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What have you done to your MKT this week???

therooster2001

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Colorado
check for "branch cables", that's the official name. There are some MKT stuff out there. I have some slave to MBU extensions. Think they work in a pinch for the telefax to MBU, but I'd have to check. Ends are weird. Make sure you know what you are buying by NSN. I just ran across 2 new M59's at a local sports place. All the fixings by the picture. $300. Not bad considering BRAND new, including braising pan, and mermite holders. They have 2, I'm going to check them out. Don't REALLY need them, but who can pass up looking at surplus stuff?
 

airmech3839

Member
842
5
18
Location
Augusta, GA
So I just paid for my MKT today. Set it up and started inventory. Guy gave me 10 of the burners to try and get 6 working ones out of them and all I got to do is give him 3 shells back when I'm done. Trying to get enough stuff together to make this a good rig for our Trail Life Troop to use on large event campouts and also so our Church can use it for mission trips and ministry opportunities.

What have you guys been putting on the steel frame of ovens to reduce rust? Wire brush and high temp paint or do you just grease them up?


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267
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Location
Augusta, New Jersey
airmech,
Congrats on the MKT and welcome to the MKT Club. Hope you get lots of use and good memories from the MKT.

The 10 and 15 gallon pot cradles inside the M-59 Ranges will rust if you get an older metal/iron one. Try and find a cradle made of alum. They won't rust and are easier to keep clean. Otherwise you can try media blasting the rusty ones and paint them up with high heat paint. Make sure you put on 2 light coats, and they MUST be super clean before painting. Eventually, the rust will return! Good luck.

John
 

therooster2001

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Colorado
Airmech, congrats. Looks like that thing has some good dust on it. Clean everything real good, and then fire it up to get rid of the rest. That was good advice on the stainless steel ones (I think that's a cool project to do, I might start looking for some good welders), but yes, sandblast / sand, then I used high temp grill paint rattle can on these. Came out great. Inside the oven, you just need to hack the rust back a bit.

This is a before:
IMG_8195.jpg

and after:
IMG_8199.jpg
 
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airmech3839

Member
842
5
18
Location
Augusta, GA
Airmech, congrats. Looks like that thing has some good dust on it. Clean everything real good, and then fire it up to get rid of the rest. That was good advice on the stainless steel ones (I think that's a cool project to do, I might start looking for some good welders), but yes, sandblast / sand, then I used high temp grill paint rattle can on these. Came out great. Inside the oven, you just need to hack the rust back a bit.

This is a before:


and after:
I have some welders in our troop that will be hitting some of our items. Since it didn't have a griddle one of our guys is welding up a stainless steel griddle to fit. He has materials so it's not going to cost us much. Gonna scrub these bad boys down. I'm working on the burners now. Got 10 gallons of jet fuel and testing them out with some deep cycle marine batteries in series.

Thanks

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therooster2001

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The griddle that comes with it was cast aluminum, which is still great IMO, but not a cast iron one. I'd be interested to see how stainless does, it might heat up and cool down quicker than we are all expecting. Those burners are serious, so keep that in mind, so you don't warp the steel. Course will depend on thickness. When you fire the burners expect some hiccups. They routinely give an error (I forgot which) on light. Try it a couple of times. Watch them, and drop the panel down to watch the injector. One of mine likes to stutter start, and then when it lights, and oe time I did find a stray diesel drip that lit on the wrong side. Once it's going, it never has this issue. I still have two burners that decide they will go out and relight randomly, even after hours of use. Still haven't taken them apart. Running them for a day cooking will get the kinks out (or you'll know the issues). I think the MKT is an absolute blast, even though its more work than most think. Get a helper and make a day cooking for family or friends. You can also power those burners with some easy wall plugs. 2A 24V ones are cheap on the bay. If you are doing 1 or two, and testing it at home and close to power, it's easier than hassling with batteries. Have fun with it.

EDIT: And I haven't been down the jet fuel path, I run road diesel in mine. Jet is a little hard to get around here, even though I am a pilot, and know where to get it, they didn't like the idea, so as mine were bone empty, I ran road from the start.
 
