MEP-803a Max Hours

[tscott8201]

I'm researching the MEP-803a units now. If you were buying from one of the government auction houses and could not preview the unit ahead of time other than through the photos provided, what would be the maximum hours on the hour meter you would consider reasonable for a unit not intended to be rebuilt? This is of course assuming the hour meter is correct and that the condition of the unit appears to match that hour meter reading.

Tom

 

[DieselAddict]

That is tricky one. The hour meter shouldn't be the main determining factor for such a decision. You need to look at the photos as well as the hour meter to see if things seem to line up. Even then it is no substitute for seeing it in person. Buyer beware.

In general if the hour meter is correct you shouldn't be afraid of a unit with several thousand hours on it. If I remember correctly they will go though a "rebuild" cycle when they have about 5k/hrs on them. The engine itself is rated for much longer than that under good conditions. In other services the LP engines will go 10-15k hours between rebuilds.

 

[Triton]

Try another popular site it has many more pictures and usually 2 videos that may show if the unit is putting out power, also an Ironclad warranty. Just saying!

 

[tscott8201]

That is tricky one. The hour meter shouldn't be the main determining factor for such a decision. You need to look at the photos as well as the hour meter to see if things seem to line up. Even then it is no substitute for seeing it in person. Buyer beware.

In general if the hour meter is correct you shouldn't be afraid of a unit with several thousand hours on it. If I remember correctly they will go though a "rebuild" cycle when they have about 5k/hrs on them. The engine itself is rated for much longer than that under good conditions. In other services the LP engines will go 10-15k hours between rebuilds.

I'm curious what constitutes a rebuild? Would they me rebuilt internally but be left cosmetically worn or are they completely refurbished new paint and all? Is there a tell tail give away that a unit has been refurbished?

I'll also add that I am of course looking at over all unit condition as well. I'd say though that if a hour meter reads 4000+ hours and the unit is pretty worn looking on the exterior with lots of dents and dings, that it's a pretty good chance it's an accurate meter. Similarly, if the unit looks thrashed and the hour meter reads 200 and is the best looking gauge int he bunch that that meter has probably been changed.

Try another popular site it has many more pictures and usually 2 videos that may show if the unit is putting out power, also an Ironclad warranty. Just saying!

At this point I'm watching all the sites trying to get a handle on what price I think I'll pay for a given unit.

Tom

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,
Without doing a onsite inspection, you really need to look over the pictures really good. GovPlanet knows that if it runs, it will bring a higher price. I would say the staff will do little tweaks, such as adding batteries, and such. A video with it starting and running gives you an idea what possible shape it is in. It also depends on what your looking at doing. Turn key ready to go, $$$$$$, need a little TLC $$$, looks trashed and should be used as a parts donation unit $
The GL units some times is powered via the slave port and will state that engine starts, or at least says engine turns over.

 

[csheath]

I am also in the market but I refuse to get caught up in the auction hype and pay too much. Anybody with half a brain does not jump in the first few days of a time limited auction and start running the price up. This makes me suspect of some of these sales. I recently saw one jump from 25 to 2000 in the first two days.

This is probably a taboo discussion but I think it needs saying.

 

[Triton]

On GP I had an amount that I would pay and if it went over that I would wait till the next week, took me 6 months before I got what I wanted. If you can't go look at the unit, scrutinize the pictures and videos well, you'd be surprised at what you can tell about the unit. Many people say not to worry about the hour meter because sometimes they aren't replaced, that was the case with mine. But I noticed that the lower the hours the higher the price, supposedly these are 9,000 hour engines and I probably won't put 100 hrs a year on mine so a few thousand hour was no big deal for me. Good Luck!

 

[Guyfang]

Lets stop here, and start over.

First, just because the hour meter says 5 hours, is not grounds to think the engine and set only has 5 hours on it. It also doesn't mean it only has 5 hours on it since "rebuild". Gen sets do not get rebuilt. They do go through "reset", or Tier 2 Reset. I think I can post the work requirements for "Tier 2 Reset" if you all are interested in what gets replaced/checked during the "Reset. But a "Reset" is nowhere close to a "rebuild".

Second, consider this. What happens if the hour meter goes bad? It gets replaced of course. There used to be a requirement to post in the equipment log book, a notice when the hour meter was changed. It simply doesn't happen anymore. So you need to take the hour meter reading with a grain of salt. So please keep it in mind.

Thirdly, the hour meter IS a required replacement during Tier 2 work. BUT, and I have seen it happen, if the hour meter is not available to the organization doing Tier 2, then the set CAN be issued without the new hour meter.

There are gen sets with 9,000 hours that I would trust with my life. Good engines!! And if the gen set was taken care of during its life, well a quality engine is just getting warmed up at 9,000 hours. We used Stuart and Stevens gen sets in the early 70's that had 10,000-18,000 on the clock, that were simply out best units!

If you can't lay your hands on it, then best to go over the pictures with a magnifying glass. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst!

 

[joshua1001]

I argree with Guyfang. I havnt been doing this long but have two units, both 803a from GL. The first one I got had fresh fluids, tank of JP8 and 1200 hours on it. put in new batteries and it cranked right up. After wiring it to the house I have a total of 1600 in that project. I got another with 4400 hours on it a bit beat up on the outside as a little bodywork doesnt scare me. This one looks like it was being used as a spare parts unit as the fuel pump was bad but fittings, ect only hand tightened. used the aux pump in its place then found a valve cover loose, removed and found a broken and a damaged rocker with two bent pushrods. everything was hand tightened again. put in new rods and rockers and im getting oil, ect and it running great, fires up fast. Then it wasnt making power. multiple connections were disconnected and was looking like it needed a stator but after connecting those connections and plugging in a connector it makes power but needs a volt meter. original auction price was 860 and after fees, batteries, parts so far im in this one for 1300 and it needs cleanup, voltmeter and an aux fuel pump. I think it would be wise to pay a little more for a better unit if you can. Still way cheaper than what they sell for when they are running and putting out power already but with some risk you can get reward, no risk means paying full retail. my second unit had an idiot working on it, luckily they didnt cause any major damage so far.

 

[Guyfang]

In all probability, the military unit was told to make it complete, before turn in. That doesn't mean operational, just all parts on hand. So if it was a Hanger Queen, it just needed all holes filled. Good, bad or indifferent, all holes filled. I did this many times while on active, but almost always hung a D.X. (Direct Exchange) tag from the bad part, thus letting someone know that said part is unserviceable. The Duck Hunters, (Air Defenders) were notorious for this. Turn in a radar without a billion bad parts/chassis's? Get real! Its understandable, when you are not in a good supply situation. Just don't get caught at it!!