3 Phase to Single Phase Step Down Transformers

[Scoobyshep]

Yes! I am just curious about how they actually work in regards to current draw. I may be mistaken in how I think they work.

If its like the units I've screwed with its a traditional water heater mixer with an air conditioner. So it draws about what a window shaker would when in heat pump mode

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[rickf]

If what you have now is the old style tank type water heater it will have plenty of stored hot water stored for breakfast. And the coffee maker keeping coffee hot is very little draw for very short periods. Again, emergency situations call for common sense solutions. If you want to live the full electric luxury lifestyle during a total blackout then you have got to have a professionally sized installed unit. Preferably run by dual fuel so it will run on natural gas without any worry of adding fuel but if the natural gas line is broken you have the option of running on gasoline. Plus the generator comes on automatically as soon as the power goes out. No playing with any switches. You need to decide which way you want to go, Common sense emergency mode or full luxo screw it all mode.

 

[Scoobyshep]

If what you have now is the old style tank type water heater it will have plenty of stored hot water stored for breakfast. And the coffee maker keeping coffee hot is very little draw for very short periods. Again, emergency situations call for common sense solutions. If you want to live the full electric luxury lifestyle during a total blackout then you have got to have a professionally sized installed unit. Preferably run by dual fuel so it will run on natural gas without any worry of adding fuel but if the natural gas line is broken you have the option of running on gasoline. Plus the generator comes on automatically as soon as the power goes out. No playing with any switches. You need to decide which way you want to go, Common sense emergency mode or full luxo screw it all mode.

For the record I have a 004 and it's fully automated. I was left unsupervised and I am good with controls

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[rickf]

Well, we are talking about the common person that does not have those skills. I am one of them. I know how to do household wiring and I can read directions well but I am not good with making up my own controls and I would not trust my house and family to them. I am the common sense emergence management type of person. When the power goes out I run my house on my 002 5K unit with no problems. Some sacrifices need to be made but we are comfortable. I have soft start on my A/C if I decide to run it but I do not for the most part. I lived for 45-50 years without A/C in my houses so it is not that much of an inconvenience. If I want to run the A/C I shut the well pump off and make sure no cooking is done on the electric stove, I bring in my Coleman camp stove for all cooking and set it on top of the stove. Works just as well. ALL about management. How many OLD guys do we have here that remember the days when a bad storm was coming you would fill the bathtub with water to use for cooking and flushing the toilet? Yes youngsters, you can flush a toilet by dumping a half bucket of water in the bowl. And a full bath tub holds roughly 55-75 gallons of water depending on the tub. I still do that to this day.

 

[kayak1]

I found this.... link about how they work. It does still draw the full 4500 when in high demand but runs just the pump during low use times....

How it Works — Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWHs)

www.energystar.gov

I set mine to run in heat pump-only mode. As a byproduct, it's dehumidifying my basement.

 

[3gunguy]

I set mine to run in heat pump-only mode. As a byproduct, it's dehumidifying my basement.

That is awesome. Does it sufficiently heat the water and keep up with household use?

 

[3gunguy]

I don't understand why you would need 18 KW to run your house. I have a very large house, totally electric. I have an MEP003A, a 10 kw machine that feeds a 400 amp square D manual transfer switch. I don't have any load switching at all. We have frequent power outages because we live remotely on 40 acres in the mountains surrounded by national forest. Some outages have lasted a week or more, both summer and winter. When I start the MEP003A, it is business as usual. I don't pay any attention to what is turned on. The genset handles it all, albeit somewhat noisy. Just because there are a lot of things in the house that pull power, doesn't mean that they are all on at the same time. We run the HVAC, dryer, washer, dishwasher, etc. and have never had any problems. I like the MEP003A because it is very simple, easy to service and is air cooled, so no potential problems with liquid-based cooling systems. It puts out both single and three-phase power. It uses about 1 gallon of diesel per hour at full load and is very easy to start. Even my wife can start it without problems. I purchased it at auction in 2009 and it has run almost completely trouble-free since then. It was never rebuilt by the military and has 8085 total hours on it. It was freshly back from Iraq when I got it and is trailer-mounted, which makes it nice to be able to move it easily around our property when power is needed remotely. I previously also used it in three-phase to power a lot of three-phase power tools in my shop before a installed a rotary phase converter. Talk to other people that currently use 10 kw MEP gensets to power their houses for backup power.

I hope you are right. The generator finally shipped today and is arriving Friday. I am having the house wired tomorrow. We should have an idea by this weekend of what is what.

 

[3gunguy]

I don't know how you're calculating that load...the ac compressor start up amps is probably close to 100 amps...the pool pump who knows...I'd do a soft start on the ac and pool pump. They will knock that down to about a third in start up load. I'd bet the 803 can handle it though. You can run 55 amps at 220. Even still if you have to turn off your pool pump in a hurricane would that be the worst thing to deal with? I see you talked about a plug in setup...do a manual switch that is hard wired as a plug can be very dangerous or corrode.

