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One of the things to consider with exhaust flow is how it happens. The flow from the engine isn't smooth and constant. When you put your hand in front of the port you feel the puffs. This means the dynamic conditions of the exhaust are very different from doing basic calculations which assume...

If the primary use is a home backup where you already have a grounding system you would unbond the neutral from the ground and extend the ground from the home system. When the generator is being used solo that is when you would bond the neutral and ground then drive a rod.

Using a switch wouldn't be my first choice but I would strongly recommend against using a breaker. That connection needs to be maintained to the point of failure if need be. You don't want to risk having a breaker trip at the wrong time.

The main question is this - Are you connecting the generator to an existing power distribution system that already has a ground system. If the answer to that question is YES then you wouldn't bond the neutral to ground at the generator but you would extend the existing system ground to the...

No, only bad reasons. The neutral should be bonded to ground in a single location.

One thing I would suggest is to exercise the pots on the VR board. Be sure to mark the position of the pots before you start. Move them back and forth a bit to clean their contacts. At least one other user here has indicated that solved instability issues. My VR is a bit unstable when its cold...

Thunderstorms ran through today and knocked out the power. The MEP-003a has been purring along outside for the last couple of hours. Should be a couple more hours before main power is restored. No hurry. :D

Thanks for the heads up. I picked up one with a bad motor. I should be able to put together one more good running machine out of what I have now.

I put a 50a plug on my MEP-003 and have a nice long cord that I can either plug into the house for backup or into a distribution box. This isn't the cheapest way to go but it does get you most anything you need in a single package including the required GFI protection. This is what I'm using...

Sorry, Yea. I meant turning the control knob to off.

The governors on these units are mechanical so there will always be some droop. If you have to adjust it every time or if the droop is too much you will want to check all the linkages for binding or friction. My 802s gain a little RPM as they warm up. I don't bother adjusting every time I start...

It would be most accurate to state it as being more of a problem in water cooled diesels. Any diesel will do it if run at very light loads long enough.

The reason why you go with a single point ground is to make sure that the ground conductors carry only fault current. If you bond the neutral and ground in multiple places you are creating parallel conductors that can carry neutral current and fault current. Current will follow all paths which...

If you want to maintain a minimum load on the generator for testing or whatever you just need an adjustable current switch and a power relay for the load switching...

If you want to have some fun and experiment with building something to measure power factor take a look at this - http://www.syscompdesign.com/assets/Images/AppNotes/power-factor-measurement.pdf There is a decent explanation there about what is going on.

Making a sensing circuit isn't so straight forward. You have to measure the current waveform and the voltage waveform then perform some math to get to apparent power. Your application doesn't require that level of sophistication. Just know that the load meter is assuming a 0.8 power factor. If...

The gauge lies. Divide it by 0.8 if you are running a resistive load. You'll be fine.

You can use it successfully if you are careful with installing it. The main thing is to keep it from getting in beside the shoe of the lug as you tighten it down. I give mine a good twist to control the fine wires of the cable. This makes sure you will get it under the shoe of the lug. The type...

The inverter will work fine with the RPM set to 3600 and no load. I ran the first one with controller problems like that by pinning the actuator in the start position. It just makes more noise and uses more fuel.

I had one that did that exact same thing. After a lot of troubleshooting it turned out to be a bad governor. You can't get them from the manufacturer. Of 4 MEP831s that I've bought 2 need governors. This is looking to be a weak point in these generators. I'm considering building a replacement...