Bad luck- govplanet 802a

[CallMeColt]

That is a LOT of blowby coming out of the dipstick hole! Or, the video is not streaming well for me.

 

[rickf]

And it looked milky too. Considering the dipstick is right next to the crankshaft that is probably more air from the spinning crank than blowby But the color of the oil is disturbing.

 

[msgjd]

i too am concerned with the blowby (and color) .. perhaps needs a good long hard-loaded run after another oil change .. any sign of wet-stacking? ...

what you could do to help those two cylinders calm down is install an old-time john deere 200-pound flywheel, perhaps on the front of the crankshaft .. The science worked well for them, even on their popping diesels

If you want to see something with way more animation and bounce than your MEP802a , check out a 1-cylinder Lanz diesel tractor .. amazing

 

[Ray70]

I personally don't see anything all that disturbing just yet. I think a lot of it is simply the air pulses from the 2 cylinders being in-line with each other. The only way to tell for sure is to test crankcase pressure ( supposed to be a slight vacuum ) with a monometer and not rely on what what you see when you open the oil cap or pull the dipstick.
It's a good sign that you're up around 80% + load with no smoke, so I'm not overly concerned.
I don't know where you guys got a good look at the oil color. You aren't going to be able to tell by the little droplets spitting out of the dipstick hole.
He needs to run it, then shut it down and take a look at the oil shortly after, to see if it's got any milkshake to it or if it was just aerated from the crank pulsing.

 

[CallMeColt]

I personally don't see anything all that disturbing just yet. I think a lot of it is simply the air pulses from the 2 cylinders being in-line with each other. The only way to tell for sure is to test crankcase pressure ( supposed to be a slight vacuum ) with a monometer and not rely on what what you see when you open the oil cap or pull the dipstick.
It's a good sign that you're up around 80% + load with no smoke, so I'm not overly concerned.
I don't know where you guys got a good look at the oil color. You aren't going to be able to tell by the little droplets spitting out of the dipstick hole.
He needs to run it, then shut it down and take a look at the oil shortly after, to see if it's got any milkshake to it or if it was just aerated from the crank pulsing.

I was watching on the phone, so it just looked bad. Without seeing it in person, who knows. If it can take a full load, it is what it is in the end!

 

[ribs1]

I just thought I would chime in. I have my 802a sitting on a solid piece of some kind or horse mat over brick pavers. It has helped a lot.

 

[Rellierell 803a]

I just thought I would chime in. I have my 802a sitting on a solid piece of some kind or horse mat over brick pavers. It has helped a lot.

Thank you. Got bettwe when i moved the trailer to grass and put the rear support leg down. I have since over the unit off the trailer onto wheels. It's much better.

 

[williamh]

I recently got a Mep -802a and without reading this post I would have passed on this gen set. Has a nice viberation , same “blow by” out the dipstick. And yes the lifting shackles make a ton of noise. Now I just need to replace the temp gauge and batts. Making a plug/harness to connect to my house is next.

 

[Rellierell 803a]

I recently got a Mep -802a and without reading this post I would have passed on this gen set. Has a nice viberation , same “blow by” out the dipstick. And yes the lifting shackles make a ton of noise. Now I just need to replace the temp gauge and batts. Making a plug/harness to connect to my house is next.

That's good to hear that this post helped you out. I learned alot as well. Not sure if I posted it on this one or not, but I ended up working on another two 802a units and they were exactly the same. Guess it's "the nature of the beast" . I tested mine on the house, backfeed, in preparation of a winter storm and I was pleasantly surprised. AND it is so fuel efficient. Currently it has all new fluids and filters, fresh diesel and cleaned radiator. Now just sitting pretty in the garage covered with an awesome cover from @CallMeColt. Enjoy

 

[rickf]

That's good to hear that this post helped you out. I learned alot as well. Not sure if I posted it on this one or not, but I ended up working on another two 802a units and they were exactly the same. Guess it's "the nature of the beast" . I tested mine on the house, backfeed, in preparation of a winter storm and I was pleasantly surprised. AND it is so fuel efficient. Currently it has all new fluids and filters, fresh diesel and cleaned radiator. Now just sitting pretty in the garage covered with an awesome cover from @CallMeColt. Enjoy

Glad to hear they are working but I will tell you that back feeding is a sore subject on here. It is illegal and very dangerous for utility workers and frowned upon here.

 

[Tow4]

Glad to hear they are working but I will tell you that back feeding is a sore subject on here. It is illegal and very dangerous for utility workers and frowned upon here.

Not a problem if you have a mains disconnect at the meter like all modern electric services do. I had a generator running for 3 days after Charlie, and back fed through the drier outlet. When Florida Power came around on day 3 to start working on the lines one of the linemen asked me about the generator. I told him about the disconnect at the meter and he could verify it was off if he wanted. He had no problem with it.

If you have an older service like the house I live in now built in 1950, the is no disconnect and you have to pull the meter. Which I have done several times over the years when working on the house breaker panels.

 

[rickf]

In order to be safe you need some form of interlock device. Be it a transfer switch or a manual lockout in the breaker panel. It HAS to disconnect the main power before you can physically connect generator power. Just switching off the main will work but it is too easy to forget and back feed the main line.

 

[Guyfang]

So what happens when the lineman dosn't come around and ask? Or maybe someone is not smart enough to pull the breaker? Or someone else comes along and resets the breaker. All highly unlikly. But would you bet YOUR life on it?

 

[rickf]

And remember, you are not putting 220 volts back on the line. The that drops it down to 220 will also step it up to 6600.