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Generator Newbie Seeking Real World Experience and Feedback on MEP-805A vs. MEP-805B

hyderind

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manitowoc, wi
Intend to purchase 805.

Are the A and B model Generators the same aside from control screen of analog vs. digital?

For long term usage, is analog better than digital?

Any other feedback or words of wisdom about the 805??

BTW, seeking unit to be located in zip code 54220.

Thanks!!

chris
 

hyderind

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manitowoc, wi
Given that Lake Michigan Wisconsin has wonderful winter weather (up to -50F with wind chill) it will live in a enclosed shed. Back up generator for house and barn.
 

Dock Rocker

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Jackson ms
Given that Lake Michigan Wisconsin has wonderful winter weather (up to -50F with wind chill) it will live in a enclosed shed. Back up generator for house and barn.
I would think a 3 phase genset would be a bad fit for what you are trying to do.

For a house and barn many of us are successfully running Mep-803’s and mep-003’s. Unless you have an unusually high demand that quite a bit of overkill and fuel consumption.




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Coug

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Wetstack??
A lot of diesel engines have to run hot to burn the fuel completely. That's usually at around 50% or higher load. Running below that the engine is a little cool, the fuel doesn't burn completely, and oily fuel residue begins to build up in the cylinder head and exhaust system (looks like the exhaust stack is wet inside, hence "wetstack"). If it gets too bad it can adversely affect how the engine runs, and you lose a lot of available power.

Solution is usually run the engine under 75% or more load for a couple hours to burn everything off. If you can't get it up to 75% load, you load it as high as it will go, and slowly increase load as things heat up/burn off.
 

Guyfang

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Wetstack??
You read the post from Coug, so now you know what wet stacking is. BUT, you would have less problem then all the rest of the folks here in this thread. If I remember right, Denmark is like Germany, and you have three phase into your house/barn/buildings. So you could run this set more economically, by hooking up all three phases, and not hooking up like people in the States have to do. single phase, 220 volt.

Yes, its to big of a gen set for a normal house, and out building, unless your outbuilding is a barn with lots of animals and equipment. I installed Aux power gen sets in barns here, that need power ALL the time. Several thousand pigs for instance. In the summer, it has to be cool for them. In the winter, it has to stay warm. Or they all croak. Big time problems. So when the city power fails, they switch to backup.
 

hyderind

New member
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Location
manitowoc, wi
I would think a 3 phase genset would be a bad fit for what you are trying to do.

For a house and barn many of us are successfully running Mep-803’s and mep-003’s. Unless you have an unusually high demand that quite a bit of overkill and fuel consumption.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for the response!

I'm still stumbinging around trying to get the best solution.

We have a 3K ft house and barn in freezing cold WIsconsin; with well, propane boiler heating H20 and radiant heat floors. The online KW calculators "state" we need 21K-23K. Our well pump surges at 9KW.

I read that the 805 is 30KW 3phase and 20KW 1phase; the 804A is 15KW 3phase and 10KW 1phase.

I do know that a Kohler 20KW 20RCL is $11K plus installation. Yuck. Too much $$$!

So I thought about getting a 805. Or two 803As and parallel them together???

Hummmm....what the heck do I do?

Advise, feedback, and criticism welcomed!
 
Last edited:

TehTDK

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Denmark
You read the post from Coug, so now you know what wet stacking is. BUT, you would have less problem then all the rest of the folks here in this thread. If I remember right, Denmark is like Germany, and you have three phase into your house/barn/buildings. So you could run this set more economically, by hooking up all three phases, and not hooking up like people in the States have to do. single phase, 220 volt.
Denmark is a lot like germany if but a bit more nothernly. But my dream scenario is getting a farm etc and having a generator like that standing around for backup and failover along with some UPS battery packs.
 

