MEP003A Ok to run in the rain / jump start?

[Polycop]

My MEP003a lives under a tarp and when I need to use it I pull the tarp and fire it up. Yesterday we had mucho storms and we lost power and we sat in the dark as we were being dumped on with freezing rain / rain. The wife was complaining but I wasn't real thrilled about running the 003a in the rain. Am I being overly cautious? I'm guessing in the field they run non stop with no regard to the weather.

I know that the starting system is 24 volts. If the batteries were low (which is often the case when I need to use it) could I use two cars (one on each battery) to start the 003? Yes I normally exercise the unit and have a Solargizer on it.

 

[Carl_in_NH]

Never had a problem running mine in the rain.

You could use two cars and two sets of jumper cables; remember that the batteries are in series when you've connected them - and that means that you don't want any metal touching between the bodies of the vehicles, as that would cause a short across one of the vehicle batteries (think about each vehicle being negative ground - and with two batteries in series that means that the shell of the second vehicle is connected to the positive battery terminal of the first vehicle).

Safer would be to just disconnect the batteries from the vehicles if you've got any uncertainties about what you're doing.

 

[steelandcanvas]

Better yet, why jump them when you can put a maintainer on the batteries. Then your 003 would be ready when you need her.

 

[Polycop]

Better yet, why jump them when you can put a maintainer on the batteries. Then your 003 would be ready when you need her.

My problem is that my 003A is kept at the barn where there is no power. When I loose power at the house, I pull the 003A up to the house and (occasionally) find that the batteries are down. I have no way of charging them at the barn other than my Solargizer which I think is acting up as it no longer blinks. In addition, the Solargizer doesn't get the best sunlight due to all the trees.

Normally in the winter I pull the batteries and put them on a maintainer at the house, but thus far the weather has been warm enough that I haven't done it. It would cost big $$$ to run power to the barn (which would be best) so I figure for the $$$ I can buy a bunch of fuel.

 

[steelandcanvas]

How far from house to barn?

 

[Polycop]

How far from house to barn?

Well the house is 600' from the road. The power company only guarantees voltage 350' from the pole, however I've never had any problems at the house. The barn is another 350' from the house which would result in lots of line loss. I could probably run some lights but not start motors or weld.

For big $$$ they would run new primary back to the house and set a transformer. Then I could run the barn off the house, but it's big money. I forget the price but a few years ago it was around $7K as we already had service and I'd have to pay for the transformer.

 

[Triple Jim]

You do have the option of running something like a 12-2 w/ground to the barn from the house, and keeping the current low. A battery charger fits in the low current category. I just did a quick calculation that said if you use #12 wire, and draw 5 amps, you'll drop about 5-1/2 volts in 350 feet, which is well within reasonable. A battery maintenance type charger won't draw 5 amps. You could even get a good 24v inverter like an Exeltech XP1100, and have higher current 120v AC available in the barn for running tools, using the generator battery as the source.

Getting the solar charger working or replacing it would be another good option.

 

[Polycop]

I'd have trench through the septic or go waaaay around which would add a lot of length. Don't forget that the 350' (house to barn) is in addition to the 600' (pole to house) for a total of 950' which is a lot of line loss.

I've got some 12 volt leds, deep cycle battery and an inverter for lighting and small tools down at the barn. I fire up the generator for welding and running the compressor. I never thought of using the generator starting batteries to run a 24 volt inverter, interesting.

All of that said, my goal is in the next few years to build a shop / man cave up near the house with heat, insulation and power. Then I'd just use the pole barn for storage. With the cost of running power back to the barn that would be a big chunk towards a new shop and we all know that more buildings are better.

 

[Chainbreaker]

As an alternative what about demounting the batteries off of your 003 an affix them to a two wheel dolly (need to build a platform that will hold them securely). That way you keep them up at the house on maintainers and wheel them out to your 003 as needed. You would probably need to buy longer battery cables or figure out a way to extend them. Or get a couple of used batteries and build a booster pack that is kept up at your house on maintainers for when your 003 batts are low.

Regarding rain...I always get a bit nervous around lethal voltage and water. Although I'm sure the DOD spec'd these gensets to run in the rain (can't call a timeout in battle due to rain). Regardless I would consider purchasing a pop-up canopy. Last time I looked Harbor Freight had a 10x10 for around $70. Not only is it good to keep your genset dry for longevity sake but its also nice to keep yourself dry while attending to your genset.

