<5KW MEPs - which ones?

[amolaver]

I'd like to get a smaller MEP to match my 003. I thought there was a thread discussing them, but my search-fu is failing. I'd like something around 3KW, diesel, and in an ASK. What are my options?

ahm

 

[Isaac-1]

For 3 KW in an ASK you would be looking at a MEP-701a which is a MEP-016b in an ASK these weigh in a bit over 500 pounds and are powered by a 1 cylinder Onan diesel engine, and run at 3600 rpms. If your looking at a closer match to your MEP-003a look at the MEP-002a which is basically its little brother with a 2 cylinder 1800 rpm diesel Onan J series engine with a 5KW generator head weighing in just under 1,000 pounds, these are sometimes found with ASK housings, and share a number of parts in common with your MEP-003a. There are several other MEP-016 variants, some gasoline powered, some diesel retrofits, but the only one you will find in an ASK is the MEP-016b / MEP-701a, or the MEP-016e (which is a Yanmar retrofit of the MEP-016b, however the Yanmars seem to experience cooling problems when fitted with the MEP-701a ASK housing)

Ike

p.s. note the MEP-701a ASK is a much more robust housing than the ASK kits for the MEP-002a and MEP-003a

 

[amolaver]

appreciate the details Ike! 500lbs for 3KW?!?! that is one hefty one lunger! i guess it makes it tough to steal thanks!

thanks to sewzuk's 3-1 phase conversion work, i'm considering getting an 004 for the house, moving the 003 to the shop, and now a 701 in the bed of the pickup.

have you run them all? i'm curious how loud the 701a is relative to an 003 w/o ASK. no way i could run the 003 at the racetrack paddock. i'm guessing its not QUITE as quiet as a modern little inverter model quieter or louder than a typical little homeowner 3-5KW gasser?

ahm

 

[derf]

MEP-016D is my favorite. Yanmar powered and has a pull rope for manual starting. I would consider it two man portable although I can muscle mine around all by myself. Mine is my go-to unit when I need portable power somewhere remote. It has very good efficiency.
A Honda EU2000 is hard to beat for portability, though.

 

[dependable]

MEP-701 runs at 3600 RPM . Even with the ASK, it is not quiet. The 002s and 003s are at 1800 RPM., loud but a lower tone, The all are probably too loud for horse paddock

 

[derf]

I don't like the 701As as much as the open frame 016D. In addition to the reasons above for liking the 016Ds, the ASK adds fans to repair and maintain and adds weight which makes it less portable. OTOH, though, the ASK is nice for weather protection. But, a 3kW gen doesn't need to weigh 532 pounds.

 

[Isaac-1]

I own a MEP-002a, MEP-701a Onan, and a MEP-016d, all 3 are loud with the MEP-002a having a more pleasant note, and the Yanmar MEP-016d having the sharpest lawnmower like sound, and the MEP-701a being in the middle, but is a ground pounding 1 banger at 3600 rpms. Derf does have a point about the MEP-701a being heavy, but that is not always a bad thing, I have one in my back yard for standby power at the house, the ASK protects it from the weather, and the 532+ pound dry? weight makes it unlikely to walk off, I would not say the same about a 280ish pound MEP-016d given the combination of less weight and a frame that is easy to grab.

 

[amolaver]

interesting - i would have expected the single cylinder units to be significantly quieter. maybe i'll end up with one of the yamaha inverters instead. i love the 003 - can't buy anything remotely similar without spending a LOT of money, but the 701a / 016e/d doesn't seem like such a bargain compared to a whisper quiet inverter unit. the inverters are good on gas too. doubt they'll last anywhere near as many hours, but for my use, the volume is probably more important.

its not a horse paddock, but race car paddock still, lots of guys (including me) sleep in their trailers, and the 'normal' big box gasser generators are really too loud to run all night. since it sounds like the 701/16d/e are going to be similar volume, i don't think they'll be a good option for me

i guess that makes it more likely i'll get an 004 for the house and move the 003 to the shop

thanks everyone for the info - appreciate it!

ahm

 

[derf]

There all about as loud as a lawnmower. But, at night even a lawnmower is LOUD.

 

[amolaver]

exactly. the inverter units are amazingly quiet. the 2KW & 3KW units are almost inaudible from 10ft away. at 20ft, you literally cannot tell if they are running or not. amazing technology. the yamaha units in particular are of excellent quality (less plastic, more aluminum, better engine mounting, better service access). like the honda's, some of them can be paired together for more output, but the units themselves are quite expensive (2KW is around $1000) and the 'bonding' kit (used to connect two gens in parallel) isn't exactly free ($1-200 i think). but at the track, my only big load is a 13.5K BTU air conditioner - the rest is ancillaries; lights, 12v chargers, laptop, etc. yamaha's EF2400iSHC unit is built expressly for this scenario; that is, high load motor starts, specifically AC units in RV's / trailers / campers. high load of course being relative to a 2.5KW generator

ahm

 

[Isaac-1]

I Also own a Honda EU1000 950 watt inverter generator, it is nearly silent, and can't tell it is running from about 20-25 feet away with typical residential background noise in the evening, by comparison my MEP-701a is located behind a 10x20 ft shed which is behind a privacy fence and a row of shrubs in my back yard about 120 feet from my back door, and I can faintly hear it from the doorway running at night. Note I do live in town near a fairly busy street.

