MEP 802 or 803

I am trying to decide between a Mep 802 and 803. I have an 1100 square foot house and everything is electric. I would like to be able to run my 2 Ton central AC, lights, TVs, fridge/freezer, and my water heater (I could run AC and water heater 1 at a time if need be). I want to make sure the generator will start and run the AC but I don’t want a generator that is too big and will hardly have any load on it. Also has anybody had a problem with these generators wet stacking under light load? Thanks in advance for the help.

Welcome to SS. You are going to want an 803. Your AC alone is gonna pull probably 20A. (and the rated output of the 802 is 26A @ 240V). The rated amperage @ 240V for the 803 is 52... so thats where you need to be, to keep all your items running. I don't think you will have wet stacking concerns, if you can load the machine up at least 50% for any extended running.

Same size home and set-up but my central heat is gas. I use an 802a. I buy and sell these as a hobby so I've tried every set-up you can imagine (002a, 003a, 802a, 803a and even a 004a). Remember, your largest draws are water heater, clothes dryer, oven, and central unit so don't expect to use any 2 at the same time. If you're okay with that, then go for it. Wet stacking won't be a problem unless you're running just your lights and TV's for a few hundred hours.

I assumed AC use was not optional during the summer months in SC (I've been to Myrtle Beach in June... waaaaaaaay too hot and sticky for this Yank), and likewise for heat (which I assume is electric based on the first post). Either will be pulling a good chunk of the 5ks output. Do you have a well or town water justicelee26?

I can report that I've tested a 802 at my home and it runs my 3T heatpump with no problems. The total running amps for the unit is around 16-17 amps (compressor and fans). Your mileage may vary.

I have town water so I won’t need a pump for that. The AC is pretty much mandatory due to how hot it normally gets in the summer. During the winter heat is never a problem. I have the electric heat pump but I have a wood fireplace and lot of wood as well as a kerosene heater. My goal is to be able to run the generator for about 2 weeks straight following a major storm. An 802 would be better on fuel but if it won’t start the AC I’ll have to go bigger. Also not a huge factor but the 802 probably won’t run my dryer at all. It is rated at 5300 watts. My water heater is 4000 watts. At the end of the day if the 802 can run my AC I could probably work with it by cutting off all the other 240V loads. The HVAV label plate says min circuit amps 12.9 max over current protection amps 20.

I'll add that if you have a heatpump and you run it on generator in heating mode you'll need to install a "generator bypass" switch to disable the heat strips. If the unit goes into defrost mode and kicks on the heat strips it will trip out your generator.

So you owe it to yourself to go read all the data plates and power supplys on the items you want to run, and determine your total amperage needs. From there, you see what MAXIMUM draw is, and formulate what you need and dont need to keep life going as you want it.

Light in the Dark said:

So you owe it to yourself to go read all the data plates and power supplys on the items you want to run, and determine your total amperage needs. From there, you see what MAXIMUM draw is, and formulate what you need and dont need to keep life going as you want it.

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i run my entire ranch house barns and pump on an 002A 5KW. i have run it for months at a time without any problems and was glad to not have to buy extra diesel. i will admit that your lifestyle will change somewhat though. my 002A runs my electric dryer just fine but when the dryer is on i make sure to limit any crock pots toasters or other resistive loads. i never shut off the well but it runs intermittently. my heat is gas and my hot water is gas tankless,stove is gas so my needs are somewhat less than yours.

I have a 5k for my personal backup... but I have a gas range, no AC, a well, and a couple freezers. My 5k wont run my electric dryer (going gas as soon as this one dies), nor my double wall oven. But I am OK with that trade-off (can cook on the gas range with overhead hood or on/in wood stove during the winter, and over fireplace outside during warm months).

I have consciously crafted my needs around using as little a genset as possible, for long term run concerns.... perhaps I was too quick to throw out the 10k, but I still think its justifiable for the original posters needs.

I appreciate all of the input. I think the 10kw would be a safer bet. I could run pretty much everything without needing to worry about over loading. The only problem is for about half the day my house draws less than 1000 watts and the generator would pretty much be idling and burning a bunch of fuel. I guess that is the trade off. So I have some more questions that apply to both generators

1. Can anyone give me approximate fuel consumption for lower loading on these generators? I can only find the fully loaded ratings.

