Mid Ohio January Generator Rally!! (or 400 Hz to 60 Hz conversion)

[Speddmon]

Well, here it is 0300 on a Thrusday morning and I'm sitting at work kinda bored. In the morning when I finish up for the weekend I am heading over to Kipman's place to meet up with Him, Gimpyrobb and maybe Oilcan to have a little wrench rally.

Last summer Gimp got a really, really good deal on a MEP-112 generator (the 400 Hz one) with the ask enclosure. The question has been brought up so many times I don't even want to discuss it...what can you use a 400 Hz generator for? We all should know the answer by now. It's also been posed to the group...what would you need to convert (or how would you convert) a 400 Hz generator to a 60 Hz unit. That's what we are planning to do over the course of the day tomorrow and possibly Friday morning if necessary. To the best of my knowledge this will be the first time any steelsoldier has ever attempted this.

The biggest things needed to do the change over is the generator head and associated electrical components, since the DC side and engines are the same animal. Through some wheeling and dealing, Chris procured my spare 10 Kw 60 Hz generator head and one of my spare 60 Hz 10 Kw AC output boxes. Last summer we (Chris, Kip, Joe and Myself) also won a lot of control boxes from GL. Upon inspection, what was supposed to be 8 boxes turned out to be 10. With a little testing and parts swapping, Kip and I were able to come up with 8 complete and working control boxes and a few spare parts left over. So that control box makes up the 3 major components needed to cange a 400 Hz MEP-112a generator over to a 60 Hz MEP-003a.

The plan is to start by removing the ask and while the generator is still complete, we're going to re-set the governor down the the ranges specified in the TM for the 60 Hz machines. I want to do it first while the 400 Hz stuff is attached, that way if anything is going to burn up from it spinning too fast or not fast enough, it's going to be the 400 Hz stuff that is pretty much worthless anyway. Then we'll pull off the output box and control box, air cleaner assembly and framework on the "front" of the set to pull the head. Hopefully this swap won't take more than a few hours since everything on these sets is pretty much modular and just plugs in.

I've got my tools and various meters loaded in the truck and waiting for me in the morning. I'm taking my nice non contact tachometer along to make the re-set of the governor a lot easier. Since we all know how un-reliable and inaccurate the frequency gauges on these beasts are, the tach will make that part of the job much easier to accomplish.

I'll see if Chris or Kip have a camera and hopefully we can get a lot of pictures for you generator junkies out there. I would like to document this pretty thoroughly so we can have the best military generator discussion group on the web! If we're not already the best, I plan on helping to make us the best!!!!!!

More to follow.

 

[LuckyDog]

MAN, I wish I was able to be there!!!!

Good luck and have fun.

 

[DieselBob]

Good luck and remember we're all counting on you.

 

[XanRa]

sound like fun
i'll be freezing my a** off in some random part of kentucky at a klondike this weekend lol
should be fun too though

 

[319]

Good luck and be carefull. Remember, generators can tip over also!

 

[runk]

If possible, I would like to request some pictures of the ASK components as they are removed. I haven't found a parts breakdown that includes the ASK in the TMs (or maybe there is a separate TM for the ASK that I've never found ?). I have found some suppliers for the components you would need to build something similar to the ASK, but would like a better idea of how the ASK goes together.
Sounds like a fun day.

 

[gimpyrobb]

If possible, I would like to request some pictures of the ASK components as they are removed. I haven't found a parts breakdown that includes the ASK in the TMs (or maybe there is a separate TM for the ASK that I've never found ?). I have found some suppliers for the components you would need to build something similar to the ASK, but would like a better idea of how the ASK goes together.
Sounds like a fun day.

Wish I had seen this prior to finishing the project. After we put it together and tested it, we didn't put the "ASK" back on, so when I go up to do that, I will take some pics for you.

I would like to thank Kip, Tom, and Adam for helping convert my 400hz genset into a 60hz mep003! It took about 10hrs but its done and I are happy. Pics to surface as soon as I take a nap, unload 50 chain wrap tow bar adapters, and find the camera!

 

[Speddmon]

Yeah, I just got back home a little while ago myself and am beat. I worked midnight shift on Thursday (finished up Thursday morning at 0730). Went from work to home, packed my crap in the truck and headed to Kips place. We finished up at about 1100 last night (Thursday)

The job went well, and I wish I had been able to snap a few more pics, but my camera battery went dead just as we were taking the pics of Kip pulling Adam up the hill with the tractor. He couldn't get any traction on the packed snow with balding street tires...so he said!!

When I got there Kip and Gimp had the one generator in the barn and had stripped the ASK off of it. We were going to get it started and warm it up before adjusting the governor, but starting it proved to be more difficult than one would think. That generator must have sat for quite a few years, the fuel pumps were ALL dead. Yes, all 3 of them. We pulled one off and opened it up, the screen looked like someone tried to filter raw sewage through it, and the inlet of the pump was caked solid with crud. I have to imagine the inner workings of the pumps were just as bad since none of them would move. So, we finally moved on and took a pump off of the other 400 Hz set they had there (Which ran, by the way) and put it on gimps set. Pumped fuel to the IP (After a little trouble with a disconnected fuel line), only to find that the fuel solenoid wasn't pulling in. So Kip held the solenoid in for us, and that's when we discovered the IP stopper rod was gummed up in a partially closed position. At that point we decided rather than waist any more time with that set, we moved on to the set that we knew ran. After pulling the ASK off of that one, and putting the fuel pump back on it, we fired it up and started working.