Ike

p.s. using a sound level meter my MEP-701a reads identical to my 5 year old cheapish Sears push mower when measured at 10 feet.

 

[n1oty]

Amolaver, the modern inverter type generators are very good provided you understand their limitations. We had some Honda inverter generators in my department. In exchange for the lower noise, you get a generator that cannot be run for more than three hours when operated at or above 50 percent output. The manual specifies a prolonged shut down and maintenance check every three hours, hence our carrying multiple generators. Military generators are far more robust with far longer run times between required shut downs and checks.

Another thing to consider is whether you will use this type of generator with certain electronics. Most of them, especially the Honda's, have reasonably clean sine wave output, EXCEPT for certain sections of the radio frequency spectrum. The ARRL did an actual test and published their results a few months back on a slew of these inverter generators. Some of them wipe out whole sections of RF space. These generators may not be the best choice if you intend to use them with radio equipment.

As with anything, there is no one piece of equipment that does everything well. The MEP's give solid, clean power that is good enough for comm centers, but the price is noise. The civilian inverter generators give solid, quiet power for short durations at the expense of RF hash.

John

 

[CGarbee]

MEP-016D is my favorite. Yanmar powered and has a pull rope for manual starting. I would consider it two man portable although I can muscle mine around all by myself. Mine is my go-to unit when I need portable power somewhere remote. It has very good efficiency.
A Honda EU2000 is hard to beat for portability, though.

From a portability standpoint, a MEP-016D will fit between the rear seat and back doors on a Suburban... Just in case you want to haul it somewhere when you are not in a MV... I really like mine and agree with all of your point, including the Honda bit...

I also have three MEP-701a's, had a slew of MEP-002's and 003's (liked them a lot, but other folks wanted them more than I and cash talks...), and a pair of MEP-005a's that we use at my Godparent's resort for backup power. They are all great machines...

 

[amolaver]

Amolaver, the modern inverter type generators are very good provided you understand their limitations. We had some Honda inverter generators in my department. In exchange for the lower noise, you get a generator that cannot be run for more than three hours when operated at or above 50 percent output. The manual specifies a prolonged shut down and maintenance check every three hours, hence our carrying multiple generators. Military generators are far more robust with far longer run times between required shut downs and checks.

Another thing to consider is whether you will use this type of generator with certain electronics. Most of them, especially the Honda's, have reasonably clean sine wave output, EXCEPT for certain sections of the radio frequency spectrum. The ARRL did an actual test and published their results a few months back on a slew of these inverter generators. Some of them wipe out whole sections of RF space. These generators may not be the best choice if you intend to use them with radio equipment.

As with anything, there is no one piece of equipment that does everything well. The MEP's give solid, clean power that is good enough for comm centers, but the price is noise. The civilian inverter generators give solid, quiet power for short durations at the expense of RF hash.

John

interesting - i was not aware of the RF output of the inverters. i wonder how many field days got ruined because of that!

i've seen many of the inverters run non-stop for 3 or 4 days to power RVs/trailers/campers at the track. i just had a look at the yamaha EF2400 owners manual and it has no 3 hour shutdown requirement. they have an initial 20hour oil change interval, and then 100hour intervals. owners manual i looked at is here http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/manuals/EF2400is.pdf

ahm

 

[n1oty]

interesting - i was not aware of the RF output of the inverters. i wonder how many field days got ruined because of that!

i've seen many of the inverters run non-stop for 3 or 4 days to power RVs/trailers/campers at the track. i just had a look at the yamaha EF2400 owners manual and it has no 3 hour shutdown requirement. they have an initial 20hour oil change interval, and then 100hour intervals. owners manual i looked at is here http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/manuals/EF2400is.pdf

ahm

Understand that the EF2400 only has a continuous rated output of 2 kW on page 32 of the manual you linked. Operation up to 2.4 kW is doable and I'm surprised they don't really warn people about peak current operation. In addition, I draw your attention to the "note" on page 14 regarding "sensitive electronics". That will be the RF hash I was talking about.

Here's a link to the current Honda EU2000i generator. It appears that Honda has improved this generator over the older version we used. Nevertheless, if you look at page 30 of the manual, you will see that continuous operation of the generator is limited to 80 percent output. With full output, Honda specifies a limit of 30 minutes of run time.

http://powerequipment.honda.com/pdf/manuals/00X31Z076300.pdf


John