MEP-002 been sitting for a year

[jon87yj]

So I have a MEP 002. IT has been sitting for about a year without having been run (life got in the way) Anything I should do before starting it up other than charging the batteries.

It had fresh fuel & oil as well as fresh filters when it was put away.

 

[cuad4u]

The two I recently bought had been sitting over 3 years. If yours ran OK before it was laid up, I would charge the batteries and try to start it up. Once (if) it starts I would look it over carefully for leaks and / or other problems.

 

[jon87yj]

Ran good before I put it away. New injection pump, injectors and fuel lines. was fighting with the governor adjustment, but I pretty much had that dialed in.

J

 

[1800 Diesel]

Was it stored inside or out in weather? Either way it might not hurt to manually turn over the engine from the blower wheel bolt, but 1 year is not really too long to cause a problem unless the generator was sitting on the beach somewhere in the weather & exposed to salt spray.... One other thing--open up the air filter housing & confirm no water or trash is present. By the way, where are you located? It would be helpful if you posted state & county or city.

Kevin

 

[jon87yj]

Was it stored inside or out in weather? Either way it might not hurt to manually turn over the engine from the blower wheel bolt, but 1 year is not really too long to cause a problem unless the generator was sitting on the beach somewhere in the weather & exposed to salt spray.... One other thing--open up the air filter housing & confirm no water or trash is present. By the way, where are you located? It would be helpful if you posted state & county or city.

Kevin

Stored under cover (tent style temproary garage)

Not near the beach. In the Boston, MA area.

I will be sure to check the air filter and turn it by hand. I wasn't sure if I need to be concerned about the fuel pump or if that was a longer term storage issue.

 

[1800 Diesel]

Stored under cover (tent style temproary garage)

Not near the beach. In the Boston, MA area.

I will be sure to check the air filter and turn it by hand. I wasn't sure if I need to be concerned about the fuel pump or if that was a longer term storage issue.

You should be OK, but I would drain the filters and add some injector cleaner and lube (I use O/B motor oil) to the tank. Then disconnect the line to the IP & run the pumps awhile 'til you see the "mixed" fuel, then reconnect fuel line. I just don't like to use the "dry" diesel currently available for these older machines. Some may disagree but that's ok....

 

[Ray70]

Ah, nice to hear from another New Englander with a MEP.... Like everyone said, a year under those conditions isn't much, but take a good look for stow-aways living where they don't belong, like in the air cleaner and tubes or under the cover near the glow plugs, any place they can sneak in and build a nest. If they pee on anything electrical it can really make a mess.

 

[jamawieb]

I had one unit that sat in a barn for 2 years before I got it. I drained the fuel refilled with fresh diesel. Let the pumps run for about 2 minutes and it fired right up. You shouldn't have any problems.

 

[jon87yj]

Just an FYI to everyone.

I hooked up the new batteries, prime the pump and she started right up and made power. just fight an issue of excessive droop

J

 

[1800 Diesel]

Just an FYI to everyone.

I hooked up the new batteries, prime the pump and she started right up and made power. just fight an issue of excessive droop

J

The TM has good info on adjusting the governor spring for minimal droop. Don't set it too "quick" though or you'll have a "hunting" issue with the engine over-responding to every little load & RPM control will be erratic.

Kevin

 

[Ray70]

If you have trouble getting the droop within spec by adjusting the spring height using the star wheel , put a heavy load on it and see if you can overcome the droop by manually increasing the throttle by pushing on the linkage at the pump. If you can't manually compensate it you might have a fuel injector issue that is causing power loss. Follow the TM like Kevin said.... it usually works well. Lower the spring by turning the star wheel counterclockwise to decrease droop ( increase sensitivity) just don't go crazy trying to make the droop too minimal, you'll only drive yourself nuts and end up with hunting/surging problems. I think the spec is 61.5 hz at no load and 59 or 58 Hz at full load.... or somewhere close.

 

[Keith_J]

I was in the same situation. Fortunately the batteries were charged and it started right up. The diesel was a bit funky as well as the tank being dirty. I had repaired the tank when I bought it, welding rust holes and then sealing it with a polyurethane product. This made flashlight inspection (once strainer is pulled) easy. Well, after 18 months, the fuel had turned murky. So I drained it (went into step son's M1009), then swabbed the gunk out of the tank.

Now with fresh diesel, it runs great. Remember, most retail diesel contains biodiesel which has a much higher affinity for water. It only takes a few parts per million of water to murk diesel. This makes bacteria grow which causes corrosion.

I have not changed the oil in over 3 years. It still looks like new, despite 15+ hours of use.