Output issues with MEP701A - Power outage issue.

[skinnyR1]

The generator runs through about 50 ft of 8 guage to the panel, then it is another 50ft of 10g out to the pump.

 

[Scoobyshep]

The generator runs through about 50 ft of 8 guage to the panel, then it is another 50ft of 10g out to the pump.

You are using 8AWG for a 3000 watt generator? way overkill but shouldnt be an issue.


out of curiosity what do you have the voltage set at? or is it non adjustable.

 

[skinnyR1]

You are using 8AWG for a 3000 watt generator? way overkill but shouldnt be an issue.


out of curiosity what do you have the voltage set at? or is it non adjustable.

240V I think. But it is 120/240 split type. There is a switch inside you change. The panel switches just change the output to the gauges.

 

[nextalcupfan]

He means what voltage do you have the Voltage Adjust knob at.
You should be able to set the output to anything from 220-250V

 

[Scoobyshep]

He means what voltage do you have the Voltage Adjust knob at.
You should be able to set the output to anything from 220-250V

Yes this. If you have a voltage adjust and you are on the low side you may be seeing excessive drop. you can safely run at 125/250 volt (doesnt seem like much but it might be just enough to kick the motor over)

 

[nextalcupfan]

I did some digging (kinda hard to find info on the 701a) and it does have a voltage adjustment knob.
It's the second one from the left (the left being the voltage selector for the gauge)

 

[Chainbreaker]

Not sure what your typical well repair service situation is in CT but "Dependable's recommendation" to replace a 35 yr old pump sounds like good advice. Better to have a preemptive plan to avoid an emergency "well out no water" situation due to eventual end of life pump failure unscheduled situation.

I just went through that last year at my barn/shop well. A long frustrating story with unfortunate sequence of events that I will spare the details, but there are now smart pump motors out there that don't require a contol box only the pressure switch circuit that controls power on/off.

I installed an intelligent 3-wire Grundfos 3" submersible pump (they also offer larger diameter ones as well as 2 wire with ground models) that have built in protections including overload, dry run, soft start and does not require a control box. Due to my shop well being at lower elevation of my property and only ~75' deep I downsized from the original old 3/4 hp pump to a 1/2 hp and it has performed excellent in the 6 months since installation and is more efficient running.

In the owners manual it has a section on "Generator Operation" and the 1/2 HP 3 wire 240 volt is 1200 W minimum and 1500 W recommended. The 3/4 HP model is 1900 W minimum and 2500 W recommended generator size.

Anyway, just passing on some info for your reference/consideration.

 

[skinnyR1]

Not sure what your typical well repair service situation is in CT but "Dependable's recommendation" to replace a 35 yr old pump sounds like good advice. Better to have a preemptive plan to avoid an emergency "well out no water" situation due to eventual end of life pump failure unscheduled situation.

I just went through that last year at my barn/shop well. A long frustrating story with unfortunate sequence of events that I will spare the details, but there are now smart pump motors out there that don't require a contol box only the pressure switch circuit that controls power on/off.

I installed an intelligent 3-wire Grundfos 3" submersible pump (they also offer larger diameter ones as well as 2 wire with ground models) that have built in protections including overload, dry run, soft start and does not require a control box. Due to my shop well being at lower elevation of my property and only ~75' deep I downsized from the original old 3/4 hp pump to a 1/2 hp and it has performed excellent in the 6 months since installation and is more efficient running.

In the owners manual it has a section on "Generator Operation" and the 1/2 HP 3 wire 240 volt is 1200 W minimum and 1500 W recommended. The 3/4 HP model is 1900 W minimum and 2500 W recommended generator size.

Anyway, just passing on some info for your reference/consideration.

Thank you everyone for your insight here. My problem is clearly at this point the combination of a smaller gen set with an old high draw pump.

The power came back on an hour ago. Before I turned the well back on, I grabbed my clamp on meter. When I turned on the well pump, I saw 13 amps on one leg. So the dialogue here was correct, that the pump is drawing a huge surge at startup, somewhere around 25 or 26 amps which is well over the max output of my unit which is somewhere around 15 amps. Even once it settled out, it was drawing 8 amps per leg.

In my case, it was overloading on initial rush and shutting down.

I may look into upgrading to a MEP802a, but before that, I will likely change out to one of the Grundfos pumps detailed above. Someone else suggested that too, and it is a good plan. I likely think I can power manage with my existing unit if I had a low draw well pump, but it would also be nice to have a bigger genset too.

 

[skinnyR1]

One correction here. I checked the well again as it was running and was seeing 15 amps on each leg when it started. So the draw I was able to see on my meter is 15 total, not 2x15. My assumptions for 240v were wrong, or my understanding on how it worked. The legs alternate, not add up.

But my meter doesn't read inrush, the spike, which is likely even higher, which is causing the genset to shut down. Fluke 87 with a 410 clamp.

I found this thread here to be helpful;

MEP 701A - What To Expect

Several weeks ago someone posted and asked what to expect from a MEP 701A (016). After restoring and load testing around 12 MEP 002A and 003A generators I kinda know what to expect from them. A couple of weeks ago I came across two MEP 701A generators mounted on a trailer. All I wanted was...

www.steelsoldiers.com

That guy got 17.3 amps reading the same way I am setup, on a resistive load at 4500w with the same unit.

So what I was experiencing was a spike with the inrush on my old pump. I don't know the "spike" limit for a MEP701A, or how the overload circuit works. I would have thought the breaker would trip on the spike, but reading some more on this, that is not the case for inrush.