Newbie looking for info/people familiar with the MEP 002a and others

[Spring1898]

Greetings all,
I have been starting to research military generators for a little while now. I am hoping to make a purchase in the near future as a generator for home and am looking for more info. So far I have gathered the general information which has narrowed down the main generator to the mep 002a. (eventually I would like to get a MEP 016E as well as one other smaller diesel gen.)
If you have links to useful threads or are very familiar with these generators and have info to share please do so. I would also be free to speak/meet up with people to discuss them.

Basically I am a decently handy guy with small engine experience, no generator experience, but am a quick learner and am trying to acquire the information fast and thorough.

Thanks and have a great Thanksgiving!

 

[DieselAddict]

Hi,

I think a good place to start is at the top of the main page for this section. There are a few stickys as well as a link to a wiki.

Is there anything specific you are trying to find out?

 

[1800 Diesel]

Welcome to the group. You'll find some good help here. I'll just throw out a few things for you to consider. Before picking a certain model, you should figure out what capacity generator is required, based on total electrical needs of your home or at least what appliances & circuits you want powered up. (Maybe you've already done this?)

The MEP-002A is a great machine, though fairly noisy for a typical subdivision environment, but you can deal with that with an enclosure or a shed if noise limiting is needed. As to your house loads, some folks want unrestricted power with no concern over fuel costs; others can get by with low KW units using sound power management. If you've already figured out that the output of the MEP2 will work, then you start working on enclosure ideas, transfer switch options, fuel storage, etc. If you haven't worked out a load plan then you probably need to put out a little more info for further discussions.

Kevin

 

[Isaac-1]

You have came to the right place, my suggestion is to read back over lots of old message threads on these units, although you are not likely to find a whole lot on the MEP-016E, they are good units, perhaps one of the best of the MEP-016 family (I too want to find a good one, and already have a MEP-701a (MEP-016B in an ASK), and a MEP-016D). Otherwise I am afraid you are not going to get many quality answers since your question is so broad, tell us what sort of information you are looking for and we will be glad to help, but without direction many of us could go on for pages on esoteric stuff like the design of the MEP-002a / MEP-003a voltage regulation system, or other trivia.

 

[Spring1898]

Thanks!
I have researched my requirements, most everything in my home that can be gas is gas. I may still have to do some power management, but I am already used to that from past homes with smaller generators.

At this point, I want to be able to make a decision to buy or not to buy. Things that need work or that need fixing are subjects I can look up on an as needed basis. But if I was to go see one of the generators, I need to know what to look for, what are things commonly out of sorts, what are the good signs of a recent rebuild, what are good units that may not be recent rebuilds etc.
Under that topic I think we will hit a lot of good points as well as good branching points.

The noise is something that I hope will be attenuated somewhat with the ASK. It looks to drop the level to around 82dB, still louder than most modern civilian generators, but about the same as older ones. After that I can build a partial sound dampening enclosure to allow for airflow, but mitigate more of the sound from moving parts. Air-cooled engines are loud, fact.

The generator would likely be placed inside the garage with the exhaust ducted outside. I was also thinking of adding an additional inline muffler for more exhaust noise reduction. That should keep it safe, easy for me to monitor, and I won't have to worry about getting to it in the snow and ice. I already have an electrician who can wire it up to my box.

Diesel is important since everything else I run is diesel, one fuel, one oil, much simpler.

Also what is the going price on these units these days?

 

[FloridaAKM]

It depends on where you are located, folks located further west seems to get great pricing vs us in the eastern side of the US. Keep looking @ the auctions & classifieds here & you will find what you need. Good luck & Happy Thanksgiving Day to you & yours.

