Acquired a Military surplus load bank

2007 Fermont MEP-803A
Essex A427 load bank
120/240 single phase
The pictures are in order of each load applied and what the meter reading was.

3kw load


6kw load


9kw load


12kw load


12kw+3kw load


12kw+3kw+add 1.5kw variable load to 133%

Thanks Mike! I have not went through all the videos yet but I will enjoy watching them tomorrow.

One thing that is obvious from the photos is that the percent gauge is very accurate. At 12000w it is at 100% (10000 @80%+20%=12000.

Mike- Did you adjust Hz or volts at all during the test (I still have not watched the video). I noticed that the Hz were lower on one of the lower wattage tests than on the higher wattage tests. If you made no adjustment I suppose it could be due to engine oil warming up and thinning out.
Edit: Watched the video so I know the answer.

Thanks again for your efforts!

Just watched the video and wanted to say thanks again. Very informative for those of us without a load bank and/or that baby our machines.

BTW- I think I saw a small lion cross the screen around the 24 sec mark

Howdy,
I see a bunch of Essex load banks on electric van trailers being sold, but never see any load banks pulled off being sold. I recently saw someone with 4 load banks they pulled off a trailer and was thinking of selling them in Odessa, Missouri.

Cool video! looked like that small lion was attempting to make off with your Gator... Its interesting that you could apply 21K and bog the motor without tripping the breaker. I think trying to pull twice the rated current on an -002 or -003 would probably trip the breaker long before reaching anywhere near 200% load. Out of curiosity have you or anyone else ever done any testing with inductive motor loads on an 802/803? Just wondering how the breakers react to motor starts on an 802/803 compared to an 002/003?

I've started my 1hp well pump and my 3ton HP on a MEP802.

The well sends the meter up to just under 100% and it falls straight back down to the low end of the scale. The engine registers the load but its not more than a bump.

When the HP starts it pegs the load meter a good bit longer and then falls back to just under 25%. It makes a much more pronounced engine grunt but the RPMs don't drop too much. The Hz meter swings under 60 then right back up. About 1/2 second or so. The sound on the compressor side is normal. It doesn't sound like its taking longer to spin up. At least not that you can tell by listening.

The 802 will start my HP even with several things in the house running such as the fridge compressor and the entertainment system. Total of about 20% load on the meter when kicking on the HP. It actually grunt a little less with 20% load on it when the HP kicks in.

I don't know if that is the kind of feedback you are looking for. I don't have any large motor equipment at the house I can throw at it. The 802 I did this testing with (which is the one for sale in the classified) did a great job starting typical household electric motors.

Edit - in comparison though the 003 started the HP with the oven, dryer, and water heater all running at the same time. That put it at about 130% load on the meter but it didn't sound like it cared too much. That thing is a beast.

I've got a bunch of those testers if anybody needs one. Need to free up some space on the front of shop trailers. Shoot me a pm

jimbo913 said:

Just watched the video and wanted to say thanks again. Very informative for those of us without a load bank and/or that baby our machines.

BTW- I think I saw a small lion cross the screen around the 24 sec mark

Click to expand...

I went the water heater element route for loading generators. It works great and is super affordable. It would be nice to add a variac to the mix to tweak the load. I know its a 1.0PF load but thats OK unless you are trying to test the trip on the breaker.

I would LOVE to have a real load bank though.

Howdy,
MEP-802A load bank workout.
120/240 single phase,
short video of 125% run portion.

I was looking at a lot of 2 load banks on GL, but they went for like $4k.

Howdy,
Here is my MEP-802A generator load bank log for the Oct 30, 2015 run.

****************************************************

Howdy,
Here is my MEP-803A generator load bank log for the Oct 29, 2015 run.


***********************************************

Nice logs, and thanks for sharing.

Very thorough write up and testing. That is a big time commitment. Like they say, quality takes quantity. Did you use Army cabling or make your own? If you made your own can you share pictures and specs please.

tommys2patrick said:

Very thorough write up and testing. That is a big time commitment. Like they say, quality takes quantity. Did you use Army cabling or make your own? If you made your own can you share pictures and specs please.

Click to expand...

Howdy,
It is really tough finding cable sets surplus. I wanted a wire which I would only use with the load bank. I used 6awg stranded THHN wire for each run. Black, Red, White, and Green. I also got another Red for load banking 3 phase. I crimped copper battery lugs on one end which connects to the load bank terminals. The other ends I simply tinned. So its 4 wires together which I used electrical tape about every 3 ft to hold them together. That's all. I used 6 awg wire since I have a 10kw and 5kw generator.

I also have southwire 6/4 SOOW viper cord with tinned ends and ready for house connection.

tommys2patrick said:

Very thorough write up and testing. That is a big time commitment. Like they say, quality takes quantity. Did you use Army cabling or make your own? If you made your own can you share pictures and specs please.

Click to expand...

Greetings Mike,

Pictures of the actual connections from the load bank to the 10kw generator would be great if possible. If not, thanks for sharing the information you provided so far.

I just recently acquired an Essex Electro Engineers, Inc. A427 Load Bank (military version) and the NSN is 6625-00-730-4368. I have downloaded the TM and am learning about military load banks. I am clueless on most of it so far, but have a pretty good mechanical acumen.


Tom

Nice test, good work! Where did you come up with the time interval between increasing/decreasing the load?

Zakman..

Those load banks work fine, but the switching is just a little confusing. Take the 12 kw bank for example. It is 4 kw per phase, which is 1/3 of 12. The way it becomes 12 is if you consider all three phases.

So, if the unit is set up to test 240 volts single phase, then switching the 12kw switch only puts a 4 kw load on the line.

When you think about it, it all makes perfect sense.

It is the same for each of the other switches.... each one is 1/3 of the load that the switch calls for when testing 240v single phase..

So, while the unit is rated at 33kw, it can only be used to test a 10 kw or smaller generator.

z

Howdy,
The Essex Electro A427 load bank fully test 120v 1 ph, 120/240 1ph, 120/208 3ph, 240/416 3ph

Trust me, on 120/240 1ph, each switch puts a load equally over each wire. The fans are drawn off one side, so when I take a amp per leg reading, one side might be 40 amps and the other side is 40.3
120/208 3ph is the same thing. A 12kw switched load is just that. Each leg will have the same load, except one which will be slightly higher due to the fans on that line.
I have had my MEP-803A loaded with the 12kw switch and 3kw switch and half way with the variable switch. With a 67.4 amps per leg. I figure it is around a 17kw resistive load.

Actually that loading is in this thread back at post #20 here. Towards the end I pan down to the clamp meter sitting at 67.4 amps