802 or 803A?

[JRM]

I first want to say Hello, my first post! I have been wanting to upgrade from my portable 3600RPM Generac 7550 EXL to a "real" genset for some time and only after seeing a 802A in the back of a customers truck did I start my research. Question is, would a 802A run my 50A emergency panel? If I do the 803A Is there a way to plug in by the meter base so I can add the entire house? Items in bold are what can be on all on at the same time:

2 HP well pump- unknown wattage but it has 10 gauge 240V headed down the hole
2 Freezers
1 refrigerator
Toaster oven
Coffee pot
60" 200W DLP TV
Up to 400W of inside lighting
large microwave
100W of electronics (modem, weather station, DVR, Wi-Fi, etc.)
blower fan on fireplace- this should be very low wattage
1,000W wife mandated electric heater in back bedroom
600W of garage lighting but never on more than a few minutes
8 100w outdoor flood lights, rarely on

Here is a video of my current setup:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKusW7bDqLo

Thanks!

 

[cuad4u]

It is called LOAD MANAGEMENT. Also you did mention a water heater so I assume hot water for showers etc is not necessary. You cannot control when the two freezers or the refrigerator will be ON. You can "kinda" control when the 2HP well pump comes ON by varying the time you use water. Also you can vary your usage of the microwave, toaster oven, coffee pot, HDTV, etc so that they won't all be running at the same time. If your 7550 watt generator in the video will run everything you mentioned, I feel sure that an 802A will do as well.

 

[JRM]

im hoping to avoid the breaker flipping so the wife can run it when im away. I never wired the water heater into the genset backup panel mostly due to its 4kw requirements and 50 gallons of hot water does give us 2 showers the next day... but it sure would be nice. the well pump does make the generac hiccup pretty darn good even with its 13kw claimed surge- but im sure that's mostly marketing. What can the 802's handle surge wise? And what is everyone's fav auction sites?

 

[Isaac-1]

I don't know the exact surge rating on the newer TQG MEP military generators, but the older MIL-STD MEP military were rated at 300% rating for motor starting purposes, although many would trip their breakers before that. As to the water heater, if you do connect it I would put an easy to use disconnect switch on it so you could turn it on only when needed. As to the auction question, I have bought all my MEP generators from GL, but it is a dice roll (as-is), and of questionable value since they have upped their fees and added reserves to many of the generators they are selling now. Having said that if I needed a good runner I would buy from someone on the board here or perhaps from ebay, just remember that ebay refurbs can often be, I bought one from GL, put new batteries on it and it started so now I am selling it for 3 times what I paid.

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,
The MEP-802A is comparable to the Generac 7550EXL. The MEP-802A has a better 24/7 operating qualifications. I also believe the MEP-802A does have a higher surge capacity too. The MEP-802A will do well for what you want. The MEP-803A would really do everything you want without hesitation. You would need to do a little re-wiring. The generator inlet would need to be 50 amp, and the breaker would need to be dual 50 amp. and associated wire. Since the MEP-800 series are liquid cooled diesel, and rated for 24/7 running and are very conservative with the rating of 5kw and 10kw. Remember the auction fee's on top of your bidding price.

 

[JRM]

Awesome thanks for the info, I forgot to mention that im also after cleaner power- my battery backups and new freezer wont run off the power generated by the Generac, the freezer shows a error code and the APC backups just click between battery and generator about 10 times a second until they die.
I will have to call up my old highschool friend that's now a 20 year electrician on the movement from 4 wire 30A to 50A as I was under the impression that I could just chop the end off that #8 seen in the video and hook er up.

 

[Isaac-1]

#8 SO cord is only rated for 40 amps

 

[Daybreak]

Awesome thanks for the info, I forgot to mention that im also after cleaner power- my battery backups and new freezer wont run off the power generated by the Generac, the freezer shows a error code and the APC backups just click between battery and generator about 10 times a second until they die.
I will have to call up my old highschool friend that's now a 20 year electrician on the movement from 4 wire 30A to 50A as I was under the impression that I could just chop the end off that #8 seen in the video and hook er up.

Howdy,
The forum has some great information about the MEP units.

Here is my MEP-803A with 3kw-16kw loading. There is also my MEP-802A in that thread too.

 

[JRM]

Great videos, It would be interesting to see what the EGT's of the manifold are when at 6kw with the 802- if ya have a ir thermometer laying around The other thread with a broken piston is interesting-

 

[Daybreak]

Great videos, It would be interesting to see what the EGT's of the manifold are when at 6kw with the 802- if ya have a ir thermometer laying around The other thread with a broken piston is interesting-

Howdy,
Keep reading that thread. I put up my load bank test log for each of the units.
MEP-802A load bank test log.
MEP-803A load bank test log.
test time, load level, ambient temp, water temp, exhaust temp, and amps per leg

 

[jimbo913]

If you are on the edge of having enough power for hot water, you could consider a heatpump hot water heater like the Geospring. You may be able to get a tax rebate to reduce cost. They run on 600w, although they do require more at cold startup since the control board fires the backup electric element to get it to temp and verify operation. If the water is warm, it may bypass the start sequence (unsure about that).

in addition, be careful of the "max load" videos because you are not getting the "clean power" you want. Watch how the volt and Hz meters droop like crazy when hit with high loads. That Hz and voltage drop are terrible on electronic equipment, so you do not want to be underpowered.

 

[JRM]

Found a rusty 1994 libby 802a with 27 hours on it with a $1800 reserve and put a max bid of $2400 on it in the last 10 seconds, I was out bid before my page refreshed. Reality check received. Most states will not waive sales tax (no such thing in Oregon) and the 10% auction fee really sours the deal - Since the 802 and 803's are getting $4K plus please sell me on them vs picking up a petrel whisper watt locally tax free.
Thanks guys- Joe

 

[cuad4u]

Found a rusty 1994 libby 802a with 27 hours on it with a $1800 reserve and put a max bid of $2400 on it in the last 10 seconds, I was out bid before my page refreshed. Reality check received. Most states will not waive sales tax (no such thing in Oregon) and the 10% auction fee really sours the deal - Since the 802 and 803's are getting $4K plus please sell me on them vs picking up a petrel whisper watt locally tax free.
Thanks guys- Joe

Over the years I have purchased, refurbished, and sold around 32 MEP 002A and 003A generators with ZERO complaints. All the MEP 003A's are gone but I still have two refurbished MEP 002A's for sale. Even though you are in Oregon and I am in SC you may be able buy one of my refurbished 002A's and ship it across the country for WAY less than what you indicated a 802A would cost you. PM me if interested.