MEP-004a Setup and Startup

[reiters]

I just purchased a MEP-004a. It was an ok price and great clock. I would have preferred a 003 but one wasn't available at the time. Now I have the unit home and looking to get it going. It has been drained of all fluids before stored. I purchased a couple batteries today as well as a oil filter (wix 51004) and a fuel filter (wix 33512). My main question is about the fuel filters. When looking in the area of the filters, there are places for 3 filters. The first (left to right) has the housing gone but there is a housing in the bottom of the unit that looks like it's to go there. It has rust in it like it's not been installed for a while. The second was installed but with no filter. It had a teaspoon of fuel in the bottom and is nice and clean. The third is the oil filter and it was installed loose with no filter and looks clean inside and no rust. My question is what is the first filter for, is it used, and what filter goes in it. Did this unit come with a water separator originally and if no, should I add one? I know zero about diesels. I see kits fro the 002 and 003 but none for the 004.

I purchased 2 gallons of rotella 15w40. I am in TX and it very rarely gets below 32. We do see lots of days over 100. Rarely more than 110.

I am going to fill the radiator with water initially and run it to flush it out then I'll put antifreeze in it.

Are there any fluids that I'm missing and need to add or anything else I should check?

My main reason fro having the generator is that I have a nice saltwater fish tank and would lose a lot of $$ if my power were to be off more than a couple hours. Last year we had a tree fall on the lines next to my house and the power was out for 4 days. I have a 8750w harbor freight generator that did the trick but will be retired once this one is online.

I don't consider myself dumb (don't ask my wife) but this is something I don't even know enough to ask the right questions.

 

[Hawaiian-Time]

Just add a little seat and hopefully no tears and you'll be all set. Sounds like you got it all covered, should work fine!

 

[jamawieb]

It has 2 fuel filters, a primary and secondary. The canisters that hold the filters, should have drains at the bottom so you can drain any excess water that the filters may catch.
15-w40 diesel oil is perfect for these units. These units only need oil, coolant and fuel
I assume you know that the 004a is 3phase only, unless you perform the conversion that one of our members developed a few years ago? Many people say you can run single phase by only using the 2 legs but you must have a very balanced load on each leg to keep from damaging the generator head. The biggest problem I have found with the 004a is the injector pumps fail and they are pretty expensive.

 

[tstone]

Welcome to the site!
Jamaweib's comments are accurate about balancing the load. For your home use you probably won't come close to using full capacity of the set. With my 04 I found a cheap surplus 3 phase Square D panel and use this for distribution. It makes it easy to distribute the loads more evenly and adjust the loads from the panel. You can use 2 pole single phase breakers on the panel for A/C units, water heaters, dryers, well pumps, or anything else that requires 208 - 240 service.

About the injection pump, these older units were designed to run on the diesel fuel that was around at the time that the sets were made. If you can't get the high sulfur heating oil you can use the ultra low sulfur fuel but you will need to add some type of clean oil to help keep the I. P. lubricated. I use 2 stroke at a rate of 50 0r 32:1. Also keep your tank topped off to help eliminate tank condensation as these units tend to sit around awhile until needed.

Post some pictures of your set, we would all like to see it!

 

[reiters]

I knew that it could be converted to 120/240 1 phase but I wasn't aware of the issues involved. I need 10k to run my house smoothly. I know an 003 is rated at 10k and can do much more with ease. Would you guys suggest I convert it and get it fully functional and tested and sell it and get an 003?

Do the 2 fuel filters take the same filter inside. The holders look different in mine. Can I just use one during my testing or do I need both. I bought some diesel fuel additive that removes water just to be safe. I have both 2 cycle oil and marine oil I can add to the junk diesel the station sells if that is the right thing to do.

I have my current gen set wired into my breaker panel. If the power goes off I shut off the main and switch on the breaker the is backfed from the gen set. Just to be safe I also turn off all the breakers and turn them on one at a time so the gen doesn't get hit with full load at once. After all its a harbor freight one.

Did I make a mistake getting an 004 and should I cut bait before putting more $$ in it?

 

[Guyfang]

OK. You should have a long fuel filter, (in a long fuel filter housing, and a short fuel/water separator, made of metal ( in a short housing). Do you have the manuals for the 004? A complete set consists of 4 books. If you do not have them, send me a mail and I will send them to you. The filters should look like this:

View attachment Dok1.docx

 

[reiters]

I'll see if I can get some pics

 

[reiters]

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[reiters]

I have 3 books. I can't tell you the numbers because I looked at them and then renamed them to match what I thought the content was. I now see the water separator tucked away. I didn't know what I was looking for but now I can see it. I haven't tried getting it open yet to see if the filter is there. The pics above are showing exactly how I got the unit. None of the filters were in the housings. You can see the secondary fuel filter missing but it was laying in the bottom. It looks different than the primary. Does secondary mean for secondary fuel source (extrnal tank) and primary the tank under the motor or does the fuel pass through 2 filters?

