Thanks
I life if Florida so I must have AC so I'll stick with a 10kw
-
Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!
Generators at GL ?
- Thread starter Jboulay
- Start date
I life if Florida so I must have AC so I'll stick with a 10kw
Hi. Please clarify what you mean.
FloridaAKM
Well-known member
- 2,699
- 392
- 83
- Location
- Gainesville, Florida
Letting equipment just sit unused causes more problems than general usage, hence "Barn Rot"; stored & not used.
- 8,280
- 655
- 113
- Location
- Corpus Christi, TX
I would recommend having a professional help you. It is fairly obvious you are not familiar with even the basics of military generators and unable to search on here for the most basic information. Last thing we need is for you to light yourself up like a Christmas tree and then the have a bunch of good, well meaning folks on here get blamed for hooking the left handed wrench nut onto the right wing nut spot of L1 vs L3. Now that would hurt and I can just see that happening in this case.
This is why I have my unit on a monthly regimen. Even then I have found things tend to pop up when I actually need it. So far it hasn't been anything that prevented it from being used.
I like the idea of a brand new unit with piped in fuel but my reality is I couldn't afford it even if the fuel source was there. Hopefully my old 803 will see me through and the 100+ gallons of diesel I try to keep will keep the lights and refrigerator on till the power returns. By my run estimates the MEP-803A is consuming about .7 GPH. 100 gallons should give me around 142 hours of run time. Hopefully my fuel supplier will have enough on hand to deliver more if I need it.
With load management I can probably run all my 120v circuits and any two of the 240v circuits with my 10KW unit. The lights dim and the unit grunts a little when my 3.5 ton AC turns on but it's very brief. We ran the oven the other night for the first time on it and it only added a 15 amp load. About the same with the 3.5 ton ac, or 1.5 hp well after they get running. That 50 amp outlet most electric ranges are plugged into will most likely run all 4 burners and run the clean cycle on the oven but I would never attempt it.
True but I'm willing to learn though.
- 2,532
- 2,060
- 113
- Location
- Efland, NC
The 803 will have the better long term parts availability.
I saw below posted on a thread as far as hard to get parts or parts no being made anymore..Good to know.
Quote
"
Follow this forum
with Tapatalk for Android
FREE - on Google Play
VIEW
Steel Soldiers::Military Vehicles Supersite
1
MEP-003 10kw diesel genset
Thread: MEP-003 10kw diesel genset
Reply to Thread
Subscribe to this Thread…
Tags:
1
2
3
4
First
Last
NEIOWA said:
04-24-2006 23:54
Default MEP-003 10kw diesel genset
Picked up a very decent looking MEP-003 10kw diesel genset (Onan 4cyl air cooled) for our Fire Dept (on 3/4t trl). 550hr supposedly fresh from depot.
fuel tank was dry. Installed new 6tl batteries, drained strainer and both fuel filters, and added fuel. Cranked and started/ran for about 30sec (fuel in the pump???).
But will not fire/run. Occasionlly get a couple fires in the front pair of cyclinders. Elect fuel pumps seem to work (click at rapid rate an then to a slow click). Disconnect fuel line at the injector pump and on prime/run get a good solid stream of fuel. Not sure if preheat actually is working but cranks strong.
My theory is not getting fuel likely airlocked somewhere. Not finding anything helpful in the TM-12 Any voices of experience/suggestions.
Multi-Quote This Message
devilman96's Avatar
devilman96 said:
04-25-2006 11:47
Default
I've got 2 of these from a GL auction and can not get the parts to fully assemble them... My only bum GL purchase to date... Lucky you, they are good gensets but have to be handled with kiddie gloves!!
If it cranked at first it's got to be something simple...
