My MEP-802a recovery from Fort Drum & work though to start project. Documenting here.

[Daybreak]

Tossed original filter and replaced with napa gold brand that daybreak suggested. Then i decided to do something i totally regret. The machine only has 22 hours on it. I should have left well enough alone. I decided to replace the filter/water seperator. I struggled for 4 hours tonite, wrenching with every oil filter i had, every large plyers i had, and finally decided to take the cover off to get to the oil filter adaptor plate. What a nightmare. If anyone thinks this is a good idea, it's NOT. Don't do it. The filter was the original, and has been on for 15 years, and the DUMMY who installed it never oiled the gasket on the filter.

I tried everthing, even stabbing at the filter and turning with a screw driver. No good. Finally a pipe wrench did it. And getting everything back together SUCKED. i FINALLY get why you guys complain about the 80X and why you all like the 00X gensets so much. I GET IT.. SIGH.
View attachment 598437 View attachment 598438 View attachment 598439

Parts store ordered the PUROLATOR F53121 cartridge and i'll have it tomorrow. So that should cover all the filters. I sucked out all the off road diesel and replaced it with fresh clean stuff with a tad bit of power service anti gel and conditioner, cause it works so well in my 002.

Howdy,
I see you too have gotten the king kong tightened fuel filter. You are not the only one which has taken the unit apart to get the whole assembly in a vice to get the stupid filter off. Spin-On Fuel Filter is Stuck Thread

Napa has all the filters too. MEP-8xx filters

 

[Chrispyny]

Howdy,
I see you too have gotten the king kong tightened fuel filter. You are not the only one which has taken the unit apart to get the whole assembly in a vice to get the stupid filter off. Spin-On Fuel Filter is Stuck Thread

Napa has all the filters too. MEP-8xx filters

Gosh i wish i saw that link before i started in on it.
As far as napa goes. I got the other 2 filters there but they didn't have the cartridge filter so i went next door to advance auto and they have it coming today.

The absolute worst part of taking off the water seperator plate was trying to put it back together. There is almost NO room behind it to hold the washer, lock washer and nut. It took me 10 min to take it all apart, and 3 hours to get it back together. I almost gave up for the night but i HATE leaving something apart for the next day so i persevered.
I did find a nasty wasp nest in the control box which i cleaned out so i guess the process was worth it.
Deciding if i wanna pull the trigger on two $200 yellow tops or just get a couple 51r's at NAPA for $90 a piece and call it a day. I'll make the final decision after i ge this running.
I already have one 51r sitting in the garage which came out of my girlfriends old honda rav4. If i can get the NOCO charger to condition and charge it up, i'll already be half way there.

 

[Daybreak]

Gosh i wish i saw that link before i started in on it.
As far as napa goes. I got the other 2 filters there but they didn't have the cartridge filter so i went next door to advance auto and they have it coming today.

The absolute worst part of taking off the water seperator plate was trying to put it back together. There is almost NO room behind it to hold the washer, lock washer and nut. It took me 10 min to take it all apart, and 3 hours to get it back together. I almost gave up for the night but i HATE leaving something apart for the next day so i persevered.
I did find a nasty wasp nest in the control box which i cleaned out so i guess the process was worth it.
Deciding if i wanna pull the trigger on two $200 yellow tops or just get a couple 51r's at NAPA for $90 a piece and call it a day. I'll make the final decision after i ge this running.
I already have one 51r sitting in the garage which came out of my girlfriends old honda rav4. If i can get the NOCO charger to condition and charge it up, i'll already be half way there.

Howdy,
I found that from the factory, they reversed the bolts direction. After looking at the manual, I put the bolts from the inside, through the plate, then the panel, with washer, lock washer and nuts to the outside. That made it much easier. That was after trying to install it back the way it was when I took it apart. I tried too for maybe a hour or 2.

 

[Chrispyny]

SHE RUNS! Purrs like a kitten.

I made one big mistake. Daybreak TOLD ME to watch the gasket around the fuel filter cartridge as it can be deformed if not placed properly in its grove before putting the cap back on. YUP. I wheeled it out, set my timer on the iphone for 2 minutes to prime it good since all filters were empty, and sat there like a big dummy, marveling at the hollow knocking of the fuel pump priming, slowly turning into a rapid ticking. At about 1:30 i noticed a diesel smell. Looking around, yup, about a quart of diesel all over the ground. I had to pull the battery, clean everything up, reseat the gasket using axle grease to hold it properly in place and then slapped it all back together to start it. I primed it for 20 seconds and went to start it. Click click click click click..... Click click click click click.. Cmon!...
I have one brand new NAPA battery i just picked up in the morning, and my reconditioned crv battery i charged up with my Noco charger. So my Polish perception kicked in and i pulled the old battery and threw in one of the now conditioned red tops.
I held the heater for 30 seconds and ..VROOOM!!!! Started right up. Touch of black smoke at start up which cleared up into crystal clear exhaust. I turned it off and gotta go get 1 more battery once it arrives at Napa on order from the wearhouse in 1.5 hours. So.. Off to lunch with a fat smile on my face while i wait for my battery..

