be true in your case with a freezer on one leg, and a heater on another, ....

Ike

p.s. a typical 120/208 cordset would use 5 conductors, not 4, L0, L1, L2, L3 and a ground (there could also be a 4 conductor 208V only cord set, perhaps used on some portable equipment with a 3 phase motor, or 3 phase fork lift battery charger, etc., but then you would have no 120V and no L0 conductor, just L1,L2,L3 and a ground)