Another 802A thread...but finally it's "my" 802

[Jeepadict]

Been some time I've been wanting a sibling set of 802 and 803 units mounted on 116A3 trailers...the 802 being most desired ATM. (Last summer I brought home an unmolested 101A3, it needed some TLC so now I have spare parts for both trailers.)

Back in Oct of '20 I found this 802 in Phoenix when looking for a backup unit for a buddy's house. He went with an 8K Diesel light tower instead. Here we go months later and my finances finally allow for the purchase of yet another addition to my generator hobby. A call to a pal in the Phoenix area who flips MEPs as a side gig to go check this 802 out for me. All reports are positive, so I load up my daughter and make the 3 hour trip down off the mountain.

This unit was originally built in '94 and Tier-2 reset at 2.2 hrs in '10 according to the Letterkenny paperwork. Fuse mod is done but MOV has not been installed yet.. Now it had 12-15 hours on it...but nobody took the time to note the meter exactly, I blame my 7-year-old haha! (The pic we took ended up being blurry). After an exchange of paperwork and Benjamins had us over to my buddy's MEP "flip headquarters" where I traded to him the Humvee wheels/tires (that still had knobbies on the tread) for a plethora of accessories...ground rod parts, long aux fuel line, fire extinguisher, fuel pick-up bung gizmo, and other odds and ends. A brief jumpstart to the lame "lawn & garden" batteries had us playing with all the doors and digits as he gave me a crash course on the 802. Now for the trip home, of which went flawlessly.

Played "show-n-tell" to the wife who was less than impressed, but was sarcastically supportive. She noted the 802 was quieter from inside the house than the 2800 Onan on the toy hauler. Side note, got a wiff of the fuel when I was doing the "show-n-tell" that said to me it was much older than desirable.

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[Jeepadict]

Enter commencement of shenanagains:

1) used the aux fuel line to suck some fresh diesel out of my Kerosene heater, hoping to dilute down some of the old nasty. System worked flawlessly. Still dark, but now I can see to the bottom. (Still smells pungent)

2) set gen to 120v. Broke out my 30A 110v power distro box from my 4K Onan Microquiet, prob 45' run into the garage of 10/3

Toaster 1200. 17%
Heat gun 1200. 35%
Shop heater 1500. 54%
Ceramic 1500. 71%
Ceramic 1500 on low 90%

If the 2nd Ceramic is set to high it boggs way down, have to take most of the load away to get the RPMs back up.

Cord is a bit warm at the plug in the middle of the cord. (Later did the math to see that I overloaded the cord by nearly 2000w...nice job dummy!)

Next trick will be to get a 50A receptacle from the hardware store so I can put this load on my big spider box and gen cord.

Did some light/med smoke out the exhaust under load just as it did under no load initially, but I expect this is prob the first full load since reset.

After 20 min of load listed above, load meter went down to 83% and held.

Took load off for a cool down and observed zero smoke out of the stack. Shut down at 18.5 hrs.

Exercise #1 complete, thank you and goodnight! Don't forget to tip your waitress.

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[Jeepadict]

Mulligan!

Round 2 had me adding tank cleaner and biocide to the mostly full tank. I tightened the smaller fuel filter housing as it had a slow-dripping leak.

This time has us running on 100' 50A 6/3 8/1 generator cord to 50A spider box.

Gun 1200 13.5%
Toaster 1200 26%
Shop heat 1500 45%
Ceramic 1 1500 72%
Ceramic 2 low 86%
Ceramic 2 high 95%

Estimate total 6900W load (according to the stickers on the devices) for 1 hour at 95%. Zero smoke during cool down, tho did notice batt amp intermittent from -5 to +10 thru out the run versus very stable on the last run. Shutdown @ 20 hrs. Not even so much as a hiccup from the engine this time.

I'm rather pleased to see all this tho next time I want to use my kill-a-watt meter to verify the load on each appliance vs the sticker rating. The Comfort Zone 220v 5000w shop heater has been ordered from Amazon for $100...most economical load bank I've ever seen.

