MEP-802a & 803a

How many of you have these units?

How is it working for you?

Compared to the 002 & 003?

What would be a good price on one?

I'm just exploring the idea right now.

ive had mine since 06 and used it through several hurricaine outages (300 plus hrs). very quiet compared to the 002. never had any major repaires just maint. issues. ive seen some 802s go anywhere from $1800.00 and up. they dont come up often though. good luck

I have an 803a I just picked up. I'm still going through it, but it looks like a great unit. I have a 003a hooked up to my house and it has been great. The 003a is a tank compared to the 803a, although I'm not sure if that makes it better. Hard to tell what a good price on the 803a is - they are rare and it really depends on the unit - condition hours etc. Hopefully not breaking any rules here - but there are a bunch of 802s available right now.

I had an 802A for a while and sold it. I have another right now 100% torn down for resotarion to like new. I had to replace the head gasket so I thought why not?

In general they are really great machines. Top shelf Onan generator and current production Lister Petter OPW engines. The LP design was licensed to Onan and Onan makes it 100% interchangeable with LP. Onan sold an enclosed civilian model too. So Parts are available from multiple sources including onan and Lister Petter.

They don't have the overload that the 002 has but they are very quiet, civilized and have a nice panel and a big diagnostic plug that can be used with just a meter to identify a variety of circuits.

The fuel tanks frequently leak at the remote drain connection. This is a major headache to fix as the tank does not come out easily. I now plastic weld that hole shut because the fuel is readily drained by siphoning.

The cooling systems are subject to need radiator caps replaced and head gaskets can be a problem. When you look at a unit or photos look for sign of white coolant tracking at the head joint on the starter side. You will be surprised at how many show it. But that issue is easily fixed. In fact the head gasket I just replaced was fine. The military fixed it but did not clean up the mess. The replacement head gaskets are updated. No further issues expected.

The fuel system is ultra reliable but is a challenge to synchronize the individual injection pumps. I do it by reading exhaust temps on the manifold legs, get it close and call it a day.


Personally, I really like this model. It is so high quality. Of this series of generators the 802A and 803A are the only ones with 100% aluminum skid and enclosure. The bigger 800 series ones use steel and it rusts in coastal environment. These are also EMP proof according to the military, if that matters to you.

The parts are pricey because they are not yet in mainstream circulation. they are current inventory until 2017.

I don't think any owner regrets having one.

Auction prices are $1,300 to $2,200 for the 802 and $1750 to $2,800 for the 803. Condition is everything and there are plenty being dumped because they are beat up and worn out. But some truely like new ones exist too. Just know what your getting.

Oh, the Lister petter is a 9000+ hour engine. Reports of over 20,000 hours when not fully loaded 100% of the time and not used in severe environments. Lots of info on the OPW. Been in production since the early 80's and well refined. The 802/03 military ones seem to start around early 90's and go on up. I have seen an '07 and '08 at auction.

I have not seen one yet that has signs of wet stacking. So they may be very resistant to it. Wet Stacking is a condition whereby a lightly loaded water cooled diesel will loose the hone pattern on the cylinder, rings quit seating and pump oil in a black sooty tar like substance out the exhaust. The older watercooled 004, 005, with the Hercules engines were very suseptable to this.

I picked up an 802a last month for $900 with 3600 hours. When I received it the batteries were dead, no biggie. After charging them and checking the fluids she fired right up. The 802 is very quiet and bullet proof. I installed an interlock yesterday on my house panel and can pretty much run the whole house with it. I initially wanted an 803 but after hooking up the 802 I just don't need the extra power or need to burn more diesel....

That's a great price. My 802A won't power my whole house unless I take the water heater, dryer, and range individually with no additional load. It struggles to start my ancient 2.5 ton A/C but it does do it. Once running the a/C load is nothing. But, I can live with that as it is most efficient. However, I would like to get an 803 just because...

My house is heated/hot water by an outdoor wood boiler with radiant floor heat, the pumps only draw .5 amps You mention AC, that's a dream to think of right now in northern Michigan I should have mentioned I won't be cooking a turkey in the oven and microwaving popcorn on the 802 while watching tv will all the lights on.

The 802 will be enough to keep on the heat, lights, tv, fridge and freezer.

hcso2332 said:

and can pretty much run the whole house with it.....

