My MEP803A permanent install

[Josephml21]

Hello everyone I've been kinda dragging my feet on getting pictures up but here they are.





So I ran 1.25 inch conduit, the run was about 50 to 60 feet long to get from the back of the house to the side of the house. I bought one long run of 250ft of 6 gauge wire for my two hots and neutral because they about cut the price in half that way. Marked my 2nd hot leg with red tape and the neutral with white tape. The ground was another run of green 8 gauge insulated wire. I rented a trencher to dig the trench and buried everything.

Once I had all the conduit and wiring installed I poured the concrete pad for the genset. After that was done we had the fun task of rolling the genny to the pad and I can say its not fun chasing a 1300lb genset on wheels hahaha.

All that was left was a electrician to come over and tie everything together in the electric panel. I originally bought a 200A DPDT transfer switch from HomeDepot but he advised against using it so that saved me $400. He drilled the hole in my wall to run the last bit of conduit into the house to the panel then finished it off with a interlock device.

As you can see with everything on in my house (3000sqft) (2.5tn AC) (4500watt 60 gal water heater) all lights, fridge, deep freezer, the dishwasher running, the gas dryer running, the water heater is on, tvs and gaming systems for my three boys on im at about 70 to 80 percent load. I've never seen it over 80 percent.

Again my two biggest loads are AC and Water Heater everything else is gas. I am very happy with this setup. Ive been doing test runs for 8 and 10 hours at a time and have no issues whatsoever. The deck clearance has NOT been an issue, there is no discoloration from the exhaust nor do we smell anything. The house is equipped with CO detectors due to all the gas appliances and we've never had one go off.

I really appreciate all the help and advice that was given from you guys to get me where I am now.

Next step an AUX tank and probably that sweet WIFI controller so i can start her without going outside!!!

 

[fa35jsf]

That looks awesome. It’s interesting seeing a permanent generator mounted on wheels. How’s the noise inside the house?

I’ve thought of building a wireless starter out of an Arduino board myself.


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[Josephml21]

That looks awesome. It’s interesting seeing a permanent generator mounted on wheels. How’s the noise inside the house?

I’ve thought of building a wireless starter out of an Arduino board myself.


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The wheels are kinda handy! They raise the unit off the ground which make maintenance easier and if I have to move her around she's somewhat mobile.

I know someone here has already built and sells a wifi controller. I'm definitely not tech savvy enough to do that. I'm more of a hardware guy.

Noise, I almost forgot, once the TV is on you can't hear it. The living room is on the back side of the house just above the genset so if the TV was off sure you'll hear the drone but the TV really does dround it out. No complaints from the neighbors as of yet.

 

[Weller]

Looks great, thanks for sharing. The AUX tank will come in handy since you won't have to refuel in the rain.

 

[fa35jsf]

“If” you wanted to you could add a 6” up pipe and a 45 joint and then a 12-24” pipe. That looked like it shoot the exhaust out at a good angle judging by your pictures. That’s just if the exhaust ever became a concern.

Why did the electrician advise against the DPDT switch?


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[Josephml21]

“If” you wanted to you could add a 6” up pipe and a 45 joint and then a 12-24” pipe. That looked like it shoot the exhaust out at a good angle judging by your pictures. That’s just if the exhaust ever became a concern.

Why did the electrician advise against the DPDT switch?


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I've thought about extending the exhaust if it ever becomes a issue, definitely a great point you bring up!

He said that if I was to use the switch, that would make the switch the first disconnect and the main panel would now be considered a sub-panel. And something about sub panels needing their own nuterals and grounds.

He basically said that it would be a ton more work and more expensive to run the switch. I honestly just told him "hey you're the pro just finsh the job"

 

[Zed254]

Looks good. You might want to check out everyone's mouse proofing efforts: they can really mess up a generator. Good starting point is here: https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?176856-Mep802-small-fire-repair-help-!!!

 

[tktsales]

I have a Wifi controller on order from Kurt Klopp. I should have it just in time for the weekend and I will report back after install. I expect it to be a huge benefit as my set is about 100-200 foot from my front door and the power never goes out unless its doing something really ugly outside.

 

[Guyfang]

As long as you do your PM, the remote starter is a fine idea. stop doing PM, and you might regret the remote some day. Never assume anything.

 

[smokem joe]

Just make sure those wheels don't move around enough to sheer off that conduit!

 

[Chainbreaker]

Just make sure those wheels don't move around enough to sheer off that conduit!

I had the same thoughts. Here in the "earthquake zone" that would never fly, well...it might rock-n-roll!

