MEP-803A exhaust DPF mod?

[steelydan]

Hi,

I've got my genny pretty close to the house, but since my and my neighbor's homes are 100+ year old, they aren't tight envelopes and the diesel exhaust smell gets into the house. This really pisses off my wife and so you know how that goes..
So, I'm wondering if there are any mods anyone has done to their 803s to get them to run with some kind of emissions equiment like a modern diesel vehicle has (diesel particulate filter, etc)?

Other than extending the exhause stack (which I did), I'd like to be able to kill the exhaust smell as much as possible to keep the wife and neighbors happy.

TIA

 

[Light in the Dark]

Its not designed to have anything in the path of the exhaust, and nothing good will come from adding anything. Can you move the genset to somewhere with different prevailing wind directions? Or greatly increase the height of the exhaust pipe?

I'm not sure this is going to be a winnable one for you... but hopefully someone else will give you better info.

 

[steelydan]

I was toying with the idea of adding some kind of blower to the end of the exhaust to help propel it farther from the house. It would have to be pretty light weight though.

 

[Light in the Dark]

How close is it to the house? Like within 10 feet? How often do you run it? Is the smell of the fumes the worst trade off when the lights are out...? Does your wife smell it, or is it only the neighbors?

 

[devilphrog]

How close are you to your neighbor's house? I'd think an extended exhaust pipe to redirect gases, as well as an extension cord "olive branch" to your neighbor's house would go a long way.

 

[DieselAddict]

This is going to sound a little crazy but here goes. If you are seriously considering putting traps or other emission controls on the exhaust this would be easier than that.

Turbocharger. Install a turbo and set it to run a few pounds of boost. You'll reduce the smell by quite a lot. Stay under about 5lbs. There is already a turbo version of the engine or you can roll your own setup using a small turbo.

 

[csheath]

I would add a pipe straight up above the eve and put a rain cap on it.

 

[Light in the Dark]

I would add a pipe straight up above the eve and put a rain cap on it.

Thats why I ask how close or far away he is from a dwelling. A pipe can add a lot of down weight onto that muffler assembly (and where it bolts to the block). If it was supported against a structure, thats a whole different ballgame.

 

[smokem joe]

Thats why I ask how close or far away he is from a dwelling. A pipe can add a lot of down weight onto that muffler assembly (and where it bolts to the block). If it was supported against a structure, thats a whole different ballgame.

I'd put a piece of flex in it off the muffler too. Support the pipe on the structure and take the vibration out of the whole pipe.

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,

It also really depends on your unit. Is the engine running at its best? There are a lot of factors with a diesel engine. Compression good? injectors good? fuel timing good? diesel fuel used? load applied? rings good? valves good?

I have seen diesels which really stink. I have seen diesel which burn completely and really doesn't foul the air.

Maybe sell that unit, and get another too.

 

[steelydan]

Daybreak:
Good questions, however I don't know the answers. One of the reasons I bought it was to learn more about diesel engines - I just haven't had the time to do that yet, so I'm just trying for a quick fix so I can run it without folks wanting to kill me.

 

[steelydan]

Right now, it's about 20 feet away from our house. Probably about the same from the neighbor's. It doesn't run often, however we had 2+ days of power loss this winter.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
I'm curious about the turbo suggestion.
If I can't trap to reduce the smell, I guess I'll have to throw it farther.
I have some ideas and I'll play around with them this summer and report back.

 

[steelydan]

How close is it to the house? Like within 10 feet? How often do you run it? Is the smell of the fumes the worst trade off when the lights are out...? Does your wife smell it, or is it only the neighbors?

About 20 feet. Don't run it often, but my wife is real picky about the smell. I run it when the neighbors aren't home mostly.
Once it warms up, the exhaust is clear and the smell is greatly reduced, but like I said, the wife has a picky nose.

 

[justacitizen]

when it is cold outside or hot and the power is out and the house is dark and cold,the refrigerator food has to be thrown out and cold baths are the only way to get clean. the noisy stinky generator will be your wife's best friend. just bide your time for now. you could always throw your neighbors a cord from the convenience plug for a few hours during an outage and they would probably be more tolerable of the noisy stinky generator also.

 

[Chainbreaker]

Buy a nicely scented candle in one of the stronger fragrances (lavender, bayberry, etc.) that your wife really likes. Light the candle 15 min prior to starting your generator. If that works buy them for your neighbors too and tell them they are power outage candles!

Also, look into portable HEPA air filters for house. They make them to remove all kinds of odors and impurities in the air. Amazon has LOTS of them to choose from or get an idea what to look for locally.

If none of the above has much effect...invite a friend who has a stinky mutt, to come over with the dog when you want to run the generator. The generator might seem less offensive to your wife then.

 

[justacitizen]

Buy a nicely scented candle in one of the stronger fragrances (lavender, bayberry, etc.) that your wife really likes. Light the candle 15 min prior to starting your generator. If that works buy them for your neighbors too and tell them they are power outage candles!

Also, look into portable HEPA air filters for house. They make them to remove all kinds of odors and impurities in the air. Amazon has LOTS of them to choose from or get an idea what to look for locally.

If none of the above has much effect...invite a friend who has a stinky mutt, to come over with the dog when you want to run the generator. The generator might seem less offensive to your wife then.

OH BOY we are a ruthless bunch. aren't we?

 

[justacitizen]

my wife took offense to my first generator. she thought it was a waste of money and space in the barn to just have that thing sitting there. then an ice storm took out power for a couple of months and while others were traveling to other states and paying inflated prices to buy a gen that would only run the deep freeze, we were living with hot water,heat,washer and dryer etc. i now have several generators so i can spread them out over the ranch to take care of emergency water for the livestock. she asked me once and only once why i need to have so many generators and i just shrug my shoulders and asked why she had so many shoes. i actually heard her once bragging a little bit that she has a back up for HER backup generator.

 

[steelydan]

LOL, yes y'all are a tough crowd.
One of the reasons to keep the genny where it is instead of moving it 100 feet away from our and our neighbor's houses is that I could run a typical cord to the neighbor's house in an outage. That'll keep them happy then, and my wife will love the power too. But it's the monthly test runs during non-outage time that they'll find annoying.

 

[Bmxenbrett]

DPF filters are the worst thing to ever happen to the diesel owner. There the best thing to happen to the diesel mechanic. Also dosnt matter what filters you add it will still smell.

Exhaust pipe above the eve is the only cheap and fool proof way.

 

[justacitizen]

you could run the gen while your neighbor is mowing the grass. i would bet the mower is more noisy???