Has anyone come up with a standalone outlet panel/ power distribution panel with 120V/240V outlets and respective circuit breakers to wire directly to the output lugs on the MEP generators? We use our MEP-831A on camping trips and I was thinking about setting one up to make the unit more functional and give it the amount of outlets a similar sized civilian generator would have. I'd like to make it portable as well to be able to move it to our other generators.
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MEP Outlet Panel
- Thread starter kubotaman
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After a good bit of research the easiest thing for me was to buy one of the construction distro boxes. It has breakers and GFCI protection. I picked up an amazon return for cheap. The only problem was one of the spring legs was slightly bent. A 5 minute fix to make it just like new and its now PERFECT and works fantastic!
Its nice that it already uses the 50a plugs I have on my generator cords.
Its nice that it already uses the 50a plugs I have on my generator cords.
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I know this is really overkill for an 831 BUT you may be able to pick one up for LESS than a DIY build.
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Cheapest option: https://ocoindustrial.com/genpro-gi...ox-for-military-generators-120-240-volts-out/
Can either wire up a 30A receptacle at the machine, or wire a 30A plug out from, the lugs, and then you can directly power a home, or this spider box.
I'd offer $99 for it... almost certain they will take your offer with that many in stock.
Can either wire up a 30A receptacle at the machine, or wire a 30A plug out from, the lugs, and then you can directly power a home, or this spider box.
I'd offer $99 for it... almost certain they will take your offer with that many in stock.
Toolslinger
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I can't aggree more... I used to do commercial power distro for special events. We played around making spider boxes for a while, and the reality is, you can do far better buying a unit that's ready to go. The price sucks to be sure, but by the time you buy the parts, and cobble something together, you're going to be knocking on the high price anyway, and you have something that will never be as simple and slick as what you can buy.
I have the Gilette spiderbox and it works fine for my (smaller) needs at the house but if youre needing more than one 220v outlet, look to the commercial worksite ones. Also, IMO the vertical format is a little bulky as the foot is large to keep it from tipping over so if I ever see a commercial one for cheap, I will trade "up".
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No doubt it has drawbacks, but its priced cheap. My vote is yellow spider box all day long, but funds don't always allow.
I concur and was why I opted for it at the time. The quality is good on the Gilette, and I am not unhappy with my purchase, but for portability, its got width and height to work around versus the normal horizontal spiderbox format. So you could cut the foot off and weld up a removable one for the OP specified use (camping (and therefore packing)) to address the l/w/h footprint/parameters.