2. What is the best way to plan for a possible 24volt jump start of the generator? Assuming shore power goes down and the generator has dead batteries.

Assume an MEP-803 is going to burn about 1.1 gal/hr at full tilt. It will consume about .6 gal/hr at 50% load. MEP-802 will consume about .6 gal/hr at full tilt, and half that at half load. Its all pretty linear.

You might want to invest in a solar 24V battery charging system (or (2) 12V solar chargers... one for each battery.

If you exercise your machine somewhat regularly (every month or two), the set will recharge the batteries.

Okay. So as far as fuel goes. What size is the auxiliary hose? Can I connect it right up to a home heating oil tank with no modification?

justicelee26 said:

Okay. So as far as fuel goes. What size is the auxiliary hose? Can I connect it right up to a home heating oil tank with no modification?

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See... https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?171024-Generator-AUX-fuel-connections

I have a similar size house, all electric, with 3.5 ton AC and well. My 803A sips fuel. Last long run I had was 8 straight hours and it was still reading just over half a tank. My gauge seems pretty accurate so that would be less than .5 GPH. This was leaving well and AC on and doing some stove top cooking. Have logged just over 50 hours on it including my monthly load tests. I was told as long as I run it for a while with a good load I shouldn't have to worry about wet stacking and I have never seen any evidence of it on my unit. I run it for an hour or so every month with a 40 amp continuous resistive load.

My AC has two separate circuits as I believe most do. One for the AC/heat pump and another for the auxiliary heat strips. I turn off the heat strip circuit at the panel. I manage the other loads by leaving them off when not wanted. A good water heater will heat up and retain hot water all day. Mine is 50 gallons so we can run it an hour a day and take two showers each before needing to heat water again.

Get a good 240V shop heater or two to load the unit with or if you have room to store it a free or cheap electric range will do.

csheath thank you for your post. I think I could do a pretty good load run just by hooking it up to my house and running my dryer. It alone is 5300 Watts. What kind of wiring hook up do you have for your house? I am looking at a generator that may not come with an output cable so I’ll need a cable and some way to connect it to my house.

justicelee26 said:

csheath thank you for your post. I think I could do a pretty good load run just by hooking it up to my house and running my dryer. It alone is 5300 Watts. What kind of wiring hook up do you have for your house? I am looking at a generator that may not come with an output cable so I’ll need a cable and some way to connect it to my house.

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I wouldn't follow my example to the tee. I used two 50 amp RV boxes and made a cable with double male ends. I keep thinking I will redo the house end someday and get a proper generator power input box. I have a Square D panel and was able to move everything down 2 spaces on the right side to make room for a 60 amp breaker to feed into. I used a Square D interlock kit that prevents me from being able to turn the generator breaker on while the main is on. This protects our linemen from any senior moments I might have.


I also added a Reliance Controls power back alarm at the panel and a power out alarm in the master bathroom. This will alert me if the power goes out during the night and the power back alarm lets me know when the line power is restored so I'm not running the generator unnecessarily.

Wiring up one of these is easy... you need to decide how you want to do it. I love the ability to unhook, so if you are going with an 803... you are going to want a 50A power inlet (like this: https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Controls-Corporation-PB50-Generators/dp/B000HRWGBW). It will need to be wired back to your main panel by a licensed electrician (or by someone you know who knows how to do it... not something you want guess work involved with). You will probably want a manual interlock in your home panel.... do you have 2 breaker locations available to 'steal'? An example of a manual interlock: https://www.interlockkit.com

As for the cord.... well your choice. You can have one with raw ends, that you tie to the lugs on the machine... or one that is terminated both ends (which means you need to mount a similar power box on the side of your machine, and wire leads from it back to the lugs).

If you do some research here in the forums about this topic, you will find all the info you need. Good luck.

Best deal I found on good cable was an RV extension cord. I bought a 30 ft, 50 amp cord off that auction site and cut it up.

Everyone will have a different situation for how they need to connect. Mine was easy because I had room under my shed 10 feet from my panel.

Yeah. I think I’ll get a 50 amp cable and cut off the male end and connect it to the lugs and plug the female end into my house to a power inlet and through an interlocked breaker on my panel. That should be a fairly legit way to do it.