I would start with the fuel filters and separator, pick up a set and a new set of gaskets for ALL of them, it only takes a small air leak to get a poof of smoke but no start/run situation going. It is possible to get fuel FLOW but not pressure on these. I have seen people goof up and double up the canister gaskets which seals fuel from coming out but lets air in. That will make you crazy trying to figure it out. I HAD the numbers for the filters and gaskets but can not figure out where I put them... If you pull the filters and gaskets, take them to Napa and get them crossed.
After you do all of that bleed it again by first disconnecting the "in" line to the IP pump and allow the fuel pumps to push fuel up to the IP... Then disconnect the return line at the IP pump (small lines that run from the back of the injector body's into a tee block, and back to the IP) Spin the engine over until the air bleeds, tighten the line up and then try cranking it.
If you are SURE that you have a sealed fuel system and you think your preheat is out and may be causing the problem (doubtful).... I HATE recommending this but give it a hit of ether.
If all else fails and you think you have a IP problem which is possible (trash/storage) I would recommend taking it to a shop.. I say this because the IP's are HARD to come by and priced like gold. The pumps have not been produced sense 90-92' and the military has a recycle program for rebuild with the manufacture which is why it is so rare to find a surplus MEP with a intact IP pump. Remans can be found for 450 but its difficult, most people ask 900-1200$, Onan thinks their worth 2200$... Funny people they are!!! (oil coolers, fan shrouds, igniters and voltage regulators are high maintenance items and also no longer produced which is why they too are often times stripped).
The glow plugs PN 330-0106 are a piss poor... The civilian 24V cross is a Champion number CH42, 14-18$ Napa can special order these but you MAY have to buy a whole box of 10 to get them. These things can be VERY difficult to remove from the head and love to snap off in the process. I recommend getting the motor running before messing with these, give it about 30 mins of run time, shut it down and then pull the glow plugs while hot, they usually come out easier and se a LIBERAL amount of high temp anti-seize when installing the new ones.
I don't think you would need the intake heaters in Iowa but the number printed on them is good for crossing also... I think they run about 48$ each.
If you want to convert your oil filter to a spin on Onan PN 122-0245 is the adapter plate needed.
Hope some of this helps... If not try here, most people have the cilivian versons of these but there are a few MEP owners around.
http://www.smokstak.com/forum/forumd...4f7a7ba69c&f=1
Multi-Quote This Message
mangus580 said:
04-25-2006 13:31
Default
devilman, whats wrong with the 2 you got?
Mike
1970 M35A2 W/W
1986 M1009
1952 M37
Multi-Quote This Message
ida34's Avatar
ida34 said:
04-25-2006 19:40
Default
One point on the Onans. I had a problem with my John Deere 420 with an Onan 20 horse engine. The intake manifold was damaged. I went to JD and they said they could not get anything special order from Onan because they are now out of business. I was able to get a manifold on ebay. The parts for the Onans are drying up. I am sure some gaskets and filters will be available but any major mechanical problem will be a real problem with no source for parts out there. The Onans will most likely have to be replaced with another make of engine. It convinced me to fix my JD and sell it to get a zero turn with a kawasaki engine.
The moral is be careful getting any equipment with an Onan powerplant.
Good luck on the gen sets. I hope it is something simple. Sorry I could not contribute more.
Chuck Graham
1942 White M2A1 Half Track
1969 Kaiser-Jeep M35A2
1983 AM-General M925
1951 Reo M108
1969 Ford M151A1
1969 Ford M151A1
Trailers, trailers, and more trailers.
Multi-Quote This Message
devilman96's Avatar
devilman96 said:
04-26-2006 07:33
Default
yeah... I bought 2... both missing the SAME **** parts!!! My only GL "no preview" purchase... 1st time, last time!!!
and yeah I just got a Kubota V1505E which I will put one of the 12 heads on and make it a 1800 RPM single phase double delta 120/240.... You know its a bad parts situation when one is willing to build a new skid, enclosure, motor and totally rewire!!! I am some how going to cram this job in between the Deuce and hurricane season!!! (yeah right)
*edited*... he he he... Sorry Mike I missed the "whats wrong with the two I have"....
