Another Ahab
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Army, right?
Submariners follow a concept called cross-training; it solves a word of problems.
You want to do it right, do it the Navy way.
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Opinions on MEP-831A
- Thread starter ETN550
- Start date
Submariners follow a concept called cross-training; it solves a word of problems.
You want to do it right, do it the Navy way.
- 16,777
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- Burgkunstadt, Germany
Exactly,
I have been telling people this forever. TIER 2 rebuild doesn't mean a thing. All it takes is one wire out of place, and although it looks and sounds good, it ain't. In another thread, just today, someone had a 10 KW, MEP-003A that had a problem with the CB-1 popping whenever he dropped a heavy load on it. When all was said and done, the 10 KW gen set had a 5 KW AC power output box mounted on it. Someone, somewhere, goofed, and no one caught it. You just never know.
- 16,777
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- Burgkunstadt, Germany
Army, right?
Submariners follow a concept called cross-training; it solves a word of problems.
You want to do it right, do it the Navy way.
Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll, I dont know about that!
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- Healdton Oklahoma/ SOOK
Fine time for the popcorn emoji to be taken away...
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- Greenville SC
I think we have all found the improbable cause with a surplus generator! Wrong parts, boards, and wiring issues. I just blame it on the fact that troubleshooting requires common sense and there is not a lot of that around now!
- 16,777
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- Burgkunstadt, Germany
There are times I resemble that!
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- Healdton Oklahoma/ SOOK
After fighting through some of the issues I have experienced with these units, my biggest fear is parts availability with primarily the inverter. They are complex but an intermittent glitch has caused me to go through the whole wiring harness. The relationship between the the interposing relays and the switches was frustrating but I am better for it. Turns out had issue with the contacts on the S-1 switch. At least I hope that is it as I haven't been able to get it to fault again, however I have thought I had problem narrowed down before and it came back. Time will tell I suppose.
The whole purpose of reviving this thread was to get other people's experience, good and bad. By the crickets chirping I am assuming that most experiences have been positive. Some of us have brought up our problems experienced and all the threads with people asking troubleshooting questions make give false appearance of bad equipment. So if you have a great experience please chim in.
A wise man PMed me a statement that holds true.
"It's like I used to joke with the quality inspectors at work that they only look for the bad stuff, but seriously who is gonna report that there is another good one."
The whole purpose of reviving this thread was to get other people's experience, good and bad. By the crickets chirping I am assuming that most experiences have been positive. Some of us have brought up our problems experienced and all the threads with people asking troubleshooting questions make give false appearance of bad equipment. So if you have a great experience please chim in.
A wise man PMed me a statement that holds true.
"It's like I used to joke with the quality inspectors at work that they only look for the bad stuff, but seriously who is gonna report that there is another good one."
rockandsoul
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I just put a pair of batteries in my 831A. I've got 24 volts at the starter per my meter, but I don't appear to have any power at the panel. Nothing lights up, and she won't turn over. It shows know indication of power whatsoever unless you have a meter in your hand. On a positive note, the engine fired right up and ran a few seconds until the line full of diesel ran out when I started it manually.
Any ideas on this power or "non power" issue? Thanks in advance!
Any ideas on this power or "non power" issue? Thanks in advance!
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I hate to sound like a broken record but.. 
Have you downloaded the TMs and looked over the wiring diagram? You'll see where the power comes into the panel and which terminals to test.
Make sure the DC circuit breaker on the panel is pushed in. Make sure the E-Stop is pulled out.
If those are OK we will need to start looking at circuits with the volt meter.
Have you downloaded the TMs and looked over the wiring diagram? You'll see where the power comes into the panel and which terminals to test.
Make sure the DC circuit breaker on the panel is pushed in. Make sure the E-Stop is pulled out.
If those are OK we will need to start looking at circuits with the volt meter.
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You dont sound like a broken record to me!!
boatman69
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I love my 831a. When it is not enough I throw the interlocked double breakers feeding the interlocked backfeeder in the main panel and put the 802a online. Then if I'm feeling real power hungry, I'm also wired up to run the 3.5 hvac straight off the 802a and the rest off the house with the 831a. I thought about a 10kw. But after thinking about fuel consumption and wet stacking. I went for redundancy. When hurricane Charley hit there was no power for 2 weeks.
dav5
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- Mono, Ontario
I love my 831A too. It is at my camp and runs like a champ. After all the bugs I had to work through to get it running well though in the back of my mind I feel something is likely to fail at some point. It is like a high strung race horse and I just don't trust which way it is going to go.
I have a low hour 803A at home and it is like a well behaved workhorse. I would be very surprised if it let me down. I also have another 831A at home I could use in a pinch but I doubt I will ever need it. I would take an 803A over both a 831A and a 802A any day of the week. I don't find fuel consumption to be a major factor. At most at home I have 2-3 extended outages a year and it is rare for them to last more than 2 days so on an average yearly basis there would be very little diesel fuel consumed.
I have a low hour 803A at home and it is like a well behaved workhorse. I would be very surprised if it let me down. I also have another 831A at home I could use in a pinch but I doubt I will ever need it. I would take an 803A over both a 831A and a 802A any day of the week. I don't find fuel consumption to be a major factor. At most at home I have 2-3 extended outages a year and it is rare for them to last more than 2 days so on an average yearly basis there would be very little diesel fuel consumed.
