Mep803a and mep003a difference

[scottjhl]

Is the only difference between the two that one is liquid cooled, and newer (803) vs air cooled and older (003)??

 

[leedawg]

And you can talk and have a full conversation and glass of wine next to the 803 its only 70 db from what ive read which is significantly less noise than the 003.

 

[scottjhl]

any reliability differences due to being liquid cooled?

 

[Isaac-1]

They are both 10KW military generators, that is where the similarity ends. The MEP-803a was designed to fill the role of the MEP-003a, in much the way that the HMMWV replaced the classic Jeep, they both do the same sort of thing, but with more differences than similarities.

 

[LuckyDog]

any reliability differences due to being liquid cooled?

AhYup.

Reliability and maintenance differences. The cooling system adds parts that must be maintained for operation. LOTS of ways to jury-rig an air-cooled generator and keep it running. If the cooling system is neglected on a water-cooled engine, expect said engine to NOT work when ABSOLUTELY needed.

Me, I don't even change my lawnmower's spark plug every year like the manual says I should. A radiator on a standby, seldom used piece of equipment scares me. YMMV

 

[edgephoto]

While a newer machine is nicer as far as getting parts. I am not sure a liquid cooled machine is better for my purposes. Yes the reduced noise would be welcome. However the increased failure possibilities is not worth it for me. I rather have a more simple air cooled machine with a regulator board I can repair very easy. Also wet stacking is more of an issue with a water cooled unit.

 

[leedawg]

While a newer machine is nicer as far as getting parts. I am not sure a liquid cooled machine is better for my purposes. Yes the reduced noise would be welcome. However the increased failure possibilities is not worth it for me. I rather have a more simple air cooled machine with a regulator board I can repair very easy. Also wet stacking is more of an issue with a water cooled unit.

I really dont know but I would assume its much harder to get parts for the newer machine. Not many are on the surplus market. My MEP 003a when I first got it back in 1995 was significantly harder to find parts for. Today there are so many out there on the civilian market its very easy to find parts for it now from other units. Perhaps I am wrong and there may be more civilian counter parts available for it due to being a modern engine. I believe they have a John Deere engine in them. Any way just some thoughts but they are a much more refined unit and is what the military currently uses, I also think they are more fuel efficient as well.

 

[jbk]

i have an 802 which is the 2 cyl. version of the 803 and i also have the 002 and 003. being water cooled is not much of an issue as iam familar with radiators and coolent. i think the best argument for the 802 or 803 is noise or lack of. i live where i do have neighbors 1 acre apart and have the 802 65 ft away from the house. the gen. is not noticed inside or out. the 002-003 is a beast can here it in or out. i use the 802 as my primary but i wouldnt hesitate to also use the 002 or 003 all good equip. parts are available through lister/petter for the 802-803

 

[edgephoto]

I really dont know but I would assume its much harder to get parts for the newer machine. Not many are on the surplus market. My MEP 003a when I first got it back in 1995 was significantly harder to find parts for. Today there are so many out there on the civilian market its very easy to find parts for it now from other units. Perhaps I am wrong and there may be more civilian counter parts available for it due to being a modern engine. I believe they have a John Deere engine in them. Any way just some thoughts but they are a much more refined unit and is what the military currently uses, I also think they are more fuel efficient as well.

You are probably correct regarding parts. I was thinking that parts like water pump, injection parts, hoses etc. might be easier. But certainly items specific to the unit will be harder to come by as there are not many out there yet.

 

[ETN550]

The 802 and 803 are awesome machines. The engines are current model Lister Petter (despite "Onan" labels) and are used worldwide. Bullet proof. The housings and skid are all aluminum. They are EMP rated as is. They are the modern version of the 002 and 003 and the military claims vastly reduced maintenance in their TQG literature. The bell housings are SAE standard so many other generators can bolt up. They have a better control panel with idot lights for main functions like the bigger sets have. Not only are they quiet but the noise is more of a pleasing rumble. The fuel tank is poly and inside the skid for protection. Won't rust. They have nice storage lockers for stuff. The only negative I have with them is that the panels have a ton of screws to remove to get major access. I would buy every one I could get my hands on, if I could. Beautiful units!

 

[scottjhl]

I'm concerned mostly with wet loading. I am just concerned that if the unit sits without a full load on it it will cause harm to the motor

And thanks for all the replies. This helps lots

 

[leedawg]

so build a cheap load bank and put a load on it no big deal..

Just do it once every now and then I would not worry bout wet stacking if thats your only concern..

 

[CNGsaves]

Question about wet stacking. When a water cooled genset like MEP-802a is ran with light load, and/or just periodically ran, couldn't you just run a small batch of "fuel w/ cleaner additive" like Sea Foam every now and then? Does Sea Foam bust up carbon in a diesel like it does for gas engines?

