Genset Thankyou

[kgblazerfive]

Hi
First post
I recently bought a MEP004 paid $1200 out the door bought it sight unseen. Having bought two other smaller generators so I figured what the heck. Went to pick it up and had a no A/C tag so dang I thought. Figured I had bought a nice running diesel engine.

So had an electrician come out and look at it he could figure nothing out. It didn't work thought it might be the exciter.

Got doing some searching found that you guys have a section dedicated to these thing, here all i thought you guys did was 2 1/2 ton stuff.

But alas found some good info, keep the start switch on start till it starts working and wala it works .

So many thanks, now if i can convert it to run my house i will be good to go.

 

[phil2968]

Welcome to the site! Glad your purchase turned out ok. Now go out and find yourself a deuce and join the madness like the rest of us!

 

[gimpyrobb]

Glad you found what you needed! Welcome to the site. Usually you join for one thing and end up with 10,000 accessories. I see a 6x6 in your future.

 

[PeterD]

As a fellow MEP-004 owner, all I can say is "Win, win, win."

Great price for the unit, and that it works is fantastic. In addition to this wonderful site, there is smokstak.com which has a military generator forum as well. Most of us here, are there too.

 

[RetiredNavy]

Isnt the 004a all 3 phase? I presume it doesnt have a 1 phase because I have looked at the dataplates on GL. What am I missing here??

 

[kgblazerfive]

I have a very built Suburban think it might be big enough but a deuce may be in my future.

Saw the smokestack place going to do some looking there too

 

[kgblazerfive]

I also have a wheeled 5k diesel that i got from gov lq that I need to get some more info on has an electric start and everything works well too.

 

[deuceaid]

yeah, most people dont know that a generator can lose the residual magnetism in the rotor, which it needs to get started generating,,, and how to charge it back up.

 

[PeterD]

Isnt the 004a all 3 phase? I presume it doesnt have a 1 phase because I have looked at the dataplates on GL. What am I missing here??

I don't think phases were mentioned in this thread, but yes they are 3-phase. Fully usable for 'single phase' 120/208 service, slightly derated however. As well, some transfer switches (the ones with individual switches for each circuit) can be wired to a three phase generator easily--that's what I did. In my case I used one six circuit and one 10 circuit transfer switch giving me 16 circuits total. The various phases are split between these 16 circuits in as balanced a method as possible (considering that loads come and go as things are switched on and off...)

 

[jbk]

bump the voltage up a bit and you will have 220 very useable. i use the 3rd phase for other 120 circuts. welcome another 004 owner.

 

[PeterD]

bump the voltage up a bit and you will have 220 very useable. i use the 3rd phase for other 120 circuts. welcome another 004 owner.

That does work, and I know people who do that, the only risk is that you risk over-voltage when large loads switch off before the regulator pulls it back to the setting. For most everything that is not an issue, but for some electronics it might be an issue. (What happens when you drive it to 220, is that the 120 then goes to about 127 to 130, most equipment that is acceptable.) BTW, for computer equipment with switching power supplies that are rated for 110 to 240 volts without switching, it is a non-issue, they are happy with virtually any voltage! However in my case, I'm happy with 208 volts, heaters are not quite as hot, but such is life!

 

[Isaac-1]

Someone posted a step by step how to modify the reconnection board, etc in these to single phase a while back. Internally they are 12 lead generators, just the reconnection board and stock instrumentation is not designed for single phase operation.

Ike

 

[PeterD]

The only issue with rewiring for single phase is that you don't get full output, in fact it appears you get about the same output you'd get using two of the three phases, so the only advantage is that you have 240 instead of 208. In my case I didn't think the additional volts was going to be that important as compared to doing major rewiring of the output. YMMV however, each case and usage is going to be different.

 

[bimota]

Hey, I also just got an MEP-004 that runs great but no power out. Can you clarify "keep the start switch on start till it starts working and wala it works"? My unit starts right up but no power out, can it be that simple? Please advise!

 

[kgblazerfive]

yup that simple, keep it on start till it makes power

 

[PeterD]

As kgblazerfive says, keep on start. Instead of thinking "the motor is running" instead use the volt meter (or frequency meter) as an indication that it is time to release the start switch. It is not intuitive at all, we're trained from day one to always release the start position as soon as the engine is running, and now you have a device that is almost the opposite--you need to keep it in start after the engine is running.

This bit of magic is possible because there is an engine speed switch that disengages the starter as soon as the engine is running, and that allows the regulator to then 'flash' the field to generate power.