Air Cooled Generators

[Boonies]

I have been using an MEP-002A for off-grid backup for 8 years now. I have been inquiring about modern generators just for comparison. I will call a dealer or manufacture and describe the 002A to them and ask if they have anything that would be a good replacement. The thing that gets mentioned more than anything else is that nobody has anything air cooled. One guy told me “An air cooled engine running all the time will have half the life of a liquid cooled unit and will wear quickly”. Is that true? Any comments? I have heard that the 002A was designed to run 24/7 in extreme climates. Is the true?

 

[Light in the Dark]

I don't know if there is truth to that, but being that air cooled is older technology... the thinking could be that with manufacturing practices advancing greatly since 'air cooled' was the mainstay, that naturally the equipment should last longer. But a properly designed air cooled system should regulate the engine temperature in a similar fashion to its liquid cooled counterparts... only with less systems to maintain.

Yes the military fielded the 00x series to be used anywhere Uncle Sam felt like playing target practice... so a well designed machine, kept after... should just run.

 

[NDT]

When you say “air cooled” visions of a Briggs and Stratton engine pops into people’s head. The Onan engines are bulletproof. The market has moved to water cooled engines mainly due to them being quieter.

 

[glcaines]

The air cooled MEPs are simpler and I have found my MEP003A very dependable after many years and frequent use.

 

[nextalcupfan]

I believe what they are thinking of is most if not all air cooled generators are 3600 RPM.
I'm 99% sure the 002 and 003 are 1800 RPM machines.

I've only seen 2 real complaints on the 002 and 003.
1. They are much louder than the 802 and 803.
2. When they sit for a long time a plunger in the injection pump goes bad, then when you try and crank it the guide breaks and you need to rebuild the pump.

On the other hand people also love them because they are simpler than their liquid cooled counterparts, they just put them in a shed and fire them up once a month to solve the 2 "issues" I mentioned above.

 

[Chainbreaker]

Curious why your looking for a replacement, are you having any problems with your -002a, needing larger kW machine, or got the bug for something new? If just wanting something newer & different you could but...you should read the below quote from SS member philratcliff. It may cause you to pause & reconsider a decision to look for something newer in air-cooled as your -002a genset probably has a lot of life left if you've cared for & maintained it properly.

Also, remember the -002a/-003a generators also have a good size oil cooler on them, so its not strictly air cooled as some of todays air cooled light duty gensets are. If you maintain the -002a/-003a and exercise them at least every 90 days & treat your diesel (biocide etc.) you should not have any issues with the injection pump. However, if you have a reason to consider a water cooled genset that is another matter and there are good reasons... quieter, newer technology, etc. However, backup generators are more & more in demand these days for a lot of reasons and its driving up prices.

... I’ve had these 002s for 5 years with one running 24/7 and now have two running 24/7. Swapping over to my four new to me 005s. One of them should take care of my electrical needs for a while. I plan to sell my 002s... They have been incredible machines. Easy on fuel and I change the oil every 175 hours they have 25 and 30k hours on them. I just went theough one that was down on power and I only had to ring it after 25k hours! I threw rod bearings in it too the mains were perfect! I couldn’t believe the condition of the cylinders and bearings after running so long! I hope the 005s are as tough.
I can’t get the owl starter parts down here so I’ve been running those cheap gear reduction starters they have on eBay for 110. Bucks the seleniods don’t last but at least I can get parts for them. They don’t put as much load on the battery as the original direct drive starter but those own starters are tough as hell and don’t get nearly as hot as the reduction type.
Thanks for the link!

Also, here are the Milspec's for -002a environmental:

MIL-STD-633E-10 22 February 1980
ENVIRONMENTAL DATA Power Output at Environmental Conditions
5 kW, 60 Hz, Sea Level: Minus 25° F (-31.7° C) to plus 125° F (+51.7° C)
5 kW, 60 Hz, 5000 feet: Minus 25° F (-31.7° C) to plus 107° F (+41.7° C)
4.5 kW, 60 Hz, 8000 feet: Minus 25° F (-31.7° C) to plus 95° F (+35.0° C)
Winterization system extends lower temperature limit to -65° F (-53.9° C).

So the dealer you spoke with was not familiar with these military units and was talking about your general run of the mill air cooled engines of today.