Both need IP pumps, engine cowlings, 24v regulators, oil coolers, control boxes, rec's and reg's.... I THOUGHT at first they would be an easy find and cheap to build... dead wrong, after about 20 hours of research most parts are N/A even on the surplus market... Or they are so expensive by the time I was done I could buy a new 10KW unit.
Good engines, ones been stripped and resealed, new gaskets, painted etc and both heads are good... Im prolly going to salvage the few parts I need from one to install the Kubota and scrap the rest.
Multi-Quote This Message
NEIOWA said:
04-26-2006 15:00
Default
Quote Originally Posted by ida34
One point on the Onans. I had a problem with my John Deere 420 with an Onan 20 horse engine. The intake manifold was damaged. I went to JD and they said they could not get anything special order from Onan because they are now out of business. I was able to get a manifold on ebay. The parts for the Onans are drying up. I am sure some gaskets and filters will be available but any major mechanical problem will be a real problem with no source for parts out there. The Onans will most likely have to be replaced with another make of engine. It convinced me to fix my JD and sell it to get a zero turn with a kawasaki engine.
The moral is be careful getting any equipment with an Onan powerplant.
Good luck on the gen sets. I hope it is something simple. Sorry I could not contribute more.
The MEP003 is a 4cyl diesel. Don't know the HP or engine model #.
??? Maybe JD and Onan have divorced, JD does that very frequently (they purchase a very large part of their product line from many companies around the world). Onan is not out of business.
associated point on onan engine parts availability.
http://www.tulsaenginewarehouse.com/...an/horizontal/
Multi-Quote This Message
ida34's Avatar
ida34 said:
04-26-2006 17:58
Default
I tried to get parts outside of JD and no go. Check your link. At the top of the page Tulsa even says that Onan engines are out of production. The company may still exist but they are not producing engines or parts. I tried several places to get a replacement manifold and no one I talked to could get any onan factory parts.
I did check Onans website and the only engine they listed was a 20 horse that is supplied to lincoln for welders. If Onan is only producing 1 engine for 1 supplier I doubt the company is healthy. They are losing money on replacement parts.
Chuck Graham
1942 White M2A1 Half Track
1969 Kaiser-Jeep M35A2
1983 AM-General M925
1951 Reo M108
1969 Ford M151A1
1969 Ford M151A1
Trailers, trailers, and more trailers.
Multi-Quote This Message
NEIOWA said:
04-27-2006 12:29
Default
Cummins owns Onan. I don't think Cummins is going anywhere. Onan also owns the RV generator market.
Multi-Quote This Message
devilman96's Avatar
devilman96 said:
04-27-2006 15:29
Default
Yeah... Onan dropped part of their small engine line, which was a smart thing because they sucked anyways!!! The newer emission standard for 19HP and under are quite stringent and I don't think they were doing well enough to afford the R&D and retooling required to meet the new EPA specs.
However they are still producing 20HP and up, still producing parts for CURRENT items (10-15 years) and yeah they build the snot out of gensets...
With Onan diesels... They have be out of production for over 20 years... Small engines don't become "classics" like cars so there is no reason for Onan or anyone else to produce parts for 20+ year old equipment, there is no market for it. Especially with today's replacement costs, small engines are CHEAP to buy and VERY disposable. If I loose a motor under 30HP the idea of rebuilding never even comes into play, gas or diesel I will scrap it and buy a new one!!!
Just out of curiosity... post a pic of that JD/Onan manifold with the engine specs on here... I would like to see it... 9 times out of ten they are repairable and or can be reproduced from scratch without THAT much fuss
"
Last edited:
- 6,075
- 4,450
- 113
The below is plug and play -
The house has a plug on the power pole. Plug the house into the genset and turn it on. Flipping the switch so the house gets power from the genset automatically isolates it from the grid so that you don't electrocute any poor bastard working on the line.