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[Jeepadict]

Future plans include but are not limited to the following:

-Oil change and filter with fresh JD break-in oil (it still has its factory break-in oil and all filters are still painted green)
-Coolant flush and fill with Caterpillar HD coolant
-Pump/drain the old remaining Diesel, fill with fresh winter blend and include biocide/tank cleaner/lubricity additives
-Install MOV mod
-Install AGM batteries
-Install 24v battery tender using slave port
-Install battery hold-downs
-Replace fuel filters
-Install "ultimate well nut" (not leaking yet)
-Replace injector return lines (not leaking)
-Suicide cord adapter so I have the means to feed the house. (I'm very aware of the need to protect from backfeeding the grid and the 50A RV outlet is immediately below the CB panel. I'm refrained from doing an interlock due to lack of space in the panel and this house being a rental)
-Wheels & tires will match my 101A3 which match my Suburban and plow truck, they're OE GM aluminum with BFG AT tires...I have spares for daze! Special lug nuts already ordered. (used the set from my 101 to bring it home)
-Change over the fixed Lunette to an adjustable channel type as I am presently doing on my 101
-Flush brake fluid and omit silicone in favor of DOT-3 as reccomended by brake system manufacturer
-Install Bearing Buddies as on my 101
-Reinstall OE style rear light assemblies (upgraded to the Trucklite LED of course) as someone previous installed the square utility brake lights and a 2nd harness to the tongue.
-Change over the lighting whip to the 7-RV standard cord & plug as is on my 101
-Add 3/4" LED corner marker lights to meet DOT requirements as I'm doing on my 101
-Add the rectangle generator toolbox to the tongue that will hold tire change tools and a small 12v accessory battery charged by the new whip that will power white ground lighting just like my fire trucks have.
-Mount a Hi-lift jack on the tongue as that's what I use to connect and disconnect the trailers from our vehicles as it's much more expedient than the stoopid crank handle
-Belly strap-mounted auxiliary fuel tank forward of the axle...I'm estimating it will be in the 45 gal-ish size category
-underbody spare tire carrier Aft of the axle in the same likeness of what most pickups have (tho I would have to find an alternate stowage location for the rear stability leg)
-Mount the cable reels I have in storage just as like the UPS MEPs have
-Reinstalling the missing 5 gal can mounts on the Fwd corners as they were originally
-Possibly having a small Knaack box mounted forward of the unit for holding a 30A distro box and other accessories

I haven't figured out exactly what I want for a permanent connection to a outlet box from the power lugs or what distribution system I want to carry on-board.

This is from my best memory of everything I've read on this forum over the past many months studying for this purchase. (I still need to read the operators manual lol)

If anyone knows of a necessary mod or a convenience mod please feel free to offer up your suggestions.

My buddy recommended to flip the unit around so the control panel in the rear is easier to access but I don't know if there's any contraindications other than the exhaust flap being against the wind. Anyone want to comment on this?

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[CallMeColt]

My buddy recommended to flip the unit around so the control panel in the rear is easier to access but I don't know if there's any contraindications other than the exhaust flap being against the wind. Anyone want to comment on this?

I have mine flipped around. The flap will open, but I put a cord across it.

 

[Jeepadict]

@CallMeColt might you have an illustrated version you can share?

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[NATCAD]

where did your source the brake repair kit?

 

[Jeepadict]

where did your source the brake repair kit?

The box of brake parts goodies were sourced from the manufacturer Mendenhall Industries directly via their "contact me" link on their website. Their owner called me.

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[CallMeColt]

Dang, that adjustable channel factory part looks good. I looked all over to find that. I ended up having mine made at the local trailer shop.

What is the height of the ring at the highest adjusted point?

 

[CallMeColt]

@CallMeColt might you have an illustrated version you can share?

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I actually just realized I don't have a good picture of my trailer.

Here is a link to the post in my thread when i finally mounted the generator to the trailer;

M116A3 Fix-up & Conversion Thread

Making this thread to document what I have done to convert my newly acquired M116A3 over to tow with my civilian truck. Also wanted to document repairs I have done & sources for parts. Got the trailer to mount my MEP-802A on & add my own things to make it an easy tool for power & fuel at my off...

www.steelsoldiers.com

You can see it also at the beginning of one of my videos;

 

[Jeepadict]

New test: backfeed the house...simulated power outage.

For the record, this process can be deadly if done out of sequence. There are zero safeguards, and it goes in direct violation of the NFPA NEC. I consulted my highly qualified professional electrician before I went down this rabbit hole to ensure I was safely within the operating limits of my wiring and main panel. Do not use this post as a "how-to" to do this, I'm sharing this for entertainment purposes only. I have my reasons for going this route, most prevelant being this house is a rental and I already had the 50A RV outlet installed without permission and there is no available room in the panel for a main interlock. I have spent my entire adult life doing hazardous/dangerous activities both on & off duty as safely as possible, maximum caution was exercised and was doing an initial familiarization with my wife so this was "accomplished in a step by step fashion".