Just wanna say SPECIAL thanks to Daybreak for taking so much interest in my thread and answering all my questions. Thanks to the rest of you guys for helping me. I love this place.

 

[Chrispyny]

Tried to upload a video. Timed out. Here's a link...



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S6kZLj1KyVM&feature=youtu.be

 

[Korgoth1]

Nice, I noticed it doesn't seem to vibrate a lick, no smoke, very good shape! Have you load tested it yet?

 

[kloppk]

Kudo's! I like the thumbs up at the end.

 

[Chrispyny]

Ehh. It vibrates a touch but it's to be expected as its just bolted to two 2x6's on harbor freight casters. I didn't have time to load test it. I had to change the oil in my pickup and get a few other things done before dark.
In addition, i'm going to follow Daybreaks path and change the oil with break in oil. Its only got 22 hours on it and like others said, break in oil should be in it until 100 hours.
Im also going to buy a few cans of brake cleaner and degrease the bottom of the enclosure and also lightly degrease the engine to pretty it up. Ultimately once i remove my mep-002a from its generator pad and replace it with the 802, i'll also silcone the lift rings to keep them from ringing while running.

 

[Daybreak]

Ehh. It vibrates a touch but it's to be expected as its just bolted to two 2x6's on harbor freight casters. I didn't have time to load test it. I had to change the oil in my pickup and get a few other things done before dark. In addition, i'm going to follow Daybreaks path and change the oil with break in oil. Its only got 22 hours on it and like others said, break in oil should be in it until 100 hours. Im also going to buy a few cans of brake cleaner and degrease the bottom of the enclosure and also lightly degrease the engine to pretty it up. Ultimately once i remove my mep-002a from its generator pad and replace it with the 802, i'll also silcone the lift rings to keep them from ringing while running.

Howdy,
OH, the filter cartridge cup got ya... Anyway, nice start-up.
The MEP-802A being 2 cylinder does have some shake to it. It is more pronounced when it is not on solid ground. My first start-up and run was on a pallet in the back of the truck. The lifting rings were like a Christmas bell ringing. When the unit is on the ground, things really smooth out a lot. I said I was going to do that to my rings, but after having it on the ground, I do not need too. Plus, you can also just take them off too. I only went with break-in oil because I could not stand having oil that was maybe 8 years old in mine. and only having 14 hours. (2007 MEP-802A 14.3hrs NO Reset) Yes, diesel like to have a break-in period. Mine is a keeper. I want to make sure I get the best out of it. Same reason I drained everything out of it. oil, coolant, fuel. I already have and use John Deere stuff. I only had to stop in the dealer and get the Break-In Plus oil. (1 gallon will do)

If you deal with Costco, they have a good price regular lead acid 51R battery. Slightly lesser CCA, but still good. I have 2 2011 Exide 2HN batteries in mine that came with it. So, I guess they changed the batteries at some point, since it is a 2007 unit. Used the Noco Genius G7200 to recover them. A little distilled water to top them off, and they are doing fine. Being that you would be using the batteries in series for 24 volts, it best to have 2 batteries the same age and condition.

 

[Chrispyny]

So the other day, i spent a couple hours degreasing with brake parts cleaner the enclosure of years of dust, and the diesel i spilled at the bottom of the enclosure when i misapplied the fuel filter cartridge gasket when replacing it last week.
Good news. I put a load on the genset today. It is raining now, so i was in a rush to get it done before the rain came hard.

I buit a table from some scrap 2x4 and 2x8 wood, wired up a couple 2 gang recepticle boxes with 20 amp screw in edison type fuses, one for each leg, and plugged in two 1500 watt oil filled electric radiators, a 1200 watt electric ceramic heater, and a 560 watt 2 bulb halogen work light. At the highest point i had approximately 4800 watts of load on it. I didn't have anything else at home to add. I had to borrow all the heaters from my father who uses them in emergencies if a furnace dies in his apartment house for his tenants.
The percent load meter read approximately 73%. I ran it like this till the fuse popped on one leg. I noticed some moisture in the fuse so i blamed it on that. The load bank was in the shed all winter and i assume got some water in the fuse somehow. I went to the hardware store and bought fresh fuses, and replaced the one that popped. Reapplied the 4800 watt load and it ran beautifully. I only had the load on for another 15 min before it started to sprinkle and i began to worry about water and electricity mixing and gave up.
Regarding its droop, i could probably adjust its droop EVER so SLIGHTLY. At no load i had it at 62 hz. At 4800 watts, it was hovering JUUUUUST under 60hz. I think one turn on the governor linkage adjuster with a 5mm allen wrench will tighten that droop up nicely.
As can be seen in the pic under close to 75% rated current ( 4800 watts) , coolant temps sat at about 185-190 deg F, oil pressure sat at approx 50 psi, frequency at 59.9hz, and voltage at 240 where i placed it, and the exhaust was 99.5% clear with a barely noticable tint in color under load.