Service life 20,000 hours. Parts readily available. Gets used regularly so no lot rot. Use as a welder puts enough load on it so as to remove any risk of wet stacking.
Can be towed behind a pickup truck, or any military vehicle bigger than a hmmwv.
Price point about $6k.
The house has a plug on the power pole. Plug the house into the genset and turn it on. Flipping the switch so the house gets power from the genset automatically isolates it from the grid so that you don't electrocute any poor bastard working on the line.
Service life 20,000 hours. Parts readily available. Gets used regularly so no lot rot. Use as a welder puts enough load on it so as to remove any risk of wet stacking.
Can be towed behind a pickup truck, or any military vehicle bigger than a hmmwv.
Price point about $6k.
- 16,795
- 24,155
- 113
- Location
- Burgkunstadt, Germany
The 803 will have the better long term parts availability.
I agree with Dieseladdicts statement, 1000%.
I fully disagree with the other quotes posted further below. The availability of parts for the 002A and 003A have shunk. But it a matter of looking, and being able to afford the parts. There are places to get almost any part. And some places are not all that expensive. If the only place you look is Fleabay and GM, then yes, things are pricy. But if you are creative and resourceful, (not always the same) you can get by. Upgrading things on the set will also help. If one reads enough threads, you can find all kinds of upgrades and parts that work in lieu of the original parts.
Case in point. A member here in SS makes a spin on replacement for the oil filter. A member here in SS makes A.C. and D.C. volt regulators. The 002A and 003A are simpler machines. They are incredibly robust. Like any other machine, they require your TLC. But even without TLC, these suckers will run a while. Do not underestimate them. Newer is not always better. I think the 002A & 003A are easier to Troubleshoot.
But yes, the 802A and 803A will have a longer term parts availability. Simply because they are newer and lots of the parts are available in the Civilian market.
At the end of the day, price also is important. What can you afford?
Talking to other folks who know how to keep up these sets is a good idea. Some folks may not be able to take proper care of the sets, and blame the sets for unreliability because of that.
Last edited:
Chainbreaker
Well-known member
- 1,797
- 1,995
- 113
- Location
- Oregon
Considering parts availability...I remember shortly after buying my first MEP-002a and asking here on SS about what the most critical spares were to have on hand. The absolute best advice was to..."buy another unit". No matter what part you stock as a spare you never know what might fail! If you don't have the necessary spare part...Yes you can troubleshoot, search online, locate and then order parts. However, if you encounter a show stopper genset failure during the crisis of an extended outage your generator will be down waiting for parts when you need it most! During a major disaster, roads could be closed and parts may not reach you for several days or even weeks. Even if you were fortunate enough to be able to locate and purchase most of the critical spare parts a-la-cart ahead of time, in some cases it could exceed the cost of buying a complete used generator. That military adage of "Two is one, one is none" can easily become true with gensets.
So here's something to consider...If you were to locate a good running MEP-003a at a reasonable price (Craigslist?) you could probably also afford every possible spare part you would ever need by buying a 2nd backup generator or non-running parts donor of same model. In my case I found an alleged non runner MEP-002a and paid only $250 off Craigslist from a guy who was frustrated and threw in the towel on it and wanted it out of his garage. I got it home and found the only reason it would not start was the fuel stop solenoid was rubbing and hanging up. A couple adjustments and sheet metal tweaks and I not only had a complete spare parts machine but a fully functional spare genset that could be wheeled into action during an outage so that repairs to the failed unit could wait.
Don't get me wrong, a MEP-803 is a very good machine judging from all the very satisfied owners here. However some of the parts can be expensive (gaskets certainly aren't cheap!) and it seems (just my perspective from reading SS posts) that they are a bit more tricky to get a non-runner running. Being water cooled they are quieter but that also adds bit more complexity with more parts to maintain (radiator, belt, pump, antifreeze, sensor, etc.).
