New member and a new-to-me MEP-803a

[rhurey]

Only one white, black & ground where? Coming from the terminal block of the heater to 3 wires you need to hookup somewhere on the generator?

L1, L3, GND.

 

[csheath]

Here's the single and 3 phase wiring... There is only 1 black and 1 white plus ground.


View attachment 663743 View attachment 663744

One black, one white, and one ground is typical for 120v single phase.

Without seeing the heater and diagram in person it would be difficult to advise how to connect it. I imagine if you make the single phase connection on the heater you would set the generator to run 240v single phase. It should operate with the black on L1, white on L3, and ground to ground with the neutral to ground strap in place on the generator. I am not an electrician so use this at your own risk.

The diagram looks like the heater has 3 elements. If the elements have two contacts each you could rewire them with separate switches in 240v and use it to apply progressive loads.

I made my own load bank using dryer elements, a 120v fan, and a breaker panel.

 

[THANE]

Yes, the heater when removed had black and white wired to that terminal block.

I was able to wire black to L1, white to L3 and it works.

By disconnecting each of the 3 heating elements I'm able to load 2.5K, 5K and 7.5K

How long should I run each load... 2.5K, 5K etc. to clean it out?

 

[DieselAddict]

There is no set time. What I do is put on the minimum load for at least 30 minutes. If its not smoking or otherwise having trouble I step it up to the next notch.

 

[THANE]

Does it seem right that L1 & L3 are the only connection. Is this correct to put a resistive load between them?

 

[rhurey]

For single phase 240V only loads, yes.

 

[Guyfang]

And you could always read the TM 9-6115-642-10. Page 0005-4. All most everything you want to know, is in the manuals. Just need to crack them.

 

[csheath]

Might not hurt to pick up some Stanadyne Lubricity Formula to add to the fuel.

 

[THANE]

Another question... I read the manual, but I have one more connection question.

While AM-VM switch is in 240v single phase, can I run 120v simultaneously off of L0 and L3? The voltage is there.... just dont want to make a mistake.

 

[TrailLifeBill]

Yes - that is the setting you would use for connecting to a typical house. Hot legs wired to L1 and L3 - Neutral to L0, and ground to ground. Of course you would remove the L0/ground bar when hooking to house panel. Don't forget to ground unit any time it is being run.

 

[csheath]

Yes - that is the setting you would use for connecting to a typical house. Hot legs wired to L1 and L3 - Neutral to L0, and ground to ground. Of course you would remove the L0/ground bar when hooking to house panel. Don't forget to ground unit any time it is being run.

I need to research that. I didn't find a clear answer on this in the TM. My home panel has the bonding screws in place. Right or wrong I didn't remove the strap on the generator and it worked fine.

 

[TrailLifeBill]

The system only gets bonded ONCE (otherwise if there is a problem with neutral, ground becomes a current carrier). Since the house panel has bond, the generator bond is lifted. (Yes, it will work either way - but will pose an unnecessary safety hazard if done improperly.)