My MEP-803a experience

[Guyfang]

Haoleb,

All the gauges and meters are to be taken with a grain of salt.

Lonesouth,

No gen set left my shop without running 6-8 hours at full load. I bet your smoke problem would go away. And the steady downward creep of hertz? Bet that would be solved also. Plus, you KNOW your set is good to go. You have a much better feeling about what you have. In Texas, 1986. We had an entire PATRIOT Bn. that could not keep a system hot for 24 hours to save their lives. I took one Firing Battery at a time, and loaded the gen sets up, just like everyone has talked about. Start low, work it up and let er roar! 6-8 hours full load. Works like a charm.

 

[lonesouth]

I'll run it out this weekend if I'm around the house. Need to get more diesel, down to 1/4 tank.

 

[lonesouth]

Would there be any benefit to running an electric fuel pump through a racor water separator to circulate in the 50 gallon tank?

Racor 230R Filter Separator

 

[DieselAddict]

Absolutely. That is commonly done on commercial tanks for fuel polishing.

 

[Guyfang]

The fuel can never be to clean! It would allow you to feel better about extending the life of the onboard fuel filters, if need be.

 

[lonesouth]

Can I pull 12v off of the batteries in parallel to power the fuel pump?

 

[DieselAddict]

In this situation you can't because the batteries are already in series. The best way to keep the batteries balanced is to buy a 24v-12v power supply for any 12v loads you need to drive.

Look up DC-DC buck converter. You'll find a number of options.

 

[lonesouth]

Thanks! I found a DC-DC converter. The pump is a Carter P4070 I have laying around. Not rated for diesel, but I've read where people have done so without issue.

 

[DieselAddict]

That will do it!

 

[lonesouth]

Spent about three hours friday and three saturday getting this installed "properly." I got the trench dug from the generator to the meter in about two hours. I had previously purchased 1.25" conduit, which I decided to go down to 1" so on black friday, I fought the crowds and returned the 1.25 conduit and some extra lumber to lowes, rounded up the 1" pieces I needed, and headed home. The wife was about done watching kids at that point so I cleaned up a little and called it a day. Saturday, I was able to lay all the conduit, pull all the wire, install the interlock, and wire everything up. Pulling wire and digging trenches in drought hardened clay rank very low on my preferred flavor of manual labor. I used some pulling gel, and it made a huge difference between not being able to run the wire, and being able to struggle to get it done. 1" is spec'd at 4 4awg conductors, and it was all I could do to get 3 + 1 6awg. Y'all who do this for a profession have my respect. I did not test it out, but I ohmed out the leads before I made the connections at the generator to be sure I have it wired correctly.

I still need to get the aux fuel tank plumbed, as well as the polishing circuit. Then I've got a few other project in the pipe before I can turn my attention to the other generator and trailer.

 

[csheath]

Why did you reduce the conduit size?

I applaud your efforts. I hope not to have near as much fun if I score a unit but I'm still shopping.

 

[TrailLifeBill]

Why did you reduce the conduit size?

I applaud your efforts. I hope not to have near as much fun if I score a unit but I'm still shopping.

Good question - He doesn't mention how many 90's and how long the pull was, but if he was pulling through 3 bends &/or had a long pull it would have been a bear. Definitely oversize the conduit a little if practical.

 

[lonesouth]

40', 2 service elbows, 3 90s. I went with the 1" because the input on the side of the generator was 1" and the smaller size looked a little better on the wall. I did the install backwards though, I laid out the conduit, cut to length, ran the wire, then glued the pieces. Even doing it this way, it was a bear to get the last piece, a 90 with 3' of straight already attached, to move the last inch to make the connection. I figured I wouldn't have a prayer of pulling the 4awg through with it all put together. I'm certain this is not an approved method.

I've seen some say that the pvc cement would damage the cover on the wire, and others say that pvc cement can be used to repair a damaged wire. I'll check the connections for shorts in a few months, or prior to operating the generator, whichever comes first.

FWIW, I'm planning on removing the generator and wiring when I sell the house, not worried about passing inspection.

 

[Guyfang]

When 1" will do, ALWAYS buy 1.50", if not 2".

Yeah, if you did this for a living, you would not be making that mistake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Heaven help you if there is more than one bend!!

Can I tell you stories about that kind of thing. Laugh till I cry.

When the customer JUST has to have conduit that is "just the right size, and no bigger", we run the wire through the conduit before putting it together. We laugh till the tears run down our cheeks when someone wants to put "just one more wire" into conduit.

I love it, simply love it!!!!

 

[csheath]

Just read all the way through your thread again to get ideas for my new purchase.

Hadn't thought about the solar charger but that is a must have. I have one on my lawn mower and gate opener already and they work great. I wonder if I could hook two of the cheap HF chargers in series? A 10W is probably overkill for something that sits a lot. On the other hand I had to go to a 30W to keep my gate opener battery charged. I had a 10W on it before and would have to charge the battery on occasions of persistent rain and during the winter but that battery gets used daily.

Have you received and installed the volt/amp meters yet? What is your thoughts on those as far as quality and accuracy?

 

[lonesouth]

i received them, but have not yet installed them

 

[lonesouth]

Spent an hour last night fabbing a bracket for my volt/ammeters. One per leg, referenced to neutral for voltage. I used twisted pair from cat-5 cable for the wire extension.

I/m planning on bolting the bracket inside the documentation hatch, it should fit with the documentation box in place.

 

[lonesouth]

Got my solar panel in and spent about an hour getting things hooked up. I ran the hookup to the lugs at the slave receptacle. Not a whole lot to say about it beyond that. Charge controller is mounted with two sided tape.

 

[Another Ahab]

Got my solar panel in and spent about an hour getting things hooked up. I ran the hookup to the lugs at the slave receptacle. Not a whole lot to say about it beyond that. Charge controller is mounted with two sided tape.

That's one squared away set-up you built; great job.

I never saw those kinds of footing blocks before; are they buried? Where'd you pick them up?

 

[lonesouth]

standard deck blocks found at home depot/lowes/ace. They are intended to be used in construction of decks without having to sink 4x4 pylons into the ground. Just clear away any organic matter(grass/leaves) which may decompose and affect level, level the blocks front to back and side to side, and place the stand on top.

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Since I plan on taking the generator, and presumably the stand, with me when I move, I preferred not going through the added difficulty of burying posts. The deck blocks made this a little easier.