Screens to keep out pests, any problems with restriction?

[Jeff H]

I thought I was all done cleaning up and doing maintenance on my new to me MEP-803A. Then I saw a photo on this site of the second wiring compartment that sits behind the first wiring compartment. So I took off the top panel to investigate, only to discover a large mouse nest. Luckily no wires were chewed, just a lot of mess to clean up.

I want to screen the bottom and two side air intakes. To be effective against mice the holes need to be small. Large opening expanded mesh is probably not going to stop them. I was looking at perforated sheet similar to the guards on either side of the engine fan. But that restricts a good percentage of the open space.

Has anyone had any overheating or performance issues with screening the openings?

 

[gelane]

I used 1/4" screen purchased at Home Depot.
Cut slightly oversized then zip tied over the openings.
Work great for keeping mice out.
No restrictions on cooling.

Gary

 

[Light in the Dark]

If you use 1/4" hardware cloth on the two side intakes, as well as the large cutout under the engine... you are already better off. To bulletproof the machine from a rodent standpoint, also consider removing the soft sleeve where the wires enter the machine and replace with a plate or some sort of wire keep. Also consider pushing in any drain lines sticking out of the skid base, and replace with plugs or nut/washer/bolts because they can chew threw a hose too and if small enough, slide right in.

 

[liebsce]

Tomcat makes mouse bait blocks. I place one inside the unit and replace it once a year or if it ever gets chewed on. I do this with my vehicles as well since we live in a rural ( field mouse ) area. Not a single problem since I started doing this.

 

[Godspeed131]

I had mine apart today because of suspicious activities of the little critters, and found a nest under the top cover on TB3 and one on top of the document box. Luckily no damage was noted. So I just put screens on mine today one on each side intake and the 6 in square in the bottom didn’t get a picture of the bottom but did them the same way. Haven’t painted them yet. It started raining as I was finishing up.