 

[jamawieb]

Primary just means that is the first filter from the tank and secondary are closets to the injector pump. The fuel flows from the tank to what they call a day tank, then through the filters and finally to the engine. The 2 fuel filters are the same and they are both in your picture. The smaller canister in the picture is your oil filter.

 

[reiters]

Is it normal that the canisters are different but use the same cartridge?

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[jamawieb]

I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention, I don't believe the canister in your hand belongs to that unit. The 2 fuel canisters are the same so take the other off and you will see the difference. The one that is still attached looks to be the correct one.

 

[reiters]

I think what I'll do is use some evapo-rust to remove the rust from the canister I have and just put it one there with no filter. The one filter should be enough to test with. If everything goes well then I'll convert it to spin-on filters.

Can someone explain the balanced legs thing. i understand what it means to balance them but I don't understand the need to. Why would you need to any more that any other gen set and how balanced do they need to be.

 

[Guyfang]

There are two long fuel filters. The First one, (primary fuel filter) is mounted next to the fuel/water separator. The secondary, the one in your picture that is not mounted. The oil filter is mounted down below. The long filter bodies are mounted by screwing them into the filter head. Be sure that the copper washer, Look at the document in message #6, its item 4) is in good shape, for both the primary and secondary filter. If they are missing or too badly worn, they WILL leak. The fuel/water separator is mounted by means of an all thread Stud, Item 15 in the document. When you slip the water separator body back on the stud, you MUST have the copper washer that is between the stud and domed nut, or it will leak like niagra falls. Take the time to inspect all the copper washers, and clean out the filter body's along with the water separator. Also, and this is real important, check the rubber "O" rings for all three filter body's. The filter that is not mounted, may have no "O" ring in the filter head anymore. In any case, I always change them when I have the system open. Take care putting the "O" rings back in. You will know if they are not properly installed, the first time you turn on the fuel pumps!

 

[reiters]

I'm really thinking about making a bracket for 2 of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CSGT64/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER and mounting it in place of the secondary. I might put 3 on there. Then use http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CSEV64/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER followed by http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CSD2J6/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER and forget all about the stock stuff. Would that be a reasonable thing to do. After looking at the pictures etc I realized that I'm missing the hardware inside the primary. I bought the filter but of no use without the hardware. The secondary canister is missing altogether. The Fuel filter linked is a 6 micron. If I decided to use 2 fuel filters I might do a 30 first followed by a 6.

 

[Guyfang]

The filter body you show in your hand is the correct one for the MEP-004 model. The Army used several different manufactures. Just make sure its complete.

 

[jamawieb]

I think what I'll do is use some evapo-rust to remove the rust from the canister I have and just put it one there with no filter. The one filter should be enough to test with. If everything goes well then I'll convert it to spin-on filters.

Can someone explain the balanced legs thing. i understand what it means to balance them but I don't understand the need to. Why would you need to any more that any other gen set and how balanced do they need to be.[/QUOTE

Do a little research on how 3 phase works, it's not like single phase. I would highly recommend you go ahead and perform the conversion. The conversion was completed Sewerzuk and at one time he had a step by step video on youtube that I personally used. It's a very simple conversion that only takes about 45 minutes. The conversion involves the reconnection board and takes the Y out of the 3 phase, making a balanced single phase output.

 

[reiters]

I agree that I need to do the conversion to single phase but I gotta make sure it even runs first. If I find out the pump is out or it needs a lot of other repairs then I will just try to sell it rather than fix it.

 

[Guyfang]

You can bypass the secondary filter to make it run. If the Aux fuel line came with the set, use the union, (the fitting hanging by a chain from the Aux fuel line). Remove the fuel line that goes from the water separator to the secondary fuel filter, at the fuel filter input side. Remove the fuel line that is the output side of the secondary fuel filter and join it to the input fuel line with the union. Wala! The secondary is bypassed. The fact of the matter is, that you can run the set quite well with only one filter. Have you noticed any other missing parts? Or things that look "strange"? The MEP-004 is a very dependable set, if taken care of. If I lived in the states, I would buy it from you in a heartbeat.

Jamawieb is correct about the conversion. Its not hard. And unless you have a bunch of three phased motors that need to be supplied, single phase is the best way to go.

 

[reiters]

I've watched some videos on the conversion and it looks very simple. If I remember correct its cut one copper bar and move 4 wires. The unit looks near flawless and complete other than the one filter housing. I think I got a good deal on it but who knows. I'll get it running then decide where I want to go with it. I'll either keep it or sell it and get a 003.