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Hello All, New member here

WillsC

Member
37
8
8
Location
Inverness, FL
Hello,

I'm Wills, not Willis, everyone sees that extra I till I point out it isn't there. Just wanted to introduce myself though I have been reading threads here for a week or so so feel like I already know some of the regular posters. I know I will need some help sooner or later.

I own a nursery here at my home and have a few greenhouses. One of the greenhouses has 10k gallons of water in it that acts as passive heat storage for the winter, the plants grow on top of the tanks. It keeps the GH warm and also the tanks have tilapia in them for personal use. Have about 800 adult fish at any given time and who knows how many youngsters. A 1.5 HP regenerative blower supplies air to the tanks as well as to about 5000 gallons of water for hydroponics (De-coupled deep water culture) in a different greenhouse. The generator while it will supply the whole house and the greenhouses is mostly so that the tanks don't lose air flow due to an extended power outage. The fish can tolerate the 2 HP water pump that filters the water through the tanks to be out for days and would not care in the least but if the air goes out the fish will be in deep trouble in about 8 hours.

Just bought a MEP-803A last week. Very nice unit, a 2011 I believe and looks brand new inside and out, unit has 24 hours on it and given the condition of it I'm sure that is accurate. It is the model with the solar panel charger mounted to the top as well, or perhaps that was an optional add on?

I mounted it to a sled made of 4x4 lumber with 6 solid rubber tires. The tires were needed as its ultimate destination was on our Lanai and did not want to tear up the pool deck dragging it. Had to take 2 wheels at a time off to get it in the screen doors. Take two wheels off push it in...put the wheels back on.....pull, take the middle two wheels off.....pull it in then put them back on, well you get it.

The generator is sitting on a horse stall mat on the concrete floored and screened Lanai which is about 40 feet long, steel roof and steel walls. Wanted it under roof so I did not have to deal with the Gen being in the weather and dealing with the bugs getting in it. To be clear it is outside and about 30 feet from my home but the Lanai is connected to the house.

Ran conduit and got the unit all set along with an interlock kit for the electrical panel. The funny part is my wife said "now that we have it we probably will never need it", but being in FL we will need it:) Turned out she was wrong very quickly. As I was wiring things in to the electrical panel there was a LOUD BOOM......just not what you want to hear when your hands are inside the panel, main breaker off or not. The transformer on the pole at the road had popped, Sounded like a 12 gauge, a heck of a coincidence if you ask me. Wife came outside and looked at me with raised eyebrows...I said "I did NOT cause that". I was just about done with the install so when done I fired the gen up let her warm up while the better half notified the power company the power was out. 5 minutes later the entire house and greenhouses were being run by the generator. About 30 minutes later the tattle tail started screaming that the utility power was back on line so reversed the process and went back to utility power.

Tomorrow will install an extended exhaust stack up and through the metal roof. Thanks to the folks here I knew to get a vibration dampener section of pipe as well as to use a T and a short pipe "tail" to deal with any water that could get in though there will be a flapper on the top of the pipe.

Next will build out a 10kw load bank as after reading here I think it is needed.

Again, thank you for all the great posts you have all made in the past. It helped so much in deciding to get the generator and details for the install. The funny part is on impulse had picked up a 20KW propane Generac which was used but after reading up......that I should have done first I knew it was going to be a mistake so now will just sell it.

Wills
 
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WillsC

Member
37
8
8
Location
Inverness, FL
I will post pics tomorrow after the exhaust install.

Even with the posts here I still was not convinced the 803 would be enough to run everything but it appears to be with room to spare. The house is all electric except for the stove which is propane. Have two AC units a 3 or 4 ton? Don't recall which it is for downstairs and a 2 ton for upstairs but generally they don't run at the same time as the upstairs unit at night keeps the downstairs unit off and upstairs unit is off during the day.

I do though use a LOT of irrigation water. Have a 2 HP well pump and a 1.5 HP well pump that work in tandem off a 2" well pick up pipe and run a lot of the day. All of the in ground trees get water from 3AM till 7AM and both pumps run the entire time as all zones water at the same time. The 2HP pump produces volume and the 1.5 HP the pressure. During the days the greenhouses cycle twice a day which takes about 4 hours for all zones to finish but just the smaller pump runs for that. The well here is only 30 feet deep and water level is just 6 feet underground as I am on a lake. Then a 2 HP pump for the 10k of water that runs the filters for the fish but it runs just 4 hours a day in 8 30 minute cycles. Then the 1.5 HP regenerative blower which produces huge volumes of air but low pressure. It runs 24/7 and takes a lot of energy to get that very heavy turbine spinning but once in motion takes very little energy to keep it spinning. I turned on most everything manually and still was just over 75%.
 
