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Extra points if you bungee a bicycle (or better yet, a tricycle) to the rack on the quad.

I think my MEP-002A is quite loud, but it's a sort of diffuse, pleasant noise that you don't notice until you shut the thing down and discover your ears are ringing. They're definitely over 90 DB at a meter. That's why there are the 'HEARING PROTECTION REQUIRED' stencils all over the unit. I...

Very nice - looks like a complete success on all fronts. I'd never had the fan shroud off mine, so didn't know the oil cooler was such a thing of beauty. No wonder they take forever to get warm...

The short answer to the how much load question is 'enough to get everything hot.' A wally-world Chinese gasoline generator probably shouldn't be run sustained at rated output very long. I'd probably do the test run (30 min or so) at 2/3 rated load and do a 30-60 second full-load check just to...

They can sit disconnected for a week or two at a time, but they need to be charged to 2.3 volts/cell (14 V for a "12 V" battery) at regular intervals. The Battery Tender automates this process. I have a 10 amp charger/float charger meant for boat batteries and a 3/4 amp Battery Tender. The...

Leonardo DaVinci borrowed a lot from Archimedes and some from Euchlid, probably from Vitruvius as well (his 'man' figure is an illustration he did for a copy of Vitruvius' De Architectura) His geared systems were generic medieval millworks. Tesla built directly on James Clerk Maxwell's work...

Yes, the diesel knock is quite loud - this is probably normal (you could always record a sound sample). Air cooled diesels have a lot of knock both because the fins 'ring' with the sound and because there isn't a water jacket around the combustion chamber to quiet things. Chances are that it's...

I've been thinking hard about an aftermarket regulator for these (there's an excellent MOSFET regulator being retrofitted to all kinds of motorcycles), but there is that whole 24V/12V thing. Is there anything 24V that uses a generic/cheap shunting regulator?

On an MEP-002A it's just not that big a deal to pull the tank and wash it out. Once you've done that, you have gotten rid of the source of algae/crud/whatever that will contaminate your fuel system. I found that the hard part of cleaning out my tank was getting the last few ounces of...

You're on the right track. The strainer is the water separator - that's why it has a drain plug. Actually, all three of the canisters have some water separation capability, but the strainer is the one that is supposed to do most of it. Yes, there's supposed to be a steel mesh filter in there...

My freq meter worked when I got the generator but didn't move during last month's scheduled test. Out came the kill-a-watt (which I had long before getting the generator because they're so blasted useful). I was careful to crank the speed control to the upper limit while I went inside for the...

The earlier (air cooled) big displacement Polarises had three jugs, but I think they went to a twin with water cooling or shortly thereafter. We were always an Arctic Cat family, but I remember admiring that vintage Indy when it came out. It'll be a nice sled when it's put together. Are the...

Unless you have resistance heat or a grow-op, you probably won't need more than 10 KW continuous as long as you do even minimal load shedding. The MEP-002A and 003A have huge surge capacity/overrating. I've loaded my 002 to 120% of rated output on a resistance load just to see what would...

Probably worth mentioning that the load meter on these mil spec generators assumes a .8 power factor. So if you're using a resistance heater as your test load (power factor =1) then rated power is at an indicated 80%. That said, they're very stout. I had my MEP-002A at 100% indicated load on...

Who's going to be responsible for the PM on these things? Do you have a motorpool or central maintenance organization that will take care of them?

You have to size the supply wire run for the biggest generator you anticipate feeding on the wire. 10 KW at 240V is 42 amps. #8 UF won't get you there. It's 60C rating means that 40 amps is about all it can handle, and that's assuming a 30C ambient temperature, which is a little optimistic...

Providing you used assembly lube when building the engine (and a shot of oil down each plug hole), cranking with the switch off will get you oil pressure before any excitement happens. Something that really helps is to leave all the spark plugs out - that speeds up cranking and gets the oil...

Obviously immersing the whole part is best if you can pull it off. If you can't then derust part, treat it with something (phosphate is good), then flip it over and do the other part. Nothing. That's the problem. The oil keeps the electrolyte from getting to the rust.

I use cribbing (2x4, 2x6, and 4x4 scraps) under the cars too! A ton on your ribcage will kill you just as well as ten will.

Has anybody ever put a decent carb on one of these engines? This sounds like a lot of hacks to get around bad engineering...