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airmech3839

Member
842
5
18
Location
Augusta, GA
The griddle that comes with it was cast aluminum, which is still great IMO, but not a cast iron one. I'd be interested to see how stainless does, it might heat up and cool down quicker than we are all expecting. Those burners are serious, so keep that in mind, so you don't warp the steel. Course will depend on thickness. When you fire the burners expect some hiccups. They routinely give an error (I forgot which) on light. Try it a couple of times. Watch them, and drop the panel down to watch the injector. One of mine likes to stutter start, and then when it lights, and oe time I did find a stray diesel drip that lit on the wrong side. Once it's going, it never has this issue. I still have two burners that decide they will go out and relight randomly, even after hours of use. Still haven't taken them apart. Running them for a day cooking will get the kinks out (or you'll know the issues). I think the MKT is an absolute blast, even though its more work than most think. Get a helper and make a day cooking for family or friends. You can also power those burners with some easy wall plugs. 2A 24V ones are cheap on the bay. If you are doing 1 or two, and testing it at home and close to power, it's easier than hassling with batteries. Have fun with it.

EDIT: And I haven't been down the jet fuel path, I run road diesel in mine. Jet is a little hard to get around here, even though I am a pilot, and know where to get it, they didn't like the idea, so as mine were bone empty, I ran road from the start.
We were sumping a Challenger for wing inspection and had 40 gallons. I'm night shift so I can load it up at end of night.

I didn't want to pay for fuel if it turns out one of the burners won't run. I started working on one today and it powered up but as soon as I hit "Start" it powered down...

Tracy

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therooster2001

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Colorado
For MBU errors, I sometimes get ER01, but only when the burner fails or refuses to start. Make sure your fuel is high (I oops'd on that once), and try at least 3-4 times. Never had one shut off on me on except for the off button, that one feels suspect to me. The first couple of starts are rough. I know some of the guys have field striped them and rebuilt things. Its doable, but with your situation, get the best 6. Also pay attention to the hours on the burner, but I have a high hour burner that outperforms a low one, so don't just go on that. I'd be scientific about them. I would let them all start, evaluate how much they start, then let them run on high for at least 20 min, see if any die and restart. Also pay attention that they are MBUv3's. Sometimes an older one sneaks in there. Also check to see the shape of the pump, that might have been replaced or an old dog if they were retrofits. Keep the picts and questions coming.
 

SCSG-G4

PSVB 3003
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Be sure to follow the TM when starting the burners. Procedure is: 1. Turn knob counter clock wise to the 7 o'clock position. 2. Press "Power" and let it go through the startup routine. 3. Press and HOLD the "Start" button for up to 30 seconds (or less if the flame is going well). 4. If it does not stay lit, press the "Stop" button, and repeat step #3 up to three more times, then replace the unit. Usually the flame sensor is bad or the injector tip is fouled, and you may be able to fix it by cleaning the injector tip with a small wire brush. Teleflex swears that JP-8 is the only thing that works for a fuel, but I've put over 100 hours on most of mine using diesel with no ill effects. YMMV.

The GI griddle is aluminum, about 5/8 " thick, and was meant to be flipped over if it started to get warped. The V-100 (black label) MBU's have a heat range from about 20,000 Btu/H up to 55,000 Btu/H, while the V-103 (red label) range is 11,000 to 60,500 Btu/H. Unless I'm trying to boil 15 gallons of water in an oven or keep the sterilize water above 180 in the sink, the knob is usually somewhere between the 2 and 4 o'clock position, giving me about 325 degrees F on the griddle surface and about 360-375 degrees F on the hanging rack of the Auxiliary Baking Unit in the M-59 Range. Hope this helps!
 

airmech3839

Member
842
5
18
Location
Augusta, GA
Be sure to follow the TM when starting the burners. Procedure is: 1. Turn knob counter clock wise to the 7 o'clock position. 2. Press "Power" and let it go through the startup routine. 3. Press and HOLD the "Start" button for up to 30 seconds (or less if the flame is going well). 4. If it does not stay lit, press the "Stop" button, and repeat step #3 up to three more times, then replace the unit. Usually the flame sensor is bad or the injector tip is fouled, and you may be able to fix it by cleaning the injector tip with a small wire brush. Teleflex swears that JP-8 is the only thing that works for a fuel, but I've put over 100 hours on most of mine using diesel with no ill effects. YMMV.

The GI griddle is aluminum, about 5/8 " thick, and was meant to be flipped over if it started to get warped. The V-100 (black label) MBU's have a heat range from about 20,000 Btu/H up to 55,000 Btu/H, while the V-103 (red label) range is 11,000 to 60,500 Btu/H. Unless I'm trying to boil 15 gallons of water in an oven or keep the sterilize water above 180 in the sink, the knob is usually somewhere between the 2 and 4 o'clock position, giving me about 325 degrees F on the griddle surface and about 360-375 degrees F on the hanging rack of the Auxiliary Baking Unit in the M-59 Range. Hope this helps!
I tried holding down start... led panel shutoff... I'm sure it's something simple. I had knob to high/start... I have TM will print up troubleshooting and knob adjustment to ensure knob was installed correctly. Guy told me he had peiced some of these burners together. So he may have installed handle without rigging it right. Or it could be load issue. I have 23.8v coming off 2 12v marine deep cycle batts... if it drops below 22v it might not be enough to run.

