002 or 003 for 3.5 Ton A/C Unit?

[Olympus]

I have considered that. But that still doesn't help my concerns with working on and servicing an MEP unit.

 

[rosco]

Just about every variable in power generation imaginable has been layed out - even doing nothing. Only you can decide. But you live on a farm (have expressed interest in a MEP), have a stash of fuel, and claim that you are not handyman. That is sorta-of a hard sell with me. You have to be something of a tinker, just to keep the farm from caving in on you. You worry about keeping a MEP running, because you have read the posts here. Keep in mind, that SS is made up of a bunch of Gearheads. We tinker on stuff. We tinker excessively, if not religiously. We even tinker on stuff that ain't even broke yet. You might be picking up some of your apprehensions that way - from us tinkering so much. SS covers a vast amounts of area, and there are many MEPs out there that run like fine watches! Within SS, there is a MEP following, if not a cult. If you read between the lines, we all say, "you want a MEP for the long haul". Find a good runner, maybe even pay a little more for it. They're out there! I bought two low hour machines, a 002 & 003, from GL, the latter on a trailer - sight unseen. I changed the fuel filters, and serviced the fuel pumps (unnecessarly), but didn't even change the oil or filters. They were both spotless - maybe I was lucky, but good runners are out there. Today, I did my biannual exercise of the 002 on my shop (really a job for the 10K machine - to run it). Running at 70% load, it picked up a 1HP well pump - that's over 6000 watts. It brought the batteries back to 28 volts, within an hour. Sure, fuel consumption is a concern, but in an emergency, you pull out the stops. You have to do the deciding, but if you go with a "MEPpy", be aware that this green/tan paint is an infection.

 

[leedawg]

Just about every variable in power generation imaginable has been layed out - even doing nothing. Only you can decide. But you live on a farm (have expressed interest in a MEP), have a stash of fuel, and claim that you are not handyman. That is sorta-of a hard sell with me. You have to be something of a tinker, just to keep the farm from caving in on you. You worry about keeping a MEP running, because you have read the posts here. Keep in mind, that SS is made up of a bunch of Gearheads. We tinker on stuff. We tinker excessively, if not religiously. We even tinker on stuff that ain't even broke yet. You might be picking up some of your apprehensions that way - from us tinkering so much. SS covers a vast amounts of area, and there are many MEPs out there that run like fine watches! Within SS, there is a MEP following, if not a cult. If you read between the lines, we all say, "you want a MEP for the long haul". Find a good runner, maybe even pay a little more for it. They're out there! I bought two low hour machines, a 002 & 003, from GL, the latter on a trailer - sight unseen. I changed the fuel filters, and serviced the fuel pumps (unnecessarly), but didn't even change the oil or filters. They were both spotless - maybe I was lucky, but good runners are out there. Today, I did my biannual exercise of the 002 on my shop (really a job for the 10K machine - to run it). Running at 70% load, it picked up a 1HP well pump - that's over 6000 watts. It brought the batteries back to 28 volts, within an hour. Sure, fuel consumption is a concern, but in an emergency, you pull out the stops. You have to do the deciding, but if you go with a "MEPpy", be aware that this green/tan paint is an infection.

Hear,Hear!!

 

[Olympus]

Ok. However, I don't live on a farm. I live in a small subdivision on 6 acres. My family lives on a farm about an hour and a half south of me. That's where I have access to the diesel. I'm not a handy man by any stretch. I change oil in my vehicles and rotate tires, but that's about the extent of my mechanical knowledge.

But you're right, reading through this forum has scared me a little with all the threads about people needing to work on this or that.

 

[Isaac-1]

Keep in mind many of us buy our MEP generators from GL auctions AS-IS after they have been sitting up for years, many times with no hands on inspection prior to bidding, some of us fix them up and resell, some just keep them for ourselves, personally I am sort of in the middle, as I have let a couple go to family members, close associates, and in one case to a fellow board member, but that was a pass through at cost as-is sale when I ended up winning 3 in one day. As to the handyness issue, if you can change oil and and do basic measurements with a multi-meter (volts AC and DC, ohms / continuity) you can probably handle 90% of the things that commonly go wrong with one of these generators once someone has one up and running good with the help of members here. Around here we often worry over things that are not critical to generator operation, things that some of the resellers out there would either bypass or not bother fixing, like faulty instrumentation that most civilian generators don't even have, then of course there are few fanatics out there that strip them down completely and do a full rebuild even if they were running fine to begin with.

 

[jamawieb]

I would agree 100% with Isaac-1. If you can change your oil you can work on an MEP. They are not as complicated as they seem, they are actually easier to work on than most other generators. Most commercial or residential generators are difficult to work on and sometimes hard to find the manuals. The great thing about the MEP's is that you have access to extensive technical manuals, that break everything down. I think most members here are like myself, buy a few generators because it becomes a hobby, then sale for a few bucks over what you have in them (or at least that is what I do).

 

[Olympus]

I have zero electrical knowledge. I don't own a multi meter and would have no idea how to use one.

