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MEP-803a not putting out the same power as a 7kw gas Briggs and Stratton?

K

k9medic

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A while back I was on after getting an 803a brought over to the Bahamas. Here we are almost 10 months later and power is mostly restored. On July 1 though BPL decided to swap out the larger power generator on the mainland so we have had intermittant power on the out island.

This afternoon we lost power so I cranked up the old 803a. When trying to get everything switched back on, the generator bogged down and almost died each time I tried to put a large load on it (turned on air conditioner.) It took a bit for the 803a to recover after the load was removed. My ammeter does not seem to work so I can't tell the load but my digital voltage gauge shows 240v and 61hz (I adjusted it a bit higher.)

After messing with this for several attempts, I broke out my 7kw gas generator and plugged it in. It is powering the entire house with no issues - air conditioning and all.

This makes me wonder just how much power the 803a is actually putting out. I read through the -24 and can't really pinpoint where my issue might be. I figure it has to be less than 7kw if it's bogging the 803a down.

Any quick things to look at or for?
 
K

k9medic

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It was 9pm so no way to see exhaust color.

Good fuel. I can replace the filter if need be.

It was initially spitting out all sorts of carbon. Would wetstacking cause such a loss?


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wheelspinner

wheelspinner

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k9medic said:
Go figure... I need a load to clear the wet stacking and I need power run the house. I MUST have Air conditioning and I can't get the thing to spin up with that type of load right now.
Click to expand...
Run it separate and load it up gradually. If you have an electric stove you could hook up remote and maybe something else you can begin to exercise it properly. 803 should outperform that gasser every day for months straight.
 
K

k9medic

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Now that I am thinking about it here is something strange. In the past we ran it with the AC and had no real issues but had to load shed. We couldn't run the water pump at the same time for instance. Now trying to only turn on the AC, it will bog down. With the AC off, it will run well.

The 7kw gas genny will run everything without the need to load shed.

In the past, it did just randomly die once or twice after running several hours. No bog down or anything, but it seemed like it ran out of fuel. It cranked right back up though.

Please forgive me, the last time I saw this thing was November of last year. Since we are on an island, getting something to load it up with outside of what is connected to the house is not really available.
 
Light in the Dark

Light in the Dark

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Do you have an electric range or other high draw items you can turn on thats NOT the ac?
 
Guyfang

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How about this. Hook the gen set to the house. Turn OFF a bunch of stuff in the house. Leave the Air Con on. Then turn on the load. Let the air con tell you how much load you need to add. If the set takes the air con, then turn on another Circuit breaker. No big load. Just something to see if it bogs down. If your exhaust is sppiting crud, and the set is not bogging down, let er rip! Run a few hours, till you again try turning on another circuit breaker. Just let each new step run 2-3 hours, to fix the wet stacking problem.
 
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k9medic

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Guyfang said:
How about this. Hook the gen set to the house. Turn OFF a bunch of stuff in the house. Leave the Air Con on. Then turn on the load. Let the air con tell you how much load you need to add. If the set takes the air con, then turn on another Circuit breaker. No big load. Just something to see if it bogs down. If your exhaust is sppiting crud, and the set is not bogging down, let er rip! Run a few hours, till you again try turning on another circuit breaker. Just let each new step run 2-3 hours, to fix the wet stacking problem.
Click to expand...

I tried that but when I turned on just the AC (no other breakers) it was bogging down almost to the point of stopping. In the past I have been able to run the AC.

Since we have some rain during the daylight I'll mess with it some. When the AC is off the housequickly gets over 85 degrees. It's hot down here!
 
Light in the Dark

Light in the Dark

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If you turn on EVERYTHING besides the AC... whats the load meter say you are using on the 803?
 
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Ray70

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If you can get the ammeter going, or use a clamp on multi meter, that would help figure this out.
The wiring is pretty simple on the ammeter. 1 wire goes to the AM/VM switch and the other wire goes to one of the small screws on the CT which is under the top cover, to the right of the AC select switch body.
Could just be a matter of exercising the switches with the machine off, if you have some oxidation inside the switch.
Last week I had a dead ammeter and the small wire was broken right at the spade terminal crimp where it attaches to the CT.
The exhaust color would also help us figure out the low power situation.
 
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uniquify

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k9medic said:
Okay. Got the AC going. Slowly adding more load.

Right now no change in smoke color.

Going to try to figure out what setting on the multimeter I need to view a load.


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Click to expand...
Glad you got the A/C going. Sounds like you're making progress.

What color is the exhaust smoke? (clear, black, white, blue, etc)

What position is your ammeter switch in?
519896-092e187c925e9fd8f52f64f01089163a.png
 
C

Chainbreaker

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Since you now have it running under load I would second LITD's suggestion in putting in some Seafoam, or equivalent injector cleaner, etc., to help cleanse the fuel system and also assist in removing any deposits.

Not sure about your fuel source & quality however anything with Biodiesel can build up sediments over time that can create fuel restrictions and deposits where you don't want them.
 
Guyfang

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Chainbreaker said:
Since you now have it running under load I would second LITD's suggestion in putting in some Seafoam, or equivalent injector cleaner, etc., to help cleanse the fuel system and also assist in removing any deposits.

Not sure about your fuel source & quality however anything with Biodiesel can build up sediments over time that can create fuel restrictions and deposits where you don't want them.
Click to expand...
This is a must. Its cheap insurance, if the set is running good, and helps clean up engines that are fouled up. It helps clean up the fuel system, from tank to jug.
 
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