 

[Isaac-1]

Ok, here is a quick take on things:

Don't over pay for a low hour meter, they mean very little as the military would swap them out when they break, so you may have a generator with 4,000 run time hours since the last rebuild and an hour meter that reads 300 hours. Also watch out for very high hour meters, personally I put my max hour cut off for buying a standby diesel generator at around 3500 hours, I was looking at off grid prime power it might be lower. As to prices if you are looking at GL auctions it can be all over the map, I will say it is rare these days to see fair to good condition MEP-002a's without ASK going for much under $500, and ones with ASK's tend to be $750 and up, trailers also tends to add $300-$400 to the going price. Double these numbers for low hour fresh rebuilds. Having said that there are sometimes bidding wars and prices go to insane levels, I saw one average looking MEP-002a go over $4,000 on a GL auction with in the last year or so, which is right at 10 times what I paid for my MEP-002a a couple of years ago. Another thing to remember about GL auctions is they are AS-IS, and that nice looking fresh rebuild may be a paperweight with a broken crank or fried rotor. If you buy from GL expect something to be broken or need work, that way if it runs with little other than fresh fluids, filters and batteries, at a minimum expect to spend $150 these, and consider yourself lucky if you only need to spend another $200-400 to get everything important running right.

As to things to look for:

1, Make sure everything is intact, no disconnected lines or wiring, no missing major component, dangling electric fuel pump, etc.

2, Color does not mean much any more there was a time when I and many others would not buy tan units due to sand exposure, however these post major ground action days so many of the green units have seen service in the sandbox, that color does not mean anything any more.

3, Spotting new parts is a good sign, electric fuel pumps in gold and red are a good sign, compared to vintage ones with 4 layers of OD green CARC. same goes for starters hoses, and injection pumps.

4, Don't be afraid of ugly ducklings, at least not if they otherwise look good, although I personally don't consider mix and match sets. My MEP-002a is a great runner now (had to replace a few minor parts, but also the AC voltage regulator board due to reoccurring flaky operation) even though its Camo pattern is hand brushed on, much the same goes for my MEP-003a which is more stealth than ugly, painted basic OD green and missing most steciling and some of the data plates.

 

[Keith_J]

They are reliable IF you maintain them. Run it at least once a month to operating temperature and at least half rated load. They have no problem pulling rated load for long periods and are far more tolerant of over loads.
The fuel tanks like to rust if not kept full, swapping out fuel every six months will help keep the tank integrity since most road diesel has a small percentage of biodiesel which holds moisture.

On the electrical side, they are a bit more complex than commercial types. With the military manuals, some know how and hard work, almost everything can be repaired. Or replaced. The frequency meter on mine was shot, water damaged beyond repair. I found an identical meter movement, NOS but for a different application. I just swapped the indicator dial from the broken unit and it looks like the original. That is a 500 ohm arbitrary meter, a 200 micro ampere current causes the indicator to go full scale. The frequency transducer generates a current proportional to frequency that is 100 micro amperes at 60 Hz.

 

[Spring1898]

I am confident about my ability to perform the maintenance required as I do that with all my other equipment as it is. Hopefully I am able to snag a good one or two for not too much. If I am lucky $1500 will get me two, one that I can get working right away, the other I can tinker with and sell later. And I can always grab a harbor freight generator temporarily if I need to.

I would love to take a look at them in person, but I don't think I will have the option to do so this time around. How soon do they make you pick them up after the auction?

Thanks for all the advice thus far and I am still open to any additional.

 

[Rapracing]

I believe it is 10 business days from the date of invoice which is the day the auction ends. You can look under the event details tab for the item are bidding on for information.

 

[Isaac-1]

In my experience the date of invoice is often the day after the auction ends, sometimes the day after that. Then you have to schedule a pick up appointment which may be a few days later, but still counting towards your cut off date.

 

[rustystud]

In my experience the date of invoice is often the day after the auction ends, sometimes the day after that. Then you have to schedule a pick up appointment which may be a few days later, but still counting towards your cut off date.

If you don't get down there in time they can take your unit away from you and resell it ! My truck broke down and I couldn't get something in time. ! Should have just rented a U-Haul truck.

 

[snypr]

Hi guys, thought I would post on my recent experience...(a week ago)

After winning the bid on my 1st & only (so far) Gl item (MEP-003A), I had to wait about a day until I received the GL invoice. I gave them my particulars and paid for the item. The next day, I called and spoke to a gentleman @ the .mil base where the unit was located and made an appointment of approx 4-5 days out to pickup the item. The gentleman told me that if something came up to give them a call and we could reschedule. Although unneeded, I thought this flexibility was a nice gesture and assured him that if there were any changes, he would know asap. I showed up ontime and had to wait approx 45min for a forklift and operator to become available. they loaded it into the truck and away we went. So far, all in all a pleasant experience indeed. I havent done anything with the genny yet (still educating myself) but as far as the logistics of bidding, payment & pickup, it went swimmingly. Hope this helps.

