Mep.802a or Mep.803a?

[Ranger Danger]

I'm trying to decide between the 5k and 10k. I have a piece of property I will be retiring to. For now I have an rv there and the wife and I are there most weekends and holidays. The 5k would be sufficient for the next 5-6 years. Then I'm building a home there and moving in. The area gets some snow in the winter and some 100 degree days in The summer. The house will have gas heat, hot water and cooking. For cooling, I intend to use a swamp cooler as much as possible but, there will be days when an a/c unit will be running.

I will not be getting one from an auction. I just don't have the time to do the needed service and or repairs. I will be looking for one of those guys why buy them at auction, do the needed repairs and resell them. I have spoken with one of these guys from Gresham Or. and he tells me not to get a 10k because these gennies like to run at 70% to 100% capacity. Im looking for educated suggestions on which one would be best and why.

After i build the house, this will no longer be my primary source of power but backup. I will be on grid. Thanks

 

[Zed254]

MEP831A for RV power and an MEP802A for future back up. I bought an 802 for use with an RV and then learned there's a switch that will deliver a single leg of 52 amps at 120volts: WAY overkill for the camper I'm considering. If you have one of those prairie schooners that use 240 volts and have several AC units you may be able to use the power delivered by an 802.

Diesel engines wet stack - do a search to learn how to avoid: first step is right sizing your generator. Do an amps tally to decide what WILL BE RUNNING during the outage. I suspect you'll want that to equal around 75% of the generator's capacity. Also, most home appliances are intermittent loads. But even if you do go overkill on the generator size you can keep your machine in optimal condition by regular operation with a load bank that takes it above 75% load to clean out the engine. Search this site with any questions: there's a bunch of excellent info here.

 

[jamawieb]

I agree with Zed but since your not going to work on the unit yourself stay away from the 831a. They are great machines but they seem to always have small problems. The 802a will be the machine to get, you'll have minimal issues if any. I sold an 802a to a gentleman in your same situation, running rv while building his home but he is off grid and the 802a is his only power source. He bought it from me in January 2017 and I just spoke with him the other day and he has logged 9134 hours without 1 issue.

 

[justacitizen]

you need to first understand your power requirements. might plug your RV into the grid via its cord and then go in and start the air conditioners and the lights cycle the pumps etc while a friend has a meter on the cord to measure the amps drawn. after you have done this several times starting and stopping the loads to get the spike draws in amps you can shop for a genny that will cover your needs. buying more generator than you need is very very expensive and inefficient. after five years you can do same same for house and then purchase a gen for that. don't forget your well pump if you have one.

i fit helps i live in the country,i am a rancher. my home is aprox 1500 sf my heat is gas my hot water and cook stove are gas. my washer dryer lights fans and well pump for the ranch and some shop equipment are all electric. i can run my whole ranch on an 002A,the only load i have to manage is the central air conditioner. the main thing during an outage for me is to shut everything off then start the gen and bring everything on line one at a time so the motors in the well and the heater or airconditioner aren't all trying to start at once. after everything starts cycling i have no problems and the gen will run a little over 100 percent from time to time but not for very long.

 

[stugpanzer]

Based on your description I believe the 802 will do fine for you in the RV and even when you build the house especially since you will be using gas for heating and cooking and hot water and because it will be a backup source of power. Will you have a well pump as well or city? My RV (Fleetwood Pace Arrow 37c) has a 5kw generator and it runs everything in the coach with no issues.

 

[Chainbreaker]

Based on your gas appliance comments for new house, I agree with the other recommendations to go with an 802. It should work fine for that new house down the road.

Like "Justacitizen's" ranch setup, I have a similar house appliance and well situation and do just fine with a 5 kw -002a. Although, I require a 2nd genset to run shop/barn with 2nd well & electric water heater that is on a separate electrical service entrance 700' away from house. Rather than having an oversized generator and being able to run pretty much any load a house can throw at it simultaneously, I would rather be slightly undersized as in "some load management required". During our last week long pwr outage, due to a pole snapping ice storm, our typical daily house routine was pretty much normal running on a 5 kw genset. However, we did not run big electrical loads like electric dryer and electric oven at same time.

One of the benefits of having a generator that is typically running at 75-100% load is no wet stacking concerns. Remember, the mil spec gensets and are underrated to perform in harsh environments and are also rated for higher altitudes, They can be safely run at 125% load under normal use in average conditions. I can routinely get 7 kw out of my 5 kw rated genset.

In addition, and this can become a CRITICAL factor during a long term power outage, is FUEL CONSUMPTION (GPH). How much fuel can you store? How much of that stored fuel can you rotate and use in other equipment (tractor, truck, etc.) so it doesn't go bad? Todays Diesel fuel (ULSD with biodiesel) just doesn't store long-term as well (even when treated) as the diesel used to run grandpa's truck or tractor years ago.

 

[Light in the Dark]

802 is for you. The beautiful thing about these sets... if you find 6+ years down the road that you do need to step up to a 10kw, you've got 'money in the bank' with that 802. You will probably be able to sell it off for what you paid (or even more, as prices seem to be trending).

Find a real nice 5k, and let it serve you well. You might be surprised...

 

[Chrispyny]

I sold an 802a to a gentleman in your same situation, running rv while building his home but he is off grid and the 802a is his only power source. He bought it from me in January 2017 and I just spoke with him the other day and he has logged 9134 hours without 1 issue.

Everyone new to MEP802/3’s REALLY needs to focus on that, RIGHT there.

 

[justacitizen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e1PJwiWi2I

this vid explains some of the cost with having to much Generator and efficiency. ignore his comment about engines only lasting 2000 hours though.

 

[gimpyrobb]

How much?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjCRUvX2D0E

 

[justacitizen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbeOtUepcCo

neat vid measuring the fuel consumption of an 802a under various loads.

 

[Jetred]

I did something similar with my 802A and 803A. See if I can post a link to the thread it's in. https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?172820-MEP-802A-fuel-usage-report