Picked up a 10KW Military Surplus Generator

[TractorGuy]

So far it has been less involved than thought. I had a gallon and a half of new Rotella 15w40 oil in the shed that a friend gave me. Bought two batteries and a new oil filter at Walmart for $138. Looked the unit over and filled the fluids and started it up. Still need to get antifreeze and I think it requires wet sleeve engine type so it'll be off to TS for that.

MEP-83A First Run - YouTube

The fuel return lines are leaking so I need to pull the top cover off and replace those. I didn't see any reading on the voltage or hertz but that may be because I didn't have a load on it. There is a forum dedicated to these and what ever I can't figure out on my own I'm sure those guys can and will help me with. One of the forum members is local to me and has two of them he recently got going. BTW he bought two running units on a trailer and still had to go through some repairs to get them up to snuff.

The document canister had service records showing a successful load test with 2616 hours on it. It is showing 2617.5 hours now so I don't expect any problems getting the generator to function.

 

[TractorGuy]

In 2003 my Company deployed into Iraq. My HQ and 1st Platoon lived on a 15KW similar to this one for 4 months. Only shut it off to change engine oil. Sucked fuel out of an old water tank we scrounged. That Generator was our lifeblood. Only breakdown we had was a vibration crack in the oil pan after a couple months of running. Engineer unit nearby came and welded it on the engine. Back in service!!!!

I wanted a larger unit but from what I've read all the 15KW units and larger are 3 phase only. I saw a video where one guy claims he can rewire them for single phase but also read where others say it isn't possible due to the design. Either way I wasn't going to gamble that much money and end up with something that would not run at 240 V single phase.

 

[ovrszd]

I wanted a larger unit but from what I've read all the 15KW units and larger are 3 phase only. I saw a video where one guy claims he can rewire them for single phase but also read where others say it isn't possible due to the design. Either way I wasn't going to gamble that much money and end up with something that would not run at 240 V single phase.

Ours had the ability to provide whatever power you needed. We ran computers, TVs, AC units, a refrigerator, etc.

 

[TractorGuy]

There may be some other makes and models out there. All the 15KW and above Tactical Quiet units I've seen were rated for 3 phase only. I have stuck to looking at units within driving distance to me and also the ones that have a low minimum bid.

 

[ovrszd]

Yep. I understand that.

 

[George2615]

I'm glad it worked out and you got yours running. Thanks for posting.
The 15KW can be converted to single phase fairly easily. There is a video on how to do this.

 

[LittleBill21]

any idea on the THD of these gensets?

 

[ovrszd]

I'm glad it worked out and you got yours running. Thanks for posting.
The 15KW can be converted to single phase fairly easily. There is a video on how to do this.

Yep. And to the average layman it's a bit confusing. But we figured it out without burning up anything.

 

[aczlan]

any idea on the THD of these gensets?

Is this what you are looking for?

Max waveform deviation factor 6% (1 phase); 5% (3 phase)
Individual waveform harmonic 3% (1 phase); 2% (3 phase)

Aaron Z

 

[LittleBill21]

Is this what you are looking for?


Aaron Z

yep ty, those are some good numbers

 

[aczlan]

yep ty, those are some good numbers

Nothing but the best for Uncle Sam

Aaron Z

 

[TractorGuy]

I'm glad it worked out and you got yours running. Thanks for posting.
The 15KW can be converted to single phase fairly easily. There is a video on how to do this.

From what I've read the MEP-00X machines have a 12 wire head that can be converted. The MEP-80X machines are 10 wire heads and cannot. The MEP-00X machines are not the tactical quiet versions and are super noisy. I live in the country but have some neighbors within earshot of me I would not want to impose on with excess noise.

I've read through a 400 post thread on the subject for the MEP-00X conversion and it seems inconclusive at best. Some claims it works and other seem to experience problems.

 

[TractorGuy]

Repaired the fuel leaks, replaced radiator hoses, added antifreeze, and ran for 30 minutes. Runs really good and keeps good oil pressure and coolant temp. Still no reading on the volt and hertz meters but it IS putting out 240v to the load connectors so I know the generator is working. Just have to figure out the meters not working and fix those.

2nd run MEP83A - YouTube

 

[Garandman]

Nice.

 

[TractorGuy]

Just put my first load on it. Connected a single 5400W dryer element and ran it a few minutes. Using my Fluke multimeter to set values and check things out. Hertz was at 59.8 with no load. With the load applied it dropped to 58 so I adjusted the frequency up to 60 and voltage to 240 with a half load on it. Will need to run it a while at full load after I get the load bank properly built.

I cleaned out the voltage meter on the machine and got it working but it's no where near accurate. I went ahead and ordered some digital meters to upgrade it with.

 

[Industrial Toys]

FINALLY! A story on here about someone buying a REAL generator. Well Done! Something you can be very proud to own.

Don't get too freaked out about frequency. People on here seem to think it matters. It doesn't. Your not trying to sync to the grid, another genset or the Atomic clock in Boulder. Who cares if you run at 57 HZ? Your clocks will just run slightly slow and your AC motors a tiny fraction slower.

The voltage is the bigger issue, especially for motor loads.

 

[dickfoster]

Repaired the fuel leaks, replaced radiator hoses, added antifreeze, and ran for 30 minutes. Runs really good and keeps good oil pressure and coolant temp. Still no reading on the volt and hertz meters but it IS putting out 240v to the load connectors so I know the generator is working. Just have to figure out the meters not working and fix those.

2nd run MEP83A - YouTube

Looks like a good score.