Won a MEP-803A on a Trailer

[Gunny65]

I have a stove. The oven is electric but the burners are gas. I am sure I can find enough stuff to put a proper load on the generator though. It's just a learning curve. Having never done this I figured I would ask. I am sure I could do it but rather than making a costly mistake, I ask the questions anyway. So far, this site has saved me a few times from using a incorrect part or method. Many thanks!

 

[Guyfang]

Gunny,

No job left my shop without 6-8 hours load test. I don't think you need to run it 8 hours, but 2-3 hours would not hurt. On some sets, after an hour, if they were wet stacked badly, the carbon chunks flew out of the exhaust like hail. We almost set the woods behind the shop on fire. I assume/hope your set isn't wet stacked. So its not like you need to make it an all day project. I would indeed turn off the large loads, get the house on "TAC POWER" and then turn on large loads like the water heater, etc. Thats the problem with AUTO START. If you have a large load, and the generator rejects it, fine if you are home. But what happens when you are in the back 40? Set runs, but no power output. The good part of load test with the house is knowing that it works! Or not. Working out the bugs now is called PPPPPPP.

Guyfang

 

[jimbo913]

Dryer, oven, wall strip heater, microwave, vacuums, heatpumps, A/C units, are all pretty big loads and you have a shop, so you can get it to 50-75% easy and throw a few large motors on/off to give it a workout.

Like someone else said, if the unit is new to you, then start slow and work your way up until you feel comfortable. I used mine with a 45A stick welder before connecting to the house. That definately threw some spikes at it.

 

[DieselAddict]

Most ovens are about 2500-3500w. Dryers are about 3500-4500w. Water heaters depending on its size and if its a rapid recovery will be 2500-5500w.

Ahead of your test you can turn off the breaker to your water heater so you know there will be some cold water in there to heat. Depending on how much hot water you use you may need to turn it off the evening before you intend to test. That should give you a predictable and switchable load to put on the generator.

I recommend clicking on each appliance solo in the beginning to see how much load they register on the meter. Remember since they are all resistive load to multiply the meter reading by 1.2 to get the true generator load. Using a clamp on amp meter is an even better thing to do if you have one.

Start with a cold oven and preheat it up to 400 deg. Check the load meter and see where you are. I would expect it to be 25% or less.

Next step, while the oven is preheating and you know the gen is OK put a load of wet towels in the dryer. When the temp comes up in the dryer it will cycle the heating element on and off. This will give the gen a varying load to deal with. Check the peak for the load meter. See if this is getting you up in the 60-75% range with both the oven and the dryer running.

If you have enough capacity left with the dryer and oven running you can click on the water heater. If you are loading it up this much have someone in the house click on the water heater while you man the generator.

When I was first testing my 003a I ran the oven, water heater, and dryer at the same time. That did put it over 100% indicated load on the gen but since it varied a lot it did not trip. It was interesting to watch the load meter move around as the dryer and the oven cycled the heating elements around. After about 25min the water heater dropped out and the load shifted down below 100% but the dryer and oven kept things going. The 003 took it like a champ. Hardly any smoke even when loaded up to the top.

 

[Guyfang]

Chris,

Give me a 002 or 003 anyday!

guyfang

 

[DieselAddict]

I reluctantly sold my 003 to a farmer near me a couple of weeks ago. He really wanted it. I probably shouldn't have done it. I have my fingers crossed the 803 works out ok. It is a lot quieter which is a benefit here. Time will tell!

 

[Guyfang]

Chris,

That's what the Q, in TQG stands for Tactical Quiet Generator. Having said that, yes it is lots more quite. I spent 20 plus years working on generators in the army, and 8 plus years working on generators here in germany as a civilian contractor for the army. I have seen the many changes made by the military in the power generation arena. I on the one side found the 802 and 803 to be improvements over the 002 and 003. Easier to work on. Quieter. Oh man is that nice! One of the reasons I wear two hearing aids!! I think you will be happy with the 803.

The one big advantage of the 002 and 003 was its longevity. It was around a long time. The military had a chance to work the bugs out. The sets were built to run a VERY long time. Thousands of hours. We had lots of problems with the 802 and 803 in the beginning. And most have been resolved. Just like the 002 and 003, its just that not many of us around anymore who can tell the stories! The MTBF, Mean Time Between Failure, was always better for the 002 and 003. Its just not a problem for you unless you want to go off the net and live the rest of your life running on TAC POWER. I cant see anyone doing that, so like I said, not a problem. I can work up a short list of failures that occur most often for the 802 and 803 if you would like. You sound like you have all your stuff in order.