 

[jonster]

The noise can be a problem. Don't bother with another muffler, the mechanical sound is the real culprit here. I had an ask unit, not much quieter than the regular units. If you put it in the garage, make sure you can get plenty of cool fresh air in there. I have mine on a trailer, I just roll it out back behind the garage and let her rip. In the event of an outage, I just roll an extra extension cord from my house to my neighbor, the sound doesn't seem to bother them as much when they have a cold fridge and a light or two. A friend of mine built a shelter that deflects the sound straight up, works great. I will try and get some pics up. You will find that any problem you may encounter is covered on this sight. (great folks) One more thing. I place my unit on a trailer with a heavy duty canvas cover under it. When not in use, I wrap it up tight. This keeps critters out of the generator head. Even in a covered trailer, they can and will chew your wires up. Good luck!

 

[rustystud]

The noise can be a problem. Don't bother with another muffler, the mechanical sound is the real culprit here. I had an ask unit, not much quieter than the regular units. If you put it in the garage, make sure you can get plenty of cool fresh air in there. I have mine on a trailer, I just roll it out back behind the garage and let her rip. In the event of an outage, I just roll an extra extension cord from my house to my neighbor, the sound doesn't seem to bother them as much when they have a cold fridge and a light or two. A friend of mine built a shelter that deflects the sound straight up, works great. I will try and get some pics up. You will find that any problem you may encounter is covered on this sight. (great folks) One more thing. I place my unit on a trailer with a heavy duty canvas cover under it. When not in use, I wrap it up tight. This keeps critters out of the generator head. Even in a covered trailer, they can and will chew your wires up. Good luck!

Totally agree about the critters ! The rats and field mice around here are horrible little creatures ! They'll eat all the wiring and hoses !

 

[dependable]

The noise can be a problem. Don't bother with another muffler, the mechanical sound is the real culprit here. I had an ask unit, not much quieter than the regular units.

I have to respectfully disagree here, I have an 002 with an ASK and an external muffler (one that would fit a CUCV) and a lot less noisy than a standard 002, which I also have, so have compared them. It is true the mechanical noise is a lot of it, so an extra muffler without an ASK or other enclosure will only get you so far.

I also tried the muffler on the non ASK unit, and it dose attenuate the exhaust/combustion noise a lot, and the fan and motor noise is still loud, but does not carry as far as the combustion noise, especially considering combustion noise out of the stack is fairly directional.

Completely agree about the mice. They are hard to keep out and can do a lot of damage.

 

[Spring1898]

Well, I got 3 of them. I used the shotgun approach on a number of units I thought looked good and got lucky with a few. I am waiting for the official invoices but they should be right around $2500 out the gate for all three, and that includes 2 ASK units.
I realized that the problem with ASK units is that you can't see any of the generator itself. So I guess I will have to hope that they are good until I get them to my garage. Mine were also the cheapest units sold, so I hope I didn't know something everyone else did.

Do ASK units help keep the mice out?

 

[Rapracing]

If you got them in Pa you will pay 6% sales tax (other states will be at their rate) plus the 10% fee to GL. Not sure if you included that in your invoice estimate or not.

 

[Spring1898]

Yes I included both state tax and the buyer's premium. So if they work out, I got a good deal. Figure give or take $1000 for 2 ASK's in good shape, then $1500 for 3 MEP 002a's. There are better deals, but so long as the great "IF" is positive, it is s decent deal

 

[FloridaAKM]

I won a 1986 MEP-002 unit this afternoon & will get to go do a recovery on it after the invoice comes in. All this is too close to Christmas for me due to them (DLA) being shutdown during the Holidays for pickups. My workplace is also shut down during these times, which unfortunately, doesn't help the recovery process. Gotta go do some creative recovery figuring...

My pricing fits in with the last posters pricing...