NATCAD
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- Port Huron Michigan
Dav5, have you found a good source in canada for parts on the 831a and the 803a.
I just bought some....
I just bought some....
NATCAD
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In case it helps anyone, or could be added to the sticky on front page, I found the cheapest oil filters 'sleeves' for the 831a from ace marine diesel 5.76$
dav5
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- Mono, Ontario
Hi, my buddy is a mechanic so I buy the run of the mill stuff at the local auto parts store under his discount. For parts that are specific to the generator Ebay is your best bet. I ship to a warehouse in Niagara Falls NY and go pick up stuff when it accumulates and it is worth the trip. Also members on here have been very generous with parts.
dav5
Active member
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NATCAD if you are in the Toronto area I can give you my membership info at the warehouse I ship to if you want to ship something there. The cost to ship to Canada is usually outrageous. I usually go pick stuff up every 3 or 4 weeks.
NATCAD
Active member
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Tks sir, I pm'd you.
calsdad
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I'm seriously thinking of picking up a MEP-831a to replace the little Honda EU2000 I've been using. I already stock 10's of gallons of diesel fuel for my tractor and the indirect heater I use to keep the barn warm , so I figure it makes sense from the fuel perspective to just add another diesel engine'd appliace rather than go the gasoline route on the genset.
I've been looking at auctions on govliquidation and govplanet , I can find closed auctions on govplanet so I get a good idea of what these are finally going for $$wise , but I can't seem to figure out how to view ended auctions on govliquidation.
There's a bunch of MEP-831a's coming up for auction on govliquidation that only read 2 hours on the meter - and I looked at the pics - and the meters all look to be new (Honeywell meters instead of the Hobbs meters that these all seemed to be built with).
I noticed in the pics that all of these 2 hour units seem to have a yellow tag hanging from the engine. Would I be correct to assume that these 2 hour units were all factory reset? The govliquidation auctions don't have a lot of description or very good pics compared to the govplanet auctions, so it's hard to figure out what the exact condition is of these units.
What's a good price to pay for one of these? I've seen a few going what seems like crazy money. Typical selling price on places like Ebay is up in the $2k range.
I've been looking at auctions on govliquidation and govplanet , I can find closed auctions on govplanet so I get a good idea of what these are finally going for $$wise , but I can't seem to figure out how to view ended auctions on govliquidation.
There's a bunch of MEP-831a's coming up for auction on govliquidation that only read 2 hours on the meter - and I looked at the pics - and the meters all look to be new (Honeywell meters instead of the Hobbs meters that these all seemed to be built with).
I noticed in the pics that all of these 2 hour units seem to have a yellow tag hanging from the engine. Would I be correct to assume that these 2 hour units were all factory reset? The govliquidation auctions don't have a lot of description or very good pics compared to the govplanet auctions, so it's hard to figure out what the exact condition is of these units.
What's a good price to pay for one of these? I've seen a few going what seems like crazy money. Typical selling price on places like Ebay is up in the $2k range.
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- Greenville SC
Considering the date produced, the mixed paint job, and 2 hours they are almost surely reset units. Not saying that is bad, but I bought some with 2 to 3 hours from lockbourne and several were missing parts. There were reset tags on the units They were 2006 and 7 units. I normally sell a reset unit for around 1250 to 1750 each depending on what I had to pay for them and hours on the unit. Don't forget to factor in commissions, and transportation fees (around 200 each on these) as well. I don't sell many of them now as most people want something larger than a camping generator. 3kw is not much power! I have one that was not reset with around 300 hours on it and I have it only for a backup unit on my 923 truck. I cannot say one bad thing about Honda generators, they are a very good generator and are very quite and dependable. Gas is also cheaper than diesel.
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From my GLA experience you have to have items on your Watchlist in order to see what they've actually sold for.
Need to go to Closed Watchlist on GLA to see what they've sold for.
I followed a bunch of them coming out of GA recently. They sold for about $600-700 on average on GovPlanet.
37 of them I followed on GLA this summer went for $720 each on average.
The two 831's I picked up from GLA in August 2017 were both Yellow Tagged with 2 hrs on the meters.
The Yellow Tags on mine indicated they have break in oil in them and it needs to be changed out after 100 hrs of operation.
Both of mine were Reset and in mint condition. 100% complete. Just had sat in storage for 3 & 5 years after Reset.
Concorde Batteries needed some reconditioning to bring them back to life.
The two sets experienced issues with the governor controllers though. Solved that issue.
See signature...
calsdad - If you pick one up and need help let me know. I'm just a few towns west of you in Pepperell.
Need to go to Closed Watchlist on GLA to see what they've sold for.
I followed a bunch of them coming out of GA recently. They sold for about $600-700 on average on GovPlanet.
37 of them I followed on GLA this summer went for $720 each on average.
The two 831's I picked up from GLA in August 2017 were both Yellow Tagged with 2 hrs on the meters.
The Yellow Tags on mine indicated they have break in oil in them and it needs to be changed out after 100 hrs of operation.
Both of mine were Reset and in mint condition. 100% complete. Just had sat in storage for 3 & 5 years after Reset.
Concorde Batteries needed some reconditioning to bring them back to life.
The two sets experienced issues with the governor controllers though. Solved that issue.
See signature...
calsdad - If you pick one up and need help let me know. I'm just a few towns west of you in Pepperell.
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