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That's great that you can run your whole house on 5000 watts but for most people a 5k will just barely get you by during an outage but you have to be pretty stingy with the amps. I had to move to the 10k cause a 5k isn't really a whole house set.

johnray13 said:

That's great that you can run your whole house on 5000 watts but for most people a 5k will just barely get you by during an outage but you have to be pretty stingy with the amps. I had to move to the 10k cause a 5k isn't really a whole house set.

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After installing the interlock I turned on a good majority of the lights, the TV and the heat pumps. Afterwhich, the meter on the 802 was showing 25amps.

Same thing ETN550 says

ETN550 said:

That's a great price. My 802A won't power my whole house unless I take the water heater, dryer, and range individually with no additional load. It struggles to start my ancient 2.5 ton A/C but it does do it. Once running the a/C load is nothing. But, I can live with that as it is most efficient. However, I would like to get an 803 just because...

Click to expand...

Doesn't sound like it's near as stout as an 002. I have had my house running with the 002 and the wife fired up the dryer not realizing that she should probably have done that. It grunted for a second and then kept chugging right along. I guess I'd really need to think about the 802 before buying one. Maybe I'll keep my eyes open for and 803. It isn't something I have to have. I currently have the 002 and an 003 so it's really just another toy

Rapracing, sounds like you feel the same way I do

Isaac-1 said:

Rapracing, sounds like you feel the same way I do

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Yep! Unless I would run across one heck of a deal on the 802, I may think about it otherwise I'm going to wait.

Hello New to the forum Just got a 803a off loaded yesterday. Need a few days to go over maintenance items (batteries, oil, fuel) then will try to start it. Cant wait !!

I picked up an 803a out here in cali for bout 800 bucks several months ago. Has 2200 hours on it supposedly. SO far its just a large paper weight have not had time to even start to dive into the project, not in to bad a shape cabinet little bent in a couple areas and some slight rust on the gen head. I was wondering bout the dx port on this unit what hooks up to it? YOu mention you can test circuits with multimeter through it? WHich ones is this procedure outlined in the tm for this unit?

Rapracing said:

Doesn't sound like it's near as stout as an 002. I have had my house running with the 002 and the wife fired up the dryer not realizing that she should probably have done that. It grunted for a second and then kept chugging right along. I guess I'd really need to think about the 802 before buying one. Maybe I'll keep my eyes open for and 803. It isn't something I have to have. I currently have the 002 and an 003 so it's really just another toy

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Rap,
You have the same setup I have. (003a and 002a) I'm also going to be watching for a year or two while the future military force structure is sorted out. It will take a while for the excess items to filter to auction availability.
Jerry

ETN550 said:

That's a great price. My 802A won't power my whole house unless I take the water heater, dryer, and range individually with no additional load. It struggles to start my ancient 2.5 ton A/C but it does do it. Once running the a/C load is nothing. But, I can live with that as it is most efficient. However, I would like to get an 803 just because...

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ETN550,
A couple years ago there was a thread on hard starting AC units and a capacitor was suggested for the older units. You might search on that and find some relief for your 802.
Jerry

leedawg said:

I picked up an 803a out here in cali for bout 800 bucks several months ago. Has 2200 hours on it supposedly. SO far its just a large paper weight have not had time to even start to dive into the project, not in to bad a shape cabinet little bent in a couple areas and some slight rust on the gen head. I was wondering bout the dx port on this unit what hooks up to it? YOu mention you can test circuits with multimeter through it? WHich ones is this procedure outlined in the tm for this unit?

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I found it somewhere in the big military manual. Basically, there is a hot pin and a ground pin and then the rest of the leads go to various sensors switches components. I think the starter and manifold heater might be a couple of them, but don't quote me. From what I gathered a lot of diagnosis can be done quickly right at the front to see if various components are getting voltage. I remember experimenting with my meter on the first 802 I had. It was pretty nice, really. You don't actually need anything to plug into it. I think one of the wiring diagrams will also show that plug with call outs or indication of where each pin reads. When I saw the plug my first impression is that some sort of large cable and diagnostic box was needed, but no so at all.

The 800 Series are quite neat. Great Genset to own, no question especially the precise units with electronic governor, my favorite!

storeman said:

ETN550,
A couple years ago there was a thread on hard starting AC units and a capacitor was suggested for the older units. You might search on that and find some relief for your 802.
Jerry

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ETN550-There is a hard start kit available for HP and AC units. Made for low line voltage/hard start units. Most Electrical and Refrigeration/AC supply houses have them in stock. They use a capacitor for an extra kick on start. Over the years, I have installed dozens of them.
David