 

[kloppk]

Guyfang,
Could you work up that list of common 802/803 failures?
I've got a 1997 802 with 1,400 hrs on it.
Myself and probably many others would like to know so we can know what to expect and what parts we may want to keep on hand.
Thx!

 

[DieselAddict]

A hit list of things to watch out for would benefit the community greatly seeing that the supply of 002s and 003s has transitioned from fixed to diminishing. The 8xx models are the future whether we like it or not.

With luck many of the improvements that have been realized are in the one I have now since it was reset in recently and has less than 15hrs use. The batteries were still good, it had coolant, and fuel in it (I flushed it anyway). It started up as soon as I hit the switch.

 

[DieselAddict]

Make the list a new post so the admins can make it a sticky.

 

[Guyfang]

First a question. Or questions. Do you have access to the TM's? If not would you like them? Keep in mind, that a generator has manuals for the generator, and manuals for the engine also.

I am not sure my copies are the most current, nor have every change to make them so, but I have just about every generator manual in existence. Do you all know how to properly use them. By that I mean UOC (usable on code) and such? I can tell some VERY funny stories about not looking at the UOC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
guyfang

 

[Daybreak]

First a question. Or questions. Do you have access to the TM's? If not would you like them? Keep in mind, that a generator has manuals for the generator, and manuals for the engine also.

I am not sure my copies are the most current, nor have every change to make them so, but I have just about every generator manual in existence. Do you all know how to properly use them. By that I mean UOC (usable on code) and such? I can tell some VERY funny stories about not looking at the UOC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
guyfang

Howdy,
YES, the TM's are all online in PDF format. Besides some units still having the manuals with them.
Generator,
Engine,
Trailers etc... Operation, Parts and Maintenance

 

[Gunny65]

Guyfang, a list would definitely be nice. The gen doesn't look like it has any wet stacking going on but the plan is to give it a good test anyway. I wasn't sure how many hours to run it for a test so thanks. I figured around three or four would do it.

 

[Gunny65]

Chris gave me the links to the TMs. I have already downloaded them and am going over them.

Chris, thanks for a breakdown on how the different appliances rate and how they may affect the generator. It is nice to have an idea on what to expect for the differing loads. I never looked at what the actual watts of a given large appliance uses. I know they cost more to run but specifics, not so much. It is appreciated.

 

[Gunny65]

Jimbo, I forgot about the baseboard heaters. I never use them. The vacuum is a good idea as well. I don't have a A/C unit. I was old you don't need one up here. LIARS, all of them! LOL. Just kidding. While you don't NEED one. It sure would be nice to have. I am going to get one installed in the next two years.

 

[Gunny65]

One of the reasons I opted for (kept an eye out for) the 803 was the "Q" in the TQG. I had a chance at a 003 but it was further away and I really wanted it a bit quieter. The 803 have been around for a good long time now. Long enough to workout most of the bugs. One of the other reasons was, We used them all the time when TDY. We rarely had a problem and it usually was a simple to fix when one malfunctioned. We didn't fix them but mechs who repaired them would often let us know what the problem was. I am familiar enough with them to start them and properly use them for our intended purpose but hooking them up to my home is a whole different process. Now I need to know more of the specifics of what can go wrong and what it is really capable of. I now need to know how to adjust the 803 to do what I need it to do at home.

You guys are providing that to me and all the others that come through here. Know that it is Appreciated. It sure has made me more comfortable with the process of bringing it home, testing it, fixing problems and putting it to use. THANKS.

 

[Guyfang]

Ok, so at least Gunny has TM experience. But the rest of you? Do you all know what a UOC or CAGE code is? Reading the TM is not the same as understanding the TM.

Am looking at my TM's and thinking what kid of list to give you all. As the Gunny said, the sets are reliable. Not many problems. The problems start when you run them a long time, something I don't expect you all to do. So maybe a list for more then a month running time, and a list for less then a month. Or someone has a better idea?

 

[Guyfang]

I looked at the SS Tech manual section, and you are missing half the 802 manuals, and all the 803 manuals. Or am I doing something wrong? Should I be directing these questions to the web site boss?

 

[emmado22]

UOC.... Who needs to pay attention to that... They are all the same....


I also enjoyed when soldiers didn't read/understand the quantity of issue... 1 ea isn't the same as 1hd
We had a mechanic who needed 100 bolts. But the quantity of issue was 1hd. He got a talking to from the BMO for that one, and they had tons of the same exact bolt for a LONG time.

 

[Korgoth1]

+1 for the list. I run mine alot.