We are doing that manual breaker lock switch in the box and a hard wired plug outside with an angled cover so even when a cable is plugged in, it is protected from the elements. I will look into the soft start stuff for sure.

 

[3gunguy]

If what you have now is the old style tank type water heater it will have plenty of stored hot water stored for breakfast. And the coffee maker keeping coffee hot is very little draw for very short periods. Again, emergency situations call for common sense solutions. If you want to live the full electric luxury lifestyle during a total blackout then you have got to have a professionally sized installed unit. Preferably run by dual fuel so it will run on natural gas without any worry of adding fuel but if the natural gas line is broken you have the option of running on gasoline. Plus the generator comes on automatically as soon as the power goes out. No playing with any switches. You need to decide which way you want to go, Common sense emergency mode or full luxo screw it all mode.

You mean I cant have both? Ha! I cant afford screw it mode so common sense will have to prevail. I am totally ok with having to make adjustments. It would just be awesome to cramp the 803 and walk back into the house leaving all the neighbors wondering what the hell is in my back yard...ha .....

 

[Ray70]

Try not to get to anxious to test out you new system at full output right off the bat. Take the time to properly service and test the 803 before hooking it up to your house, just incase there are any issues. I'm not sure where you bought it etc. but if its from the auction take extra care, sometimes there's a reason why machines have low hours, not that you can really trust the meters anyway.... just take your time and do things right so your system will perform as intended.

 

[3gunguy]

Try not to get to anxious to test out you new system at full output right off the bat. Take the time to properly service and test the 803 before hooking it up to your house, just incase there are any issues. I'm not sure where you bought it etc. but if its from the auction take extra care, sometimes there's a reason why machines have low hours, not that you can really trust the meters anyway.... just take your time and do things right so your system will perform as intended.

I appreciate the good advice. I am actually buying it from a guy in VA that has two and has had them for a few years. He used to work on generators but is now 79 and went to a natural gas auto switch over because he cant deal with running them as he has medical issues. He has been very helpful and they are original hours not the Tier 2 rebuilds. I will definitely check it out but it appears he has babied and cared for these. He still has one he is selling. I wish you could daisy chain these things. I would have bought the second one and then there would have been no problem on running the whole house.

 

[Scoobyshep]

I appreciate the good advice. I am actually buying it from a guy in VA that has two and has had them for a few years. He used to work on generators but is now 79 and went to a natural gas auto switch over because he cant deal with running them as he has medical issues. He has been very helpful and they are original hours not the Tier 2 rebuilds. I will definitely check it out but it appears he has babied and cared for these. He still has one he is selling. I wish you could daisy chain these things. I would have bought the second one and then there would have been no problem on running the whole house.

It isnt impossible to parallel them. But its complex.

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[DieselAddict]

It isnt impossible to parallel them. But its complex.

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And by complex it means replacing parts. The 802 or 803 shouldn't be paralled in their stock form. The voltage regulators as an example aren't designed for parallel operation and would have to be replaced with one that was designed for it.

 

[Scoobyshep]

And by complex it means replacing parts. The 802 or 803 shouldn't be paralled in their stock form. The voltage regulators as an example aren't designed for parallel operation and would have to be replaced with one that was designed for it.

Depends on how far you wanna rig it. Avrs would need some degree of external control, but yea not something the average person would want to attempt.

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[3gunguy]

It isnt impossible to parallel them. But its complex.

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Do tell...is it worth exploring?

 

[Scoobyshep]

Do tell...is it worth exploring?

Depends on how much you really want to spend.

voltage and current monitoring, voltage control and throttle control.

 

[3gunguy]

How much would all that roughly run and how hard to implement?

 

[Scoobyshep]

Depends how automatic you want to go and your skill level

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[DieselAddict]

Or you could go with the 10xx series machines that can parallel out of the box. By the time you do all the work to make an 80x generation machine do it, you've already paid the price difference to get 10xx machines.

 

[rickf]

Or you could buy an installed and turn key commercial unit and probably save money over all those options. PLUS, you have readily available parts and service. There are many ways to look at this. In days gone by military surplus equipment was the way to go to get decent equipment for a really good price. It was simple to run and had good parts availability. Not anymore. Parts are hard to find and expensive when you do find them. The newer sets are all completely computer controlled and my guess is that you need dedicated equipment to diagnose them. I have heard a lot of bad stuff about the 10XX machines in that regard. Nowadays people want to buy military equipment because they think it is tougher than civilian, it is not. It is just set up on a contract so that any company making it has to make it the same way to the same specs and, wait for it........................ AT THE CHEAPEST PRICE! That last part is the key thing. You do not get quality and cheap at the same time. The government buys these things by the thousands so they get massive discounts. If one goes bad in the field they replace it, they do not have to go looking for parts. Not an option for most of us unless you have unlimited disposable income. Just some thoughts to ponder.

And something I forgot to add in, these sets, and all other things military, are designed by government engineers that compete with each other to see who can make anything as complicated as possible and the winner has their plans submitted for the contracts. Look at any military genset, truck, weapon system, They are all overly complicated. Especially the gensets.