MEP 003a, some questions, also new member

[Kahles56]

I have been reading and searching a lot about the 3a.
I have a some questions.

1. How much air flow should be coming around the sheet metal over the valve covers? I have about a 1/4-1/2 air gap around this area.

2. While there is mild corrosion on all of the electrical connectors, the unit functions as needed.,, would it hurt anything to loosen /clean all connectors and apply dielectric grease, including the cannon plugs?

3.The three position switch froze on me today and I was lucky to get it back to 120/240 single phase, took some doing but got it to rotate from three phase---what do you use to clean and lubricate this switch?


Thanks to all for their posts as I have learned a lot about this unit.
I am in the process of , for lack of a better term, tuning up the 3a for the winter.
You know the old adage , better to have it ready and not need it than not ready and wishing it worked correctly.



Thanks,

Ken

 

[rosco]

Welcome to the site.

There is often considerable deferred maintenance on these machines. Cleaning corrosion & the dielectric grease is good. There are electrical cleaners or maybe WD40. That switch can be a problem. Work it back & forth with some WD40 - other switches as well. Keeping the unit out of the weather in some kind of shelter is desirable. UV on the wiring will speed weathering.

 

[rustystud]

The master selector switch can be a can of worms. Do you honestly need 3 phase ? If not then just leave this switch alone. Otherwise you need to loosen up the bolts holding it together and squirt some LPS or other cleaner lube in it to free it up. I would not use WD-40 for any lubing. There are a lot of good quality dielectric greases out there. I prefer "No-Oz-Id" grease myself.

 

[Guyfang]

Rusty has it right. You can use air pressure, then some type of cleaner/lube on it. Work it back and forth. But if push comes to shove, put in in the position you need, and just do not screw with it.

When you say "sheet meat, over the valve cover", what do you mean? show us pictures. In the norm, there should be no gaps anywhere. Good air flow is essential to this gen set, its air cooled.

If you are looking to improve the set, sounds to me like you are well on your way. A dab of silicone grease on all exposed rubber parts will also pay dividends later in life!

 

[Triple Jim]

There's some confusion between dielectric grease and conductive grease. You're better off using an anti-corrosion, conductive grease like Penetrox or NO-OX-ID, as Rustystud suggested, than a dielectric grease that's made to insulate things.

 

[Chainbreaker]

When you say "sheet meat, over the valve cover", what do you mean? show us pictures.

I interpreted his description to mean the cooling shutters, if that is not what he meant... I would say that the adjacent sheet metal gap on top around the valve covers is more to eliminate metal-to-metal contact due to vibration rather than cooling. My comment on how much should the "Cooling Shutters" open is: It depends on ambient air temp and the load on the generator. If you are just running it under cool conditions and low load it is not unusual for the shutters to open only a 1/4"-1/2" until it has run for an hour or so with a load. Then it will open up as required to maintain proper air flow across the cylinders. IIRC, the shutters respond to heat melting a wax-like material in a little cylinder that allows movement once the material become more viscous.

 

[Kahles56]

I am referring to the sheet metal around the top of the valve covers, so it is normal to have between 1/4---to 1/2 in of open area around the valve covers. I would have thought that there would have been a seal of some sort like rubberized cloth to prevent escaping air and force more air around the head and cooling fins.


Thanks for the replies


on another note , does anyone have a ASK they want to part with? My god this generator is loud.
I am researching methods to dampen the noise.

checked some areas while running and have found the following:

1. interior baffles next to the cylinders vibrate,
2. Copper lines that feed oil to the heads vibrate,
3. Steel fuel lines to injectors vibrate
4. return fuel lines fro injectors vibrate
5. All of the sheet metal could use dampening to control vibration.

Just from those items I would guess there is 3-4 db that could be reduced from the unit. Just guessing here as when I placed my hands on the various parts there was a noticeable reduction in noise on an individual part basis.

Has Anyone used split gas line placed on the oil and fuel lines and tied with moussing/aircraft wire to reduce the vibration? Just a thought as I plan to try this week if time permits.

