Advice needed - new guy with MEP004A

[Mullaney]

Well, I spent about 3 hours soaking and cleaning the paint gun tonight. I'm sure I'll need to pull it back out for some touch up at some point but for now, I'm done!!

View attachment 865108

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You definitely have a nice looking machine.
Lots of scuffing and blasting and painting - but it looks better than the day it was delivered to the Army
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[Back-in-Black]

Six and a half months so far......

 

[Mullaney]

Six and a half months so far......

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Yeah well... Isn't like that has been your full time job.
Again, it is really sharp looking!

 

[Chainbreaker]

Yeah, you've invested quite a bit of effort so far to resurrect this veteran genset. Not only does it look better, but you have also modernized it with the DGC-2020 Controller installed in the newly fabricated Control Panel.

Very nice job so far! Can't wait to see a video when you get it all buttoned up and producing the juice!

 

[Back-in-Black]

Piddling around today. Bolted on some more parts - muffler too. Probably going to regret bolting all that on as I'm not finished with the wiring yet.

So I think I mentioned all the new enclosure bolts are stainless with stainless washers and nylock nuts. So I've been using Never Seize on everything to keep from having galled nuts and bolts. I got that crap all over me today. Got some hand cleaner and walked out back of the shop to rinse off at the faucet behind the shop. I turned on the water and as I was doing so, friggen spider as big as my thumb crawled out of the faucet. I was telling my wife about it and she asked what kind of spider it was... Told her "don't know what kind it was but it's now a flat spider."

 

[Back-in-Black]

Not much to report lately. I changed the way I had some stuff wired in the control box. I fixed a couple of things that I had wired wrong and I've been documenting exactly how it's wired and re-drawing the schematic, basically from scratch. Want everything well documented so if / when it breaks, I'll be able to trouble-shoot it. Put a few labels here and there. Still working on how I want to finish up the wiring "under the hood". Imagine I'll get started on that soon. Been busy with other projects (broken lawn mowers and such) so really haven't spent much time on this one for the past couple of weeks.

 

[Mullaney]

Not much to report lately. I changed the way I had some stuff wired in the control box. I fixed a couple of things that I had wired wrong and I've been documenting exactly how it's wired and re-drawing the schematic, basically from scratch. Want everything well documented so if / when it breaks, I'll be able to trouble-shoot it. Put a few labels here and there. Still working on how I want to finish up the wiring "under the hood". Imagine I'll get started on that soon. Been busy with other projects (broken lawn mowers and such) so really haven't spent much time on this one for the past couple of weeks.

View attachment 866626

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It is amazing how clean the inside looks. Yeah, I know there is fresh paint but the desert tan improves contrast really well. Seems like a color difference like that inside would beat the green hands down...

 

[Back-in-Black]

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It is amazing how clean the inside looks. Yeah, I know there is fresh paint but the desert tan improves contrast really well. Seems like a color difference like that inside would beat the green hands down...

Well, it's definitely easier to see up in there with the lighter color. And I realize that all the original wires had labels embedded into the jacket but damn, they could have used a few different colors! Hard as heck tracing wires when they're all the same color - especially after the Groban guys butchered it all up.

 

[Guyfang]

Actually, tracing wires with just numbers on them is easy. Look at the schematic, get the wire numbers and where the wire starts, and where it go's to. What do you care about whats in between? Point A to Point B.

 

[Back-in-Black]

Actually, tracing wires with just numbers on them is easy. Look at the schematic, get the wire numbers and where the wire starts, and where it go's to. What do you care about whats in between? Point A to Point B.

That prolly works great..... unless someone cut the wire, used a butt connector to splice in a blue wire and routed it to a different place and then covered it all up with plastic split-loom.

Pretty sure this is 90% of the reason this thing stayed broken for ~15 years.... no one had a clue that the Delco alternator was feeding the field of the main alternator. Neither did I until I yanked all that split-loom off and started tugging on wires to trace them. Everyone, myself included, just assumed that a 24 volt alternator was charging the batteries.

 

[Back-in-Black]

Well, I'm pretty much done with inside the control box. Have it all in CAD too. Now it's time to start "under the hood". I have several things that need to be mounted and a dozen or so wires to run as well as a lot of soldering on that dang 47 pin connector.

 

[Chainbreaker]

Great progress on your "BOFR"... Body Off Frame Resurrection. Like the fact that you're documenting the wiring & your revisions to it via CAD.

What CAD s/w are you using? Just curious...

 

[Back-in-Black]

Great progress on your "BOFR"... Body Off Frame Resurrection. Like the fact that you're documenting the wiring & your revisions to it via CAD.

What CAD s/w are you using? Just curious...

AutoCAD 2021. Also did the control panel design with it but exported it as a .dxf to a proprietary, downloadable software from the folks who made the panel for for me.

When it's all finished I will plot the one-line (schematic) E size, fold up and put in weather-proof "bag" and store inside the genset. Should always have electronic set but....

I already plotted the first version of it. It's what I was going off of when I wired it up. I decided to change the way a few things worked and that caused more changes, and those changes caused more changes.... Ended up QUITE different than my first drawing.

 

[Back-in-Black]

I think this is a better pic than what I posted above.

 

[Back-in-Black]

Status report: Basically haven't touched this project in 2 weeks, maybe 3. Too much other stuff going on right now. We are playing general contractor for our home addition and it's really starting to move now. Also have been working on the marsh boat which has basically been sitting for ~10 years. Trying to get it back in shape for fishing. Busy at work too. Just not enough hours in the day.

 

[Chainbreaker]

Yep, I can relate to other projects getting in the way of generator happiness. However... your living in Louisiana would seem to place you on a "priority need" to having reliable home generator backup for potential extended pwr outages due to hurricanes etc. That is unless you already have some sort of backup available.