 

[Olympus]

After watching countless videos and reading hvac forums, I'm going to try to determine the "inrush amp draw" (just learned that) for my a/c compressor. Once I figure out what that is, I'll post it here and see if anyone can tell me if the 002a will be big enough. I just have to buy a clamp on ammeter (learned about that too).

 

[Isaac-1]

You might want to see if you can borrow one from someone that has a good one, most of the cheap clamp meters either do a poor job measuring inrush or just don't have that feature

 

[Olympus]

Didn't know that. I'll check with some neighbors. One is an electric company foreman.

 

[cuad4u]

My 002A will start a 20 year old Heil 12 SEER 2.5 ton split unit AC while running 12 each 150W incandescent ceiling lights AND two 240V single phase 1 HP exhaust fans. Your results may vary.

 

[jamawieb]

You might want to see if you can borrow one from someone that has a good one, most of the cheap clamp meters either do a poor job measuring inrush or just don't have that feature

Olympus, Isaac is correct. You have to get an expensive clamp on meter to read surges. The surge only takes place for a millisecond, most meters will not read it and just show the running amps.

 

[Olympus]

Ok, after letting all this sink in I think I've finally decided on the 002a, even if it won't power my central air. I see now that there's probably no reason to waste money on fuel to cool the entire house if I lose power for more than a few days. I can move to the basement and stay cool for a day or two that way and if needed, I can buy a window unit and put it a basement window. And if I forget about the central air, I think the 002a will run the rest of the house without any problem. I don't have well pump and the clothes dryer can be ran by itself with little else on if absolutely necessary. If the 002a will run the air, then great. But I won't be upset if it won't. I also found a place locally that can and will service them. They are a semi reefer service center and actually have few 003s on their lot for sale. They said they could work on the unit if I needed.

Now I just need to find a 002a in good condition.

 

[cuad4u]

I have one 002A left. Engine oil, oil filter, fuel filters, and air filter are new. Fuel tank was cleaned out. A new fuel tank level gauge and float assembly were installed. I adjusted, repaired, or replaced everything not 100%. Low oil pressure and high engine temp safety shutdown switches work. Shutter control system cleaned and working properly. All gauges read accurately. 28V battery charging system works. Cosmetics are great. This generator has been load tested at 8000 watts continuous duty. All this took around 40 hours. Showing around 900 hours. How about $1295 and a 30 day money back guarantee. Batteries not included. If interested PM or call me. 803-308-4861. If no answer leave a message and I will return the call.

 

[Olympus]

That sounds like exactly what I'd want. Looks like you're about 10 to 11 hours away though. If I can't find anything like that closer, I will be contacting you.

 

[s011883]

002A is a good generator. I power my 1595 sq ft home with it. I can run my ac unit that has a LRA of 72.5 Amps. It starts it ok, but once it's up and running it only pulls a RLA of 15 Amps. I changed all my light bulbs to LED. We turned every light on in the house (main floor and full basement) and had a draw of 2.8 Amps. I also run my 1/2 hp well, deep freezer and refrigerator. My furnace and water heater are both LP gas. I can run my stove but if I want to run the oven, I would have to shut my AC unit down. Hey a little load management and you are good. $2 per hour is not bad.

 

[Olympus]

I'm keeping an eye out for a really good 002 unit right now. I've got a few options that are further away than I'd like so I'm keeping an eye out for something a little closer first.

 

[jamawieb]

Ok, after letting all this sink in I think I've finally decided on the 002a, even if it won't power my central air. I see now that there's probably no reason to waste money on fuel to cool the entire house if I lose power for more than a few days. I can move to the basement and stay cool for a day or two that way and if needed, I can buy a window unit and put it a basement window. And if I forget about the central air, I think the 002a will run the rest of the house without any problem. I don't have well pump and the clothes dryer can be ran by itself with little else on if absolutely necessary. If the 002a will run the air, then great. But I won't be upset if it won't. I also found a place locally that can and will service them. They are a semi reefer service center and actually have few 003s on their lot for sale. They said they could work on the unit if I needed.

Now I just need to find a 002a in good condition.

If your talking about transport refrigeration Inc. in Cape Girardeau, I know them well. They are a good bunch of folks. They call me with problems they can't figure out. I meet them last year because I bought a 003a that was an electrical nightmare for them. If you need any help, let me know. I'm about 1 1/2 from you.

 

[Olympus]

Thanks! That's great to know! Transport is who I was talking about. Doesn't sound like I should rely on them for service though. Having a forum resource that close is great news! I may be messaging you if I find one and have some questions.

 

[Olympus]

I just wanted to give everyone a update on my thread and say thanks to everyone who commented and sent PMs. I bid on a 002a on GL, but didn't win. I ended up buying a used/like new Generac XG8000E locally. It had 1.9 hours on it and I paid $900. Still looks brand new.

The Generac is a 10k surge wattage and 8k running. I wired it up to the house today and check everything out and tested it's limits. It ran the electric dryer and that made it jump up to about 80% load. I also turned everything off in the house and tried my center air and it was not big enough to kick the compressor on. It loaded up pretty heavily and I could hear the compressor switch kick on and then back off again. Just needs a ton of current to start. I don't think the 002a would have worked anyway. But maybe this will help someone else in a similar situation.