 

[ETN550]

No, it needs to be loaded at least 1hr in 24 at a high load to keep the rings seated. Wetstacking is what we see when slobber (the black goo) spits out the pipe. What causes it is rings unseating and the cylinders get glazed loosing their hone pattern. Causes the rings to skate and leaves oil in the cylinder. I did have an 802A for a while and I noticed that it does remain at 180 deg temp with no load which helps but really, the best thing is to load it periodically. Synthetic oils can make it worse. I worked on CAT truck engines years ago and we would get "new" engines in the shop with high oil consumption. A dump of info from the ecm always showed lots of extended idle time. A teardown always showed glazed liners. the fix was new rings and liners. The rings need pressure to force them out on to the cylinder wall. The load does that. RPM helps too. The worst combination is a low idle, light load, and low temperature.

Therefore, if a cleaning is needed and it is wetstacking then the damage is already done to some degree. Cleaning won't fix it and it won't prevent it if the conditions are right to cause it.

 

[robkiller]

so build a cheap load bank and put a load on it no big deal..

Just do it once every now and then I would not worry bout wet stacking if thats your only concern..

How do you build a cheap load bank?

 

[GREENMV]

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video...001&hspart=att&type=att_lego_portal_home&tt=b 803 running.

 

[ETN550]

802 and 803 are very nice units.

Here is my load bank I made. I was lucky to get 3 new but obsolete 5000watt 240 volt electric furnace elements on e-bay for a total of the starting bid of $1.00 plus $12 to ship. I had to buy the switches and I decided to use a breaker panel as my buss with both input and output on breakers. I had an automotive 12vdc fan laying around but any fan of the proper size would work. I read some name plates off of load banks for sale and just matched the fan cfm per load bank output on the data plate to my rig. Turns out a car fan is about right and slightly oversized.

By clever wiring and switching I can run the (3) 5000w elements on 240 or 120 and whether I use 1,2, or 3 elements or whether I put them in parallel or series I get a wide range of loads from about 500watts all the way up to 15,000 watts or 15kw. The most I have run it at is 10kw off of a 60a 240 welder outlet in my house. I don't have a gen that big to ues it on.

Edit: Looks like I left my camera out in the garage. I'll post up the pics tomorrow.

 

[robkiller]

802 and 803 are very nice units.

Here is my load bank I made. I was lucky to get 3 new but obsolete 5000watt 240 volt electric furnace elements on e-bay for a total of the starting bid of $1.00 plus $12 to ship. I had to buy the switches and I decided to use a breaker panel as my buss with both input and output on breakers. I had an automotive 12vdc fan laying around but any fan of the proper size would work. I read some name plates off of load banks for sale and just matched the fan cfm per load bank output on the data plate to my rig. Turns out a car fan is about right and slightly oversized.

By clever wiring and switching I can run the (3) 5000w elements on 240 or 120 and whether I use 1,2, or 3 elements or whether I put them in parallel or series I get a wide range of loads from about 500watts all the way up to 15,000 watts or 15kw. The most I have run it at is 10kw off of a 60a 240 welder outlet in my house. I don't have a gen that big to ues it on.

Edit: Looks like I left my camera out in the garage. I'll post up the pics tomorrow.

Ok cool so I will see what I can find.

 

[pevrs114]

No, it needs to be loaded at least 1hr in 24 at a high load to keep the rings seated. Wetstacking is what we see when slobber (the black goo) spits out the pipe. What causes it is rings unseating and the cylinders get glazed loosing their hone pattern. Causes the rings to skate and leaves oil in the cylinder. I did have an 802A for a while and I noticed that it does remain at 180 deg temp with no load which helps but really, the best thing is to load it periodically. Synthetic oils can make it worse. I worked on CAT truck engines years ago and we would get "new" engines in the shop with high oil consumption. A dump of info from the ecm always showed lots of extended idle time. A teardown always showed glazed liners. the fix was new rings and liners. The rings need pressure to force them out on to the cylinder wall. The load does that. RPM helps too. The worst combination is a low idle, light load, and low temperature.

Therefore, if a cleaning is needed and it is wetstacking then the damage is already done to some degree. Cleaning won't fix it and it won't prevent it if the conditions are right to cause it.

Sorry to resurrect an ancient thread...

The engines in the MEP803's, they're not sleeved engines, right? So instead of liners, you'd be talking boring out the block?

 

[Bluevic443]

Sorry to resurrect an ancient thread...

The engines in the MEP803's, they're not sleeved engines, right? So instead of liners, you'd be talking boring out the block?

It is a solid block, no sleeves.