The 50A 240v RV outlet is mounted directly to the panel with #6 wire, and the suicide cord is a chunk off my 6/3 8/1 generator cord. As you can see I painted it "safety red" to make it stand out from the crowd. The generator cord far exceeds the requirements for this load rating and sports CA Standard twist-lock connectors for the additional safety.

The Neutral bond at the generator should be open for this exercise as the Neutral is bonded at "the first disconnect means" being the main panel. For those just tuning in for the first time, this makes the generator mimmick the same supply configuration that would come from the grid albeit packing a far smaller punch.

First step, preflight the unit...had the wife check the fluids and walked her thru the start-up process but did not start it.

Second was to shut off the main and all stem breakers in the panel. Double check the main is off...absolutely critical step, check it again. All cord connections were made from the unit to the panel, check the main again.

Start up and warm up, battery gauge still bouncing around +2...all others in line as advertised. Check the main again. After operating temp came above 120 I closed the contact.

Over to the panel to start turning breakers on, check the main again...avoid it like the plague. With all circuts on the house was pulling approx 20% load on the meter. This house is equipped with "balanced power" so grid-fed CNG handles all heating duties except the oven, and no central air.

Went thru with the kids and turned every light in the house on, having LEDs and CF everywhere didn't even budge the load needle. Dryer, on. Oven, on...furnace and clothes dryer also. This had the meter at 70% with minimal smoke from the stack. Only thing left was the microwave...turned it on for 2 min and instantly bogged the unit down and dimmed the house. Turning things off did not bring it back up to speed, had to open the contact and it returned to normal. She did the same thing to me the first time I load tested it (see above post)...subsequent loads were fine then so I went at it again.

Reset back to to lights on only. As the load increased the only thing I noticed was some slightly heavier smoke. (Still need to get fresh fuel in her) This time on with the microwave went without incident and had the set running at 100% on the gauge. In hindsight, the dryer wasn't running but it's a 120v gas dryer so it draws the same juice as an exhaust fan in the bathroom. At this time the oven had reached its pre-heat of 350F so I could observe the element cycling at the load gauge while the unit didn't even hiccup at this point.

Being rather elated to see I can run the house at nearly 100% all within the abilities of the genset, I walked the wife thru the shut-down. Waited for the operating temp to roll back to 170F and shut it down, 20.5 hrs. Disco'd the cabling and brought the house back online with the grid.

All in all I'm very pleased yet again with the performance and was joyfully bouncing around the house like a retard.

Again, this exercise was done with an abundance of caution in absence of any safeguard. This is an extremely dangerous endeavor and has grave consequences should a mishap result. "Don't try this at home, kids."

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[NATCAD]

Is the duck-loon box the generator, cough, the rv plug in?

 

[Jeepadict]

Is the duck-loon box the generator, cough, the rv plug in?

Sorry, just saw this. Yes, the 50A RV outlet on the bottom of the panel is what I used to backfeed the house.

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[Jeepadict]

Knee-jerk reaction project courtesy of another thread about battery chargers kicked me in high gear.

So this other member posts up about which proper charger to use on his 803A and @Light in the Dark promptly dropped what I call a "NOCO bomb" which was like a slap in the face as I already run NOCO stuff and even have the power port installed on bumpers of trucks. "Why the hell didn't I think of using this stuff" was my immediate brain wave with some cussing that immediately followed.

Some further comments from Light and @kloppk had me scurrying around the garage because...yes, my dumbass had everything needed already on hand! Ugh! Spare power port and Y cord on the shelf ordered by accident, spray paint on the shelf, and 2 wall-worts doing menial/insignificant tasks at best.

From the toolbox came the proper size hole saw...since I've put these in more than once before...and we're off to the races! The bottom mount screw had to be cut short due to a bolt obstruction behind the panel. The Y cord is just long enough for the wall-worts to nest nicely in the battery trays since a previous genius put lawn mower batteries where AGMs belong. (yes, I know they work fine) All done within hours...longest part was waiting for the paint to dry.

I'm overly pleased with how this has turned out. Future plans call for permanent mounting a NOCO marine 2-bank charger just as Light suggested, and I think it will get mounted just above the Dead Crank Switch on the right side. Huge thanks to Light and Kloppk for this one, Bravo Zulu fellas!

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[Jeepadict]

Sometimes it's the small details that make the package.

I thought since there's plenty of open space in these GM wheels that the look would appreciate a little old-school treatment of black to the brake drums...give that polished aluminum the "pop" it deserves. The drums were a PITA to get off, but I'm pleased with the end result.