We adjusted the governor down to the speeds needed for the MEP-003a (1600 low and 2000 high). I think everybody fell in love with my tachometer, and I had to keep a very close eye on it so it didn't grow legs. Once that was done we started tearing apart the generator to get the pieces parts off that needed to come off. All went well tearing it apart. But I have got to tell you, putting the new generator head on the motor was a PITA!!!! You need to have 2 alignment studs 180 degrees apart to help line up the armature with the flywheel. Try rotating a 100 pound armature with your fingertips through a 1 or 2 inch gap to get the flywheel and armature plate lined up...it aint easy. But we did manage to get it lined up and slid into place. After we got that buttoned up, we installed the AC output box and control panel again, hooked up the wiring harness and re-installed the fuel tank. Fired her up and she came right up to 62 Hz unloaded, and 120 volts right on the nose. let it run a minute or two and started applying the load from my home made load bank. She performed flawlessly!

I think Gimp is very happy with his newest toy. And I'm glad I got to spend the day with some good friends and help do this project. As I said, Many people have posed the question of how or what you'll need to do to convert one, but I don't think anybody has done it until now. Kip had said at one point that he thought it was easier to pull and swap a multifuel than to do that generator...he's probably right. The multi was made to be easily worked on in the field, and you can pull the powerpack pretty easy. When a generator goes that far south, it goes back to the depot for a reset...they don't get that involved with them in the field. It was a good project and fun (for me anyway) to get to do.

Now, here are some pictures for you. Gimp has a few more from his camera. sorry there aren't more from the actual project.

 

[gimpyrobb]

I would imagine Adam has some pics too, but he didn't seem too bright-eyed this morning. Seems he might have had a beer or two- too many. That Kip is a bad influence!

 

[gimpyrobb]

Oh yeah, we WERE supposed to have another member show up and help, but he got sand in his "bathing suit area" and didn't show.































BUFF!

 

[Carl_in_NH]

Nicely done.

 

[Speddmon]

If possible, I would like to request some pictures of the ASK components as they are removed. I haven't found a parts breakdown that includes the ASK in the TMs (or maybe there is a separate TM for the ASK that I've never found ?). I have found some suppliers for the components you would need to build something similar to the ASK, but would like a better idea of how the ASK goes together.
Sounds like a fun day.

Runk,

Check your TM a little closer!! the -34 TM, starting in section 10-2 covers the installation of the ASK, with some fairly reasonable drawings of the panels, nothing dimensional but it gives you an idea of what's involved with them and where the panels go.

 

[runk]

Thanks Speddmon,
A local member also pointed that out to me, and invited me up to look at his -003a with an ASK. I had looked through the -24P, but hadn't gone through the -34 carefully yet. I will get the generators running before this hurricane season !

 

[Stretch44875]

More than one truck has had trouble getting up Kip's hill... He needs a winch installed at the top of the hill.

 

[Speddmon]

More than one truck has had trouble getting up Kip's hill... He needs a winch installed at the top of the hill.

Hey stranger...check your phone....you butt dialed me and left me about a 5 minute meaningless message the other day. dork...LOL


Yeah, my poor little deuce had to help pull an M818 (maybe 16,000 pounds) and an M819 (about 36,000 pounds) up that hill...all at once!!!!!

 

[oilcan]

Nice to see you again, "Bob". Gimp and kip... Not so much!

Who would've thought it would be so fun to work on some old gensets? I had a ball, and learned a bit in the process. Unfortunately, my MEP017A didn't want to start so it didn't get the royal treatment of troubleshooting and tuning. We'll save that one for warmer weather, I think.

The old Sub might have made that hill if I wasn't starting off on the slope. Dang kip's cucv was parked across the driveway and I couldn't get through until he moved it a few hours later. Either way, ice and worn out tires don't make a very good combbination.

Oh, and no pics. I didn't even bring a camera this time.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Finally found my camera.

 

[gimpyrobb]

As you can see, it was quite the week. We had Ma and Pa Kettle show up, ZZTop, and Oilcan got drunk and decorated Kip's deer head. The funny part was, he didn't notice the beer cans the next day when he woke up. One of these days he will walk in the cabin and think "WTF!?".

That last pic is 42 axle wrap tow bar adapters. I picked them and some other stuff up for a buddy. The 1500 gmc DID NOT like that weight in it. The deuce didn't even know its there.

 

[Capt Pat]

Hey, got a mostly stupid question, especially as I'm trapped at the old Erie Ordnance Depot in Port Clinton, Ohio at a Sea Cadet drill as Command Duty Officer, and the info on the generator in question is at home on the desk, BUT our group has an MEP something 60 Kw genset and we need an exciter pack for it. Any ideas where something like that can be found???? Thanks.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Hey, got a mostly stupid question, especially as I'm trapped at the old Erie Ordnance Depot in Port Clinton, Ohio at a Sea Cadet drill as Command Duty Officer, and the info on the generator in question is at home on the desk, BUT our group has an MEP something 60 Kw genset and we need an exciter pack for it. Any ideas where something like that can be found???? Thanks.

I think your best bet would be Antique Engines Antique Tractors Steam Engines and Old Iron. Wish I had a better answer, sorry.