 

[jamawieb]

Sometimes when I have low batteries, I use 2 lawnmower batteries and connect them in series. Then use jumper cables to jump the batteries on the generator. Of course this wont work if the batteries are totally dead.
I've ran my generator in freezing rain, 60mph rain, snow, ice, etc and I've never had any problems.

 

[Chrispyny]

This may sound silly but i'd get a generator for your generator.
Harbor freight has a 2 stroke lunch box generator which costs like $79 on sale sometimes. You could start that in the barn, charge up the batteries ( either individually or together if you have a 24v charger) then start your 003a. Just remember, letting lead acid batteries drop too low, too often will kill them quick.
You could also maintain the batteries the same way so the generator is ready when needed.

Sorry it's $119 on sale now. Price seems to have gone up but i bet u can find one used for less.

 

[dangier]

Do you have an option to locate the unit in a structure closer to the house (either a doghouse type or existing)? Might require taking off of what you have it on now. Would make it simpler and if you could get the power up quickly when you have an outage the misses might appreciate it more. I know mine does....... My house connected 003 sits under the front 19' x 48' porch and has just a short run to the electrical panel. Also draws fuel from the house oil burner inside 275 gal tank. I don't have to fool with moving around or hooking it up (done a lot of that in the past).
David

 

[Isaac-1]

It sounds to me like the cheapest solution is a bigger solar panel at the barn, not only could it keep the generator battery charged it could keep the other battery / batteries there charged. After all you can buy a 50 watt solar panel for under $50 these days, which is a lot better than the $350 I spent on one 11 years ago. Add a $15 charge controller and you are good to go.

 

[justacitizen]

I have been thinking about getting a military surplus 28 volt generators as a battery charger and as a jump starter for my 24 volt stuff. has anyone ever used one?

 

[Guyfang]

Citizen,

Every Army motor Pool had a 1.5 or 3 KW DC generator set just for a battery charging panel. The 1.5 KW charged up to 2 or 4 batteries at a time, the 3KW even more. Each battery jumper cable had its own plug. Each plug with a circuit breaker. Worked like a charm. What kind of batteries do you have in your generators? The army went with OPTIMA years ago, (for generators in any case) and I swear by them. Hold a charge for ever. If your batteries are going dead often, you need to see if you have a problem with your batteries, or wire harness.

 

[justacitizen]

would the 1.5 kw 28 volt generator start a truck or generator as a jumper if the batteries were low.

Citizen,

Every Army motor Pool had a 1.5 or 3 KW DC generator set just for a battery charging panel. The 1.5 KW charged up to 2 or 4 batteries at a time, the 3KW even more. Each battery jumper cable had its own plug. Each plug with a circuit breaker. Worked like a charm. What kind of batteries do you have in your generators? The army went with OPTIMA years ago, (for generators in any case) and I swear by them. Hold a charge for ever. If your batteries are going dead often, you need to see if you have a problem with your batteries, or wire harness.

 

[Guyfang]

Of course. I would let it run hooked up for a while, but not for hours on end. Simply hook up the slave cable and after several minutes, fire it up. I assume we are talking about a 24 volt truck, also!

On our missile site, we mounted a 3 KW on homemade trailer, with two battery boxes welded to the trailer also. It was pulled around by hand, with the generator running, charging batteries during the winter. It often got well below freezing and lead acid batteries were never something the army did well. So in case we had to upload and boogie, we started every truck on a six or eight hour schedule, to make sure the batteries stayed charged. The reason we had two battery boxes was to start old M-35's, (two batteries in series) or M-800 series trucks, (four batteries, series parallel). We had a switch to configure the output from two batteries to four batteries.

You could do the same with your 1.5 KW. Easier then toting it around. Mount a slave recpt on it that matches the one on your truck.

 

[justacitizen]

Guyfang

That is exactly what i was considering with one exception. i don't want to have to attach permanent batteries to the 28 volt generator. i just want to be able to use it to jump start my 24 volt equipment via a slave receptacle while in the field. i also may convert my MEP generators to be able to run without batteries and just use the 1.5 kw 28 volt set to start them with. kind of like a pony engine

 

[Guyfang]

You do not have to attach batteries to the gen set. The 24 volt slave receptacle will do it just fine, Just dont leave it on over long time periods. You can over charge the batteries.

 

[justacitizen]

do you think the 1.5 will start an MEP oo3a even if the MEP 003a doesn't have any batteries?

You do not have to attach batteries to the gen set. The 24 volt slave receptacle will do it just fine, Just dont leave it on over long time periods. You can over charge the batteries.