Mep 803a Voltage Adjustment

[mlaxton]

So I ran my house on my gen set for the whole day since we are coming into hurricane season down here and I wanted to give it a good exercise. The machine worked flawlessly, I am back feeding into my panel through a 60a breaker with 4/4 SOOW cord and a pin and sleeve connector. So once I am running under gen set I go to the lugs on the breaker to be sure I am receiving 240 at the breaker. Here is the question and please forgive terminology, as I turn up the voltage knob to insure that I have 120/240v i start thinking, is this good for the machine? My 120 products such as TV and small appliances say 110-120 on them, and my AC says 208-240. So 1 is it bad for the machine to crank this knob over quite a bit to make up for the voltage drop? 2 does it even matter to the appliances? If it does I would rather replace a toaster than the gen set lol. Thanks for the help!

 

[Zed254]

I lose approx 2 volts with my 803 but I'm using 4 conductor 6 SOOW. Your 4/4 will perform better. Adjusting for 2 volts has not yet hurt my generator.

Voltage Drop Calculator

This free voltage drop calculator estimates the voltage drop of an electrical circuit based on the wire size, distance, and anticipated load current.

www.calculator.net

 

[mlaxton]

I lose approx 2 volts with my 803 but I'm using 4 conductor 6 SOOW. Your 4/4 will perform better. Adjusting for 2 volts has not yet hurt my generator.

Voltage Drop Calculator

This free voltage drop calculator estimates the voltage drop of an electrical circuit based on the wire size, distance, and anticipated load current.

www.calculator.net

How long is your line, and are you back feeding through a breaker? Mine is 50ft long, figure I would start longer and shorten if Need be. I have to store mine in garage and be able to roll it into driveway when needed.

 

[Ray70]

Running 4 ga copper 50' shouldn't give you more than a volt or 2 drop at the most.
Adjusting your machine will not hurt it. If you have a multi meter, check the voltage at the machine and again at the breaker and let us know what you are seeing for drop.
The actual position of the knob is irrelevant, the voltage at the machine and the drop in the line are the only important factors.

 

[Zed254]

How long is your line, and are you back feeding through a breaker? Mine is 50ft long, figure I would start longer and shorten if Need be. I have to store mine in garage and be able to roll it into driveway when needed.

You should be dropping 1.12 volts per that calculator: https://www.calculator.net/voltage-...nce=50&distanceunit=feet&amperes=45&x=52&y=19

I just punched in your wire gauge and 50 feet.

I'm closer to 60 feet with mine and back feeding through a breaker but......?

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,
Please remember that the gauges on the machine are, er.. good enough. Always fine tune your electric with a good multi meter to where you are using it.

OK, Generator sitting approx. 50 ft away. At your service panel, you will want a nice 120 per leg and 60Hz. The meter on the generator might be off, There is a calibration screw right at the bottom of the VU meter, using your multi meter, you can fine tune that to a better correct reading.

Single phase can be called lots of stuff over the years. Call it 110, call it 115, call it 120, call it 125. If you ever look at a duplex receptacle, it might say 125. Generator hookup cords might say 125/250 volts. The other primary important item is a good 60Hz. Since the generator is mechanical governor, If your regular use load is say 40% average. Have it running at 40% and make adjustments for a clean 120/240 60Hz. My generator running with no load is actually sitting about 62Hz.

Gauges are good, but verify with a meter.

 

[mlaxton]

Howdy,
Please remember that the gauges on the machine are, er.. good enough. Always fine tune your electric with a good multi meter to where you are using it.

OK, Generator sitting approx. 50 ft away. At your service panel, you will want a nice 120 per leg and 60Hz. The meter on the generator might be off, There is a calibration screw right at the bottom of the VU meter, using your multi meter, you can fine tune that to a better correct reading.

Single phase can be called lots of stuff over the years. Call it 110, call it 115, call it 120, call it 125. If you ever look at a duplex receptacle, it might say 125. Generator hookup cords might say 125/250 volts. The other primary important item is a good 60Hz. Since the generator is mechanical governor, If your regular use load is say 40% average. Have it running at 40% and make adjustments for a clean 120/240 60Hz. My generator running with no load is actually sitting about 62Hz.

Gauges are good, but verify with a meter.

Cool I did not know you could manually calibrate it! Tons of knowledge here thank you.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Yeah if you wanted to make sure you were getting the correct voltage and hertz in the house, invest in a Kill A Watt meter that you can plug into an outlet in your home. It will give you instantaneous readouts of voltage, hertz, and other information. https://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B000RGF29Q

This is a surefire way to know your adjustments on the machine are doing what they intend to in your home. But most appliances have a 10% threshold +/- that they will work in just fine (and newer products have auto switching supplies, so anything over 100V and 50hz and you are good, as its moving it over to DC).

 

[America]

So I ran my house on my gen set for the whole day since we are coming into hurricane season down here and I wanted to give it a good exercise. The machine worked flawlessly, I am back feeding into my panel through a 60a breaker with 4/4 SOOW cord and a pin and sleeve connector. So once I am running under gen set I go to the lugs on the breaker to be sure I am receiving 240 at the breaker. Here is the question and please forgive terminology, as I turn up the voltage knob to insure that I have 120/240v i start thinking, is this good for the machine? My 120 products such as TV and small appliances say 110-120 on them, and my AC says 208-240. So 1 is it bad for the machine to crank this knob over quite a bit to make up for the voltage drop? 2 does it even matter to the appliances? If it does I would rather replace a toaster than the gen set lol. Thanks for the help!

i think you could crank that knob all the way eaither direction and it would not matter to most modern appliances. New electronics are extremely flexible in voltage Also note that some new electronics switch automatically, so no wire change. Just something to think about. and no it’s not bad for the machine(generator) as far as I know. Theirs no point in manufacturing appliances these days that don’t work everywhere right out of the gate. my