Milatary Generator

   / Milatary Generator #1  
fitter1

fitter1

Silver Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2013
Messages
151
Location
n cental ma/ nek vt
Tractor
2n, jd990
I'm looking at a mep 802a diesel 1800 rpm water cooled 5kw reconditioned generator with 82 hrs. Any used equipment is a crap shoot. My question. is a 2cyl diesel more noisy than a 4cyl? The seller has both and the 4cyl. runs smoother. He is repairing another 5kw that I can compare it to but the knocking sound concerns me. I do realize diesel engines all have slight knocking noise to them.
 
   / Milatary Generator #2  
Howdy,
There are numerous video's online which you can watch and listen too. Just search up for MEP-802A and MEP-803A.

The MEP-802A is a 2 cylinder diesel engine. The MEP-803A is a 4 cylinder engine. Both engines are the same, except 2 and 4 cylinders. All the parts are common between the two.

It depends on what your power requirements are. The military generators are at 5kw and 10kw. That figure is very conservative. The PF is .8 for each.
 
   / Milatary Generator
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Yes, I understand that and done so, but why should a 2cyl. be loader than a 4cyl?
 
   / Milatary Generator #4  
Don't fall into the trap of getting a generator that is a too large for your application. When underloaded the generator will over fuel it's self and that will result in "wet stacking". I run a 831a which is smaller than the unit you are looking at so I'm not familiar with the 802/803's. On my unit I've found the acoustic enclosure to be pretty effective. Not nearly critical silent, but you can carry a conversation right next to them. In a silent woods I can't hear the unit from 200' away. The ones without the enclosure are OMG loud! The units with the Onan engines are louder than those which have a water jacket because the Onans were air cooled. The Onans were a good engine, but Cummins now owns them so parts are a bit harder to find. That's Ok, with the surplus stuff there is plenty of aftermarket support. That said, sometimes filters can be almost impossible to find. Look into the availability of parts before you buy. Also make sure you are buying a unit that has been loaded tested before your eyes and carries a 6 month + warranty. Realize the stuff that is sold surplus has been picked through by the other government agencies. They get the good stuff and we get the scraps. You can't tell whats wrong with them when they cross the auction block and I've seen some people dump some real lemons onto the retail market.
 
   / Milatary Generator #5  
I have a MEP003A. It is loud as crap but I love it. I modified mine to accept spin on canister style oil and fuel filters. The OEM ones are a pain. Every time I changed the oil I had a leak. I run mine to power a mobile office of sorts at work. It runs 10-12 hours a day sometimes for weeks at a time. Never gave me any trouble and most the time it doesn't have much load on it. It runs a full 10-12 hour day on one tank of fuel which is really nice. Only complaint is it is loud. Seriously loud as in you want ear plugs if you are around it. They make some tactical quiet military generators. If I ever replaced mine I would look into one of them.
 
   / Milatary Generator #6  
I have the MEP803a, the 10kw version, not had it very long, but like it so far. Quiet enough, my wife doesn't hear it running.
Go to http://www.steelsoldiers.com/forum.php
And several there have your unit. Do a search and you can learn a lot, probably even videos of a unit running. Several guys on the forum have done lots of troubleshooting and rebuilds. Parts can be sourced as well.
 
   / Milatary Generator #7  
I own an MEP-802a that I use at my off grid place. I have flipped on 802a and I currently own an 803a that I am going to flip. The 803a is noticeably smoother and maybe a tad more quiet. Don't buy more generator than you need. I addition to spending twice as much for fuel you will wetstack a generator that is too large. The 802a is plenty quiet.

I just had a muffler fire in an MEP-831a that was severely wetstacked. The genset only had 15 hours on the new engine (tier II reset) but I suspect they used the original muffler which was was severely restricted. The genset was in the back of my truck when it caught fire. Scary deal.
 
   / Milatary Generator #8  
I just bought mep-802a 6kw and friend bought mep-804b 15kw, found a guy who buys and fixes them and sells them with guarantee he'll fix for free with used parts, or free labor you pay for new parts. Getting ready for bad weather and wanted diesel, easier to store fuel 55 gallon drums. They are not small or light but are on fork lift pallets fairly quiet. Mine was cheaper than the 3kw Honda inverter. Last time gas was hard and dangerous to get. When I showed up with two 55 gallon drums and started filling them in bad part of town some folks started to complain. I accidently unzipped my jacket so my so my 1911 on my hip showed, but don't want that again. If storm is coming I fill three 55 gallon drums with agricultural diesel, should give me 30 days.
 
   / Milatary Generator #9  
Seems like some people have some nice generators. For the same KW, I'm surprised that there are those wide variations in cylinders for the same cooling method and rpm. Two cylinders seems a bit cheap, three would be better, but given the choices, I would go with four. To me, it would be a smoother running engine. What makes are the engines? That would actually help me make my mind up even more.

I have a three cylinder Kubota 7.5 kw Onan that runs nice, but an Isuzu Onan 12KW four cylinder that runs even nicer! Both 1800rpm.
 
   / Milatary Generator #10  
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