I seem to have a touch of some moisture in the fuel, coolant temp, and oil pressure guages as can be seen in the incuded picture. i noticed a plug in the back of these guages which i carefully removed on one of them. Can i remove these plugs to allow the guages to dry up?
This genset is a definate keeper. At this point, i'll wait till the ground freezes, pull the MEP-002A off its generator pad, and pull the 802 back on the pad, place the 002a on the m116a trailer and sell that as a package. Also, what should the battery meter read? I seem to have found ALL The videos on youtube i watch were the meter always seems to read at ZERO, between read and green. I'm wondering if its only important BEFORE i start the genset?



I'm happy to have a genset that is MUCH quieter than the 002a. But i will miss the SIMPLE, ROBUSTNESS of the 002a.
I plan to replace the coolant. I don't know its age and prefer to have confidence in knowing there is fresh coolant in the engine.
Thanks all.

lastly, i tried some math. Tell me if my math is correct, and if our % rated load meters are linear.
4800 watts/73% rated load = x/100
so on a linear scale, a 100% load would equal 6,575 watts. will these meters read 100% at approx 6,500 watts ? i assume IF the meter is linear then it should? Thanks

 

[kloppk]

... Also, what should the battery meter read? I seem to have found ALL The videos on youtube i watch were the meter always seems to read at ZERO, between read and green. I'm wondering if its only important BEFORE i start the genset?

The battery meter indicates if the battery is charging (in the green area) or discharging (in the Red area).
When the master switch is first set to run/prime you'll notice the needle go slightly into the red because the battery is providing power to the fuel pump(s) and the genset hasn't been started yet. Once you start the genset you'll usually see the needle then jump into the green area while the alternator is recharging the batteries from it's cranking and if needed preheat cycle.
The needle will drop back to the red/green border when the batteries are fully charged back up and the alternator is then just making enough power to run the fuel pumps and the other electronics on the genset.

So yes, you will usually see the meter at the zero point in most pictures unless they were snapped immediately after starting.

If you start the genset and the meter continues to be slightly in the red then you likely have a charging system issue.

..... i tried some math. Tell me if my math is correct, and if our % rated load meters are linear.
4800 watts/73% rated load = x/100
so on a linear scale, a 100% load would equal 6,575 watts. will these meters read 100% at approx 6,500 watts ? i assume IF the meter is linear then it should? Thanks

The 802 is rated at 5,000 watts with a 0.8 Power Factor load.
For a 1.0 Power Factor load it will provide 6,250 watts. (100% Load Meter reading)

Since your loads were all resistive heaters they present a 1.0 Power Factor load so your "4800 watts" of load was a 77% load.

Each of the heaters you used may not draw exactly what they are rated for. You'd need to use a current meter on each one to know what they are really drawing. I suspect the load wasn't exactly 4800 watts an is why your 73% is slightly different than my 77%.

 

[Chrispyny]

The battery meter indicates if the battery is charging (in the green area) or discharging (in the Red area).
When the master switch is first set to run/prime you'll notice the needle go slightly into the red because the battery is providing power to the fuel pump(s) and the genset hasn't been started yet. Once you start the genset you'll usually see the needle then jump into the green area while the alternator is recharging the batteries from it's cranking and if needed preheat cycle.
The needle will drop back to the red/green border when the batteries are fully charged back up and the alternator is then just making enough power to run the fuel pumps and the other electronics on the genset.

So yes, you will usually see the meter at the zero point in most pictures unless they were snapped immediately after starting.

If you start the genset and the meter continues to be slightly in the red then you likely have a charging system issue.




The 802 is rated at 5,000 watts with a 0.8 Power Factor load.
For a 1.0 Power Factor load it will provide 6,250 watts. (100% Load Meter reading)

Since your loads were all resistive heaters they present a 1.0 Power Factor load so your "4800 watts" of load was a 77% load.

Each of the heaters you used may not draw exactly what they are rated for. You'd need to use a current meter on each one to know what they are really drawing. I suspect the load wasn't exactly 4800 watts an is why your 73% is slightly different than my 77%.

Sweet, it's working exactly like it should then. The battery meter did as you describe. Good to know. Also thanks for the math. Not my strong suit. I did measure the watts of each appliance with a Kill o watt meter. The kill o watt meter measured almost exactly 1500 watts per oil filled radiator x 2 radiators, one ceramic disc heater at 1200-1220 watts, and a halogen work light at 560 watts per kill o watt meter.
So i had approx 4760-4780 watts of juice showing about 73-74% rated load. All seems to check out. Awesome. Thanks again.