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[Jeepadict]

Commencement of shenanagains continues....enter the poor man's load bank. A note of interest that I haven't mentioned previously, we live in the mountains of Northern Arizona at an altitude of roughly 6860 ft. which according to the data plates de-rates this thing down to 4.3K...but I have yet to see this machine act like it.

I took the suggestion from other member threads by picking up the Comfort Zone 5,000w garage heater. Math says 5000w at 240v is 20.83A, so I gave it 8' of 10 ga SEOOW cord and a L14-30P to neatly connect to the spider box. Start-up at 20.7 hrs.

Heater has 3 heat settings with an on/off temperature rheostat...3K, 4K, and 5K. After a 5 min warm-up and coolant temp at 135 and rising I gave it to the first setting of 3K and with an ever-so-slight bog of the engine the load meter shows 45%...temp steady at 180 charge at +10, HZ dropped a notch so had to dial that back in. Nice to see the fuel and battery charge gauges have stopped bouncing.

Switch flipped to 4K gives 62% on the load meter. Another slight freq adjustment since yet another 0.5 drop of the HZ. Temps steady, battery charge now up to +19...that's a bit odd to me. Nice to see there is nearly any visible smoke from the stack...being dark outside it takes a flashlight shining direct into the exhaust to see it.

Final switch to 5K and jusy barely an audible motor hesitation. Same 0.5 HZ drop in freq, 77% on PRC gauge, smidgen drop in voltage. A small bouncing flutter to the batt charge right at/below +20. Temp a hair over 180 deg.

Let her run with the load while the fam sat down for dinner. Running as advertised.

When I shut the heater off the HZ jumped to 61.5 and battery charge went down to +15. Oil pressure was steady throughout at 50. Test stop 22.0 hrs. The fluctuation in Batt Charge based on load befuddles my mind!

I recently found that Fluke makes a current clamp adapter for my meter, so I'm looking forward to getting that in and being able to confirm the load gauge accurately.

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[Jeepadict]

The trailer gods have bestowed great gifts upon the...

Updates on some chores:

- A couple sellers on eBay offer a commercially available 8' 7-way RV trailer whip with the appropriate weather-tight Packard terminals crimped and ready to go. This whip installs exactly as the NATO 12-wire whip did, tho now the blackout circuts just hang out behind the cover. I had the seller also terminate the 12v+ and Rev legs of the whip for future use.

- LED tail/brake light assemblies are installed and look most excellent!

- I've been working thru how the final configuration will be, for now everything is mocked. Lt cord reel is 100' 8/5 cable sourced from the UPS units. Rt reel is 100-ish' 6/3 8/1 generator cord. (Both reels need tan paint) Knaack box is storing the misc power pro accessories...aux fuel line, long ground cable, spike ground loop, cord connectors, etc. Fuel can holders/mounts are NOS from a surplus seller. (Yes, they'll get painted tan too) The black Pelican is a retired TDY aircraft APG toolbox, with the 50A spider box chillin atop it...pretty sure the Pelican and spider box frame are gonna go tan. Accessory box on the tongue is typical for this unit, but relocated for my preference...it's purpose is to store registration, tire changing tools, ground rods, etc.

- Lock-out pins for the surge brakes have arrived for both my 101 and 116 trailers. I opted for red pins and red "remove before flight" streamer keychains.

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[swbradley1]

Everything looks great and I only have one question. Where did you get that "Remove Before Flight" tag?

 

[Jeepadict]

Everything looks great and I only have one question. Where did you get that "Remove Before Flight" tag?

It's a keychain. We have them fror sale in our snackbar at work.

Remove Before Flight Key Chain - 3 Pack Red by Rotary13B1 at Amazon Men’s Clothing store

Buy Remove Before Flight Key Chain - 3 Pack Red by Rotary13B1: Shop top fashion brands Keyrings & Keychains at Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY and Returns possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

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[Jeepadict]

Shenanagains cont'd:

Took about a month to find all the right pieces commercially, but I basically I was able to meld the equivalent MEP fuel tank drain pieces to the drain of my 96 gal x-fer tank that lives in the bed of my plow truck. Since both are the same size, the OE external fuel line connects effortlessly.

I have a rear bumper from a CUCV that will get installed on my plow truck (78 K25) next month when I'm on vacay (since a Squarebody is a Squarebody) then the 802/116 combo can travel behind it with a very respectable fuel quantity which should give approx 8.4 days continous run time at rated load.

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