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jasonjc

Well-known member
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Gravette Ar.
Try charging your batteries , you should have over 25 volts. I use a pair of batt to run mine , but one unit would not run off of them, but others would befor and after the one that would not. Seems it is more sensitive than most.
 
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therooster2001

Active member
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Location
Colorado
What I did is consider replacing the M59 with M59A's. They have a couple bells and whistles, but unsure if they mount directly into the same physical space. Anyone know?

Referenced below in the PDF as recent 2013 replacements. The oven parts are definitely an improvement, the have oven grills that actually fit into guides, as well as a different top and door. Still deciding if it's worth it. Found two locally for a decent price.

http://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/TroopSupport/Subsistence/TS_fieldfeeditems_151002.pdf

Any experience? They are BRAND new so I think the shiny got me.


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SCSG-G4

PSVB 3003
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I tried holding down start... led panel shutoff... I'm sure it's something simple. I had knob to high/start... I have TM will print up troubleshooting and knob adjustment to ensure knob was installed correctly. Guy told me he had peiced some of these burners together. So he may have installed handle without rigging it right. Or it could be load issue. I have 23.8v coming off 2 12v marine deep cycle batts... if it drops below 22v it might not be enough to run.

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For proper running you need at least 25 volts, with the inverter hooked into 110 AC you should get close to 28 volts, even with all six burners going.
 

SCSG-G4

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What I did is consider replacing the M59 with M59A's. They have a couple bells and whistles, but unsure if they mount directly into the same physical space. Anyone know?
Page 9 of the document you posted the reference to says they fit in exactly the same space. If the price is right, replace with the newest ones!
 
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Augusta, New Jersey
M59A Fits Nicely

What I did is consider replacing the M59 with M59A's. They have a couple bells and whistles, but unsure if they mount directly into the same physical space. Anyone know?

Good morning,
I also had come across a brand new in the box M59A, went with it, and it fits perfectly. Nice range, but I also kept a nice M59 so I can still use the pots. Enjoy the new range!

John
 

therooster2001

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Thanks guys, my old M59 is a little rusty but not OMG replace it. The new M59a actually has oven shelf brackets and grills, and comes with all of the pots, braisers and tools. The door doesn't have those little peek windows. Still deciding if it worth it to replace both.


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SCSG-G4

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Peek window only tells me if the pot is boiling over. I can't even see the aux baking shelf when it's open. When one of my M59's lost the window channel, I just pop riveted a solid sheet over it. No loss of functionality for me.
 

airmech3839

Member
842
5
18
Location
Augusta, GA
The slot on the edge of the counter holds a can opener right? Does anyone know the P/N or where I can get one?


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airmech3839

Member
842
5
18
Location
Augusta, GA
Well I don't have this mounted on a trailer yet, but looking for a 20' two axle civi trailer to mount in on in the future for disaster response. I have had a MKT and a TFK but both really needed a large/mil (slow)truck to move them so have opted for lighter, lower one. I got a MFK set, (Modular Field Kitchen) that will be mounted to the trailer. It will have the MTV bows and long bed cover installed to cover it all and will be fabricated to rise up when in use. Thought I would share some of the up graded stuff that came in the 4 crates that made up the set.
This is GL's Picture View attachment 720655 View attachment 720656

The 2 largest items are the serving steam table which holds 4 full size pans frame is all aluminum and manual states 1 2A burner will work, set came with 6, and 3/8 aluminum griddle which has the same 2 part frame.
Came w/ two new style ovens (been around 18 years) they are meant to have 2 stands under them. They are double walled convection style so the heat from the burner flows around the outside of the oven walls, no flame inside like a M59 range. I am going to mount a thermometer through the door for temps. They are called an Oven, Baking, Deck. It came with 0ne T meal heater but I have a couple so will use them as the cleaning/wash sinksCame with 2 heavy duty SS topped prep tables, that have a SS shelf that spans across the lower leg braces, top also has built in for can opener mount.​

Wow! That is some really nice gear! I wish half the stuff on my MKT looked half as good as those!


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