Given your current lack of familiarity with repairing generators (yes you can learn if you have the time and patience) if you can manage to snag a "moderately priced" already running MEP-803 you should probably jump on it. If your not liking the MEP-803 prices and uncertainty of bidding and not knowing if you are buying a runner or not, you should consider looking on Craiglist to find a running MEP-003a at most likely a better price point. Then you might have saved enough money to begin looking for a 2nd parts machine or even a runner as a backup MEP-003. If not, you can always defer to picking up a parts donor/runner when time and funds permit.
You know your situation best...genset budget, skills and "mechanical aptitude" for diving into problems and being tenacious enough to not give up when the going gets tough. Members here can offer good advice and can enlighten you to pro's and con's of going one way or another. In the end you gotta make the call.
So here's something to consider...If you were to locate a good running MEP-003a at a reasonable price (Craigslist?) you could probably also afford every possible spare part you would ever need by buying a 2nd backup generator or non-running parts donor of same model. In my case I found an alleged non runner MEP-002a and paid only $250 off Craigslist from a guy who was frustrated and threw in the towel on it and wanted it out of his garage. I got it home and found the only reason it would not start was the fuel stop solenoid was rubbing and hanging up. A couple adjustments and sheet metal tweaks and I not only had a complete spare parts machine but a fully functional spare genset that could be wheeled into action during an outage so that repairs to the failed unit could wait.
Don't get me wrong, a MEP-803 is a very good machine judging from all the very satisfied owners here. However some of the parts can be expensive (gaskets certainly aren't cheap!) and it seems (just my perspective from reading SS posts) that they are a bit more tricky to get a non-runner running. Being water cooled they are quieter but that also adds bit more complexity with more parts to maintain (radiator, belt, pump, antifreeze, sensor, etc.).
Given your current lack of familiarity with repairing generators (yes you can learn if you have the time and patience) if you can manage to snag a "moderately priced" already running MEP-803 you should probably jump on it. If your not liking the MEP-803 prices and uncertainty of bidding and not knowing if you are buying a runner or not, you should consider looking on Craiglist to find a running MEP-003a at most likely a better price point. Then you might have saved enough money to begin looking for a 2nd parts machine or even a runner as a backup MEP-003. If not, you can always defer to picking up a parts donor/runner when time and funds permit.
You know your situation best...genset budget, skills and "mechanical aptitude" for diving into problems and being tenacious enough to not give up when the going gets tough. Members here can offer good advice and can enlighten you to pro's and con's of going one way or another. In the end you gotta make the call.
- 16,795
- 24,155
- 113
- Location
- Burgkunstadt, Germany
I would consider buying a runner, or a non runner, creative and resourceful. And probably, in the end, my backyard would look like a used generator parking lot.
- 1,178
- 390
- 83
- Location
- Guymon, OK
oh, so it would look like my yard then, so far I have only resurrected 2ea 701's, 2ea 805B's, 1ea 804a, 1 ea 005, still have 1 805b and a 952 that didnt make it.
- 2,532
- 2,060
- 113
- Location
- Efland, NC
rustystud
Well-known member
- 9,284
- 2,996
- 113
- Location
- Woodinville, Washington
That's only 8 cars ! I had over 20 and my best friend who lives next door has over 50 ! I still have 8 trucks I need to get rid of and 5 dozers. I only have 8 generators now. Five work and the others are parts units.
Thanks dang but sorry it's next to impossible to read yellow text on web, but I can afford up $2500
- 2,532
- 2,060
- 113
- Location
- Efland, NC
That budget will limit you to a 003 if you need 10kw.
Thanks so what's a more realistic budget for the Mep803 ? Oh what is the A after the 803?
- 2,532
- 2,060
- 113
- Location
- Efland, NC
A realistic budget for a 803 that you won't have to work on too much is $3,500 a $4,000.
NATCAD
Active member
- 241
- 50
- 28
- Location
- Port Huron Michigan
I like the MR2, does it run? Where is the turbo eagle talon?