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Tinstar

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
4,290
1,776
113
Location
Edmond, Oklahoma
Welcome to Steel Soldiers.

Sounds like your way ahead of the power curve.
Always better to be prepared with a generator than without.
Especially in Florida.

Pics are are always welcome.
 

WillsC

Member
37
8
8
Location
Inverness, FL
Yes it takes away a real worry. I have a small back up gas gen and a 3/4 HP regenerative blower I was using for power failures but the amount of air it pushes is just barely enough to keep the fish from gulping at the surface. There is something to be said for peace of mind:) Not to mention FL + summer - AC = truly miserable. I'm outside all day every day which is fine as long as I know I have a nice cool house waiting for me when I am done for the day.
 

WillsC

Member
37
8
8
Location
Inverness, FL
Pictures as promised. The gen on the 6 wheel sled.

20190921_141851_resized.jpg

The exhaust stack, it is 1.25" pipe all the way up and out.
20190921_141905_resized.jpg

Made up a simple steel bracket that the pipe goes through and on top of the bracket there is a heavy steel clamp I made that bolts around the pipe and rests on top of the bracket so all of the weight of the stack is on the brace, none on the generator itself.
20190921_141918_resized.jpg

Out the roof about 4 feet with a silicone boot and flapper on the end.
 

69birdman

Active member
201
139
43
Location
Summerfield, Fla.
Welcome Wills,
We're nearly neighbors, I'm in Summerfield. Nice looking 803, I have one as well along with a 831a, & going to Pa. Next week to pick up a pair of 802s on a trailer. Make sure your gen has the quad fuse mod.

Peace Brian
 

WillsC

Member
37
8
8
Location
Inverness, FL
Brian,

Yep you are close, picked up my Grasshopper out your way, well in Belleview. Quad fuse mod.....hmm will look that up. I saw that they had a bunch of units coming up for auction in PA when I was looking. I thought about it but I just don't have the time so went the easy but more expensive route:)
 

Daybreak

2 Star Admiral
Steel Soldiers Supporter
1,522
771
113
Location
Va
Howdy,

Check this sticky thread [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]MEP-802A MEP-803A Filters and Parts[/FONT]

2nd post is quick links to lots of stuff.

3rd post is the manuals links.

Welcome to Steel Soldiers. I like your exhaust setup. Especially because you thought ahead of the weight of the exhaust. A simple muffler clamp on top of your upper metal brace works good too. Nice. I would suggest you put some anti-seize on the bottom water trap cap. That way it will always be easier to get it off and drain water condensation easier. Which you might have with the humidity and long pipe run.
 

WillsC

Member
37
8
8
Location
Inverness, FL
My plan is to leave that bottom cap off and only put it on when the gen is run. That way if there is moisture in the pipe or if say the flapper would get stuck open I will know it as I will see the drips on the floor. The exhaust upright and the short 6" pipe that goes in to the flex fitting is set 1/4" higher than the 6" pipe leading to the gen. When I installed it I was going to weld the flex coupling to the pipes but the gap between the two is very small. The flex fitting is maybe 1/32" bigger than the steel pipe. I ran the gen and there was almost no exhaust seepage around the fitting. The two 6" pipes inside the flex fitting just kiss each other so not welding it solid seemed the better way to go.

The muffler clamp would have been easier but I forgot to pick one up while I was out so instead of making another trip to town I just bent a "bowtie" out of 1" wide 1/4" steel around the pipe to act as the clamp.


Howdy,

Check this sticky thread MEP-802A MEP-803A Filters and Parts

2nd post is quick links to lots of stuff.

3rd post is the manuals links.

Welcome to Steel Soldiers. I like your exhaust setup. Especially because you thought ahead of the weight of the exhaust. A simple muffler clamp on top of your upper metal brace works good too. Nice. I would suggest you put some anti-seize on the bottom water trap cap. That way it will always be easier to get it off and drain water condensation easier. Which you might have with the humidity and long pipe run.
 
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