 

[Josephml21]

I had the same thoughts. Here in the "earthquake zone" that would never fly, well...it might rock-n-roll!

No earth quakes here lol. I have a few pieces of wood as chocks but I was thinking of drilling holes in the pad and putting in anchors then tying in off to the genny sling loops.

 

[Chainbreaker]

You might consider getting 3 pieces of 4x6 treated lumber, or whatever provides the right height, and putting them crosswise under the genset so the wheels are then ~1/4"-1/2" off the ground. Shouldn't affect your conduit connection point if its slightly higher. If you don't have an appropriate jack or engine hoist you could probably lever up each end as someone slid them underneath. I would also put in some lag bolt screws through the holes in skid bottom to lock in to the cross members just as insurance to prevent any creeping over time.

When properly positioned on wood it distributes the genset load nicely while also helping to attenuate vibrations and often helps deaden the sound a bit. If you ever need to move it just reverse the process, disconnect and roll that baby out. Another consideration might be to purchase a 3/4" rubber 4'x6' horse stall mat (~$35) and put that down first on concrete and then lay your cross members over it. The rubber stall mat will absorb a lot of otherwise reflected sound coming off the concrete. You and your neighbors might appreciate hearing a lesser drone during any extended outage.

 

[tktsales]

Ok guys so I have installed the remote start from Kurt Klopp. It took about 2 beers to install (an hour for those of you who don't know how to tell time that way). Some of that time was spent searching for a 1/4 drill, The last guy to use it never put it back (me) and I never did find it. Anyway all in all quite easy, straight forward install, you just need to pay attention to the wire numbers which Kurt has labeled on each wire. The wifi setup was simple as well. There is some calibration routine that I still need to do, The Frequency reading on my phone is off a little. Kurt says to do this calibration with at least 25% load so I haven not had a chance to get it under load yet. If it saves me one trip outside in the pouring rain it is well worth it. I do monthly startups so I am not concerned about battery drain but I can connect to the wifi anytime I want from my bed if I want and check batter voltage.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Real nice setup

 

[Chainbreaker]

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I agree very nice setup all the way around! Just out of curiosity, how is your exhaust vented out through roof? Does it have a flapper or rain cap type vent on roof to prevent rainwater from coming down exhaust pipe?

 

[tktsales]

I have a rain cap on it, I tried to use some Fire rated caulking to seal around the pipe thru the metal roofing but there is too much vibration and it did not hold, I might try to find a boot but I don't know if it will take the heat. There is enough pitch on the roof that it does not leak too bad but it does leak so I need to give it some more attention as do I need to address the rodent issue. You see the dog sniffing around, that's why.

For those interested I have (2) 2" conduits run from the house to the generator. I ran a 15 amp circuit from the breaker panel out for lighting in the shed as well as over the generator, 4' Damp area LEDs, If I remember they pull about .3 amp each and I have 1 in the shed and 2 over the generator. I also ran 2 security cameras out in this same conduit, those are looking back at the house. The other conduit holds the 2 mains and ground as well I ran a 208 3Ph back to an outlet in my basement just in case I ever have an inch to buy something 208 3ph. This of course does not go through my Transfer switch. I don't have any photos of those but I can snap some if anyone is interested.

 

[Ray70]

That's one nice looking set up! I can't tell from the pictures, but since you say you're getting a lot of vibration in the exhaust at the roof penetration, I assume you have it piped solid from the muffler to the roof? If so, that might eventually cause too much stress on the system and probably will crack either the muffler or pipe near the muffler. If you don't have any vibration isolation, Grainger ( and cheaper places ) have braided stainless flex pipes ( just like on a front wheel drive car exhaust ) but with NPT threaded ends. Might be worth a look.

 

[tktsales]

Its not a crazy amount of vibration but yes it is solid piped and I know the risk.. Its a rig job to begin with, From the muffler I am using an NPT coupler to a thin wall EMT electrical conduit. I just half-arse tapped the ID of the conduit to accommodate the NPT tread. It keeps the weight down but regardless its not the best design.. I like the vibrasorber idea but those tend to be pricey and weld/sweat/solder on, at least in Refrigeration systems that I am familiar with. I could brace this to the roof and eliminate the vibration up top but its been running like this for 3 years without any problems. We had 1 good outage last year for 2 days that it ran nearly non stop.

 

[Ray70]

Yes, they are about $75 for the NPT style, but... since you have some EMT tube in there too, the Universal flex joints for a car exhaust are only about $25 for the size you would need. Could weld it or clamp it in. But, as long as you're aware of the risk.... Regardless, you have an enviable install there!