Having grown up in central Florida as a kid I remember hurricane effected power outages without any generator backup. As a kid it was fun for a day or so...Dad BBQ-ing on outdoor grill, candles & flashlights it was like camping! However, after about day 3 in the silent dark house the "camping fun" got old & wore off fast. When bathtub & bucket water ran out to flush toilets, schlepping jugs of water from a pond 1/2 mile away was such a chore for a family of 6 among other inconveniences.

With those childhood experiences I now have 4 generators & 2 wells on property here in OR so I feel fairly prepared to get by. Due to summer drought situations out West we face added pwr grid issues. In addition to winter storm induced pwr outages (ice, heavy snow & high winds with falling trees) we face increased fire danger situations in summer with utility companies now proactively shutting off pwr during high wind conditions to prevent downed pwr lines fires. However, I sleep fairly well well knowing I can be my own utility company producing electricity, pumping well water & processing sewage treatment via 2 pumped septic systems & keeping the lights & electronics on when power is out.

Anyway, I do hope you can manage to juggle priorities & find a bit of time to nudge this project forward bit-by-bit to bring this formerly neglected beast back to life.

 

[Back-in-Black]

I'm getting there... just have to get this other stuff out of the way. Worked on the home addition till dark last night and started at 5.30 this morning and will be on it all day tomorrow too. Boat is on the back burner right now too.

I have a little 8.5 kW gas generator that I park outside a window and run the fridge, a window unit A/C and such using extension cords but that won't touch the ease and convenience of the MEP when I get it going.

 

[Back-in-Black]

Ok, vacation is over. Aside from being buried at work and the home addition project eating up all my time, we had a really bad horsefly season (May into June). Couldn't go outside without getting attacked for about 6 weeks. Not that that is over, we're just dealing with insane heat. Pretty much 97F every day with 70-80% humidity. I used to like summer LOL.

Anyway, the house project is pretty much in a holding pattern as we wait on windows so I've started working on finishing my wiring schematic for "under the hood". Once I get that done I will try to work on it during the night when it's a bit cooler. Doubt I'll get very far before I have to pull off again as I am acting as the electrical contractor on the house project. I have hired a friend who has been in that biz for 57 years to provide knowledge to meet local codes so I can know it's done right and also pass inspection. As soon as he gets a free day or so, we'll be starting that work.

 

[robertsears1]

For your house project, get the book Wiring A House by Rex Cauldwell, 5th ed. It is very complete and has the latest code requirements. I built and wired my 2400 sf house with a 400 amp service entrance and two main 200 amp panels plus a 125 subpanel and passed the electrical on the first try, my first project of this size. He has a section on home generators and included the newer mechanical interlocks that most panels now have available instead of the expensive on-off-on disconnect switch. Of course, a relationship with the inspector goes a long way. Just show him your 004 refurb project, he will know you can work with your hands.

 

[Back-in-Black]

So yeah, not too, too worried about the inspector. I did the 200 amp service and all the electrical in my shop. The inspector was more interested in checking out my new shop than looking at my work . Same guy came out for all of this so far. Pretty nice guy. I just want it right. My questions revolve around stuff like which things to run on the same circuit / breaker, how many staples on a stretch of romex - that sort of thing. I haven't had a chance to look up your book but probably will tonight. Been working on mounting 4 square boxes and 3/4" EMT today. Basically data / cable-vision provisions. 4 square box with EMT stubbed out in the ceiling. 5 of them in the new master bedroom. 1 of those up high in case I break down and allow the wife to have a TV in the bedroom (I NEVER watch TV). Last TV show I watched was the Super Bowl. And I only watched that because Joe Burreaux was playing - Geaux Tigers! The new bedroom is going to have false cathedral ceiling and once the drywall is up, there's no getting to 3 of the walls without ripping down drywall so I'm taking this opportunity to put boxes on the walls with conduit going to the accessible attic. Most likely will not use any of the boxes in the bedroom but they'll be there just in case. Putting 3 boxes in my new office. I tend to have what I call "science experiments" going on a good bit and I'll have lots of stuff plugged into the network. Some stuff, like Crestron processors, touch screens and such are pretty much permanent but occasionally I'll bring home some equipment for a job I'm working on and need to plug that in to do testing. So, lots of network drops in my office.

As far as electrical, adding a 125 amp sub panel to run this addition off of. The addition is a little over 1,000 sq. ft. Master bedroom, his / her walk-ins, bathroom a new laundry room, my new office and a large storage closet. We bought this house about 13 years ago to be an "empty nest". As such, we were not looking for a large house that just the 2 of us would be bouncing around in. At 2,000 sq. ft., it's was plenty big for the 2 of us. Well, the empty nest thing still hasn't materialized all these years later. My 8 yr old granddaughter has never lived anywhere else but here, and now the MIL is moving in. She has Parkinson's and her husband passed away about a year and a half ago. They were living out in the boonies and she just got to the point where she couldn't live out there by herself any more. So we're giving her the old master bedroom which is over-sized at 17' x 24'. We just need to re-do the bathroom to make it handicap capable. With the over-size bedroom she can have a sitting room in there too. The laundry room in this house is off the kitchen, like most houses for the past 50+ years. I always thought that was stupid. I realize where the practice started but I still think it's stupid to carry all the clothes from the back of the house to the front of the house, wash and fold them and then carry them back to the back of the house. That, and the original laundry room is stupid-small. The new one is actually stupid big but whatever. The old laundry room will become a kitchen pantry now. We're losing our existing linen closet so the new laundry room will have a linen closet too.

Can't wait till this project is done with. I knew going in I was going to absolutely hate screwing with this (the biggest reason I bought an existing house and didn't build my own) but I guess it is what it is.