Any vibration reduction would help to reduce db level.

I am thinking of treating the sheet metal with second skin or I think it is called snake skin/ polyurethane with microscopic air voids , works great on cars to reduce high frequency db noise.

thoughts anyone.

Thanks, Ken

 

[Triple Jim]

I have one, and as a guess, I think most of the noise is clanking of internal moving parts, coupled to the air by lots of cooling fins. If I decide to make mine quieter, I'll do something like build a solid fence around it, or put it in a shed that has lots of ventilation. I decided against an ASK because it makes simple maintenance into complicated maintenance. But my neighbors are fairly far away, and from a distance it sounds like a tractor trailer rig idling. From inside my house, it's just loud enough to let me know it's still running.

I haven't had any neighbors bring up the noise it makes during outages, but I decided that if that happens, I'll ask them if it would be any less bothersome if I let them run an extension cord to it.

 

[Guyfang]

I am referring to the sheet metal around the top of the valve covers, so it is normal to have between 1/4---to 1/2 in of open area around the valve covers. I would have thought that there would have been a seal of some sort like rubberized cloth to prevent escaping air and force more air around the head and cooling fins. Nope, no seals were ever installed.


Thanks for the replies


on another note , does anyone have a ASK they want to part with? My god this generator is loud. Yep, this set is loud. Thats one of the reasons the ASK came into being.
I am researching methods to dampen the noise.

checked some areas while running and have found the following:

1. interior baffles next to the cylinders vibrate,
2. Copper lines that feed oil to the heads vibrate,
3. Steel fuel lines to injectors vibrate
4. return fuel lines fro injectors vibrate
5. All of the sheet metal could use dampening to control vibration.

Just from those items I would guess there is 3-4 db that could be reduced from the unit. Just guessing here as when I placed my hands on the various parts there was a noticeable reduction in noise on an individual part basis.

Has Anyone used split gas line placed on the oil and fuel lines and tied with moussing/aircraft wire to reduce the vibration? Just a thought as I plan to try this week if time permits.

Any vibration reduction would help to reduce db level.

I am thinking of treating the sheet metal with second skin or I think it is called snake skin/ polyurethane with microscopic air voids , works great on cars to reduce high frequency db noise.

thoughts anyone.

Thanks, Ken

If the 002A and 003A have a negative side to them, its loudness. Jim's response is correct. The ASK can be a PITA when you want to fix something or do maintenance. I never liked any ASK, on any gen set. The boxes simply represented even more work, when we needed to get a job done. As Jim said, a wall or a shed is best if you have neighbors close by, or you have the set to close to your house.

 

[Chainbreaker]

I am referring to the sheet metal around the top of the valve covers, so it is normal to have between 1/4---to 1/2 in of open area around the valve covers.

I am thinking of treating the sheet metal with second skin or I think it is called snake skin/ polyurethane with microscopic air voids , works great on cars to reduce high frequency db noise.

thoughts anyone.

As long as the sheet metal is bolted down properly and not skewed, the air gap you describe around the sheet metal is normal. In addition to preventing metal-to-metal vibrational contact its probably a design feature to aid in more even engine cooling after engine is shut down and there is no more air flow. Heat wants to flow up and out.

I would not apply any type of sound deadening material to any sheet metal surrounding engine. Obviously this is an air cooled engine and you want to allow heat to dissipate by passing through nearby sheet metal after it heats up as well as the airflow flowing out shutters. If you apply any type of coating it might attenuate sound by a very small amount but will also act as insulation and inhibit heat transfer to surrounding air.

 

[Kahles56]

Had not thought of the residual heat after engine had stopped.
Excellent point.

 

[glcaines]

When your power is out and the 003A is running, that noise sounds pretty good. I wouldn't touch an ASK for the reasons previously mentioned. My 003A is trailer mounted and I keep it in the garage out of the weather. When running, I leave the garage door open for ventilation and the garage significantly reduces the noise.