Guyfang

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All the farmers here that raise cows, pigs and the like, have Aux power. Most use a tractor driven generator, but a few have German army gen sets. The company I worked for installed Solar power systems, and Bio Gas set ups. We also did extras like Aux power, transformer up grades. Only a fool would not put up solar, if he has a huge barn and needs lots of power during the day. Anything you don't use, you sell back to the electric company. The same for Bio Gas. Some places had both.
 

98G

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Thanks for the response!

I'm still stumbinging around trying to get the best solution.

We have a 3K ft house and barn in freezing cold WIsconsin; with well, propane boiler heating H20 and radiant heat floors. The online KW calculators "state" we need 21K-23K. Our well pump surges at 9KW.

I read that the 805 is 30KW 3phase and 20KW 1phase; the 804A is 15KW 3phase and 10KW 1phase.

I do know that a Kohler 20KW 20RCL is $11K plus installation. Yuck. Too much $$$!

So I thought about getting a 805. Or two 803As and parallel them together???

Hummmm....what the heck do I do?

Advise, feedback, and criticism welcomed!
I'd be tempted to split it out into two or more loads. This way you only have to run as much generator as you need.

It also allows for some redundancy of capabilities in case of failure. One genset failure won't deprive you of heat and light ...
 

hyderind

New member
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1
Location
manitowoc, wi
I'd be tempted to split it out into two or more loads. This way you only have to run as much generator as you need.

It also allows for some redundancy of capabilities in case of failure. One genset failure won't deprive you of heat and light ...
Thanks for the feedback!
 

DieselAddict

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Well, if you are buying a MEP its obviously going to be used. I don't know about your market but its pretty common here in NC to find used single phase generators well under $10k.

If you search the Raleigh NC area craigslist now there is a 20kw Onan for under $5k. Its stated to be in running condition but as with any piece of used gear - trust but verify. ;)

If you are sold on buying a MEP you may want to consider the older units. If you find a MEP004 or MEP005 they can be converted to single phase.
 

TehTDK

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Denmark
Anything you don't use, you sell back to the electric company. The same for Bio Gas. Some places had both.
Last year or the day before you made a fair deal selling your excess capacity to the grid. This year they changed it so that you get next to naught for selling your excess capacity to the grid. And thus you are better off trying to use all the electricity you get from the solar grid or store it somehow for later use.
 

Chainbreaker

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Location
Oregon
Thanks for the response!

I'm still stumbinging around trying to get the best solution.

We have a 3K ft house and barn in freezing cold WIsconsin; with well, propane boiler heating H20 and radiant heat floors. The online KW calculators "state" we need 21K-23K. Our well pump surges at 9KW.

I read that the 805 is 30KW 3phase and 20KW 1phase; the 804A is 15KW 3phase and 10KW 1phase.

I do know that a Kohler 20KW 20RCL is $11K plus installation. Yuck. Too much $$$!

So I thought about getting a 805. Or two 803As and parallel them together???

Hummmm....what the heck do I do?

Advise, feedback, and criticism welcomed!
Unless there is something you aren't telling us, it would seem that 20+ kW is overkill given your situation as described. Not sure which online kW calculator you used, however I would be cautious of using an online KW calculator if it is being provided by someone who sells generators. The bigger generator they sell the more they make and when there is surplus kW no one calls back to complain that the genset is undersized.

Just remember it is not a cumulative kW total due to random cycling of loads...well pump, refrigerator/freezer compressors, HVAC blower motors, etc. typically cycle on/off as required. The likelihood of several large loads coming online simultaneously is pretty remote. I have a 2500 sq ft house with 3/4 HP well pump, septic pump, refrigerator & chest freezer, FAG HVAC and similar to you, have radiant heat floors (propane water heaters) and lots of typical kitchen appliances including a 2000 Watt espresso machine (but propane cooktop) 60" plasma TV home theater & two 40" bedroom TV's plus typical electronics gear (PC's, laptops, tablets, etc.) and manage to get by powering the house with a 5 kW MEP-002a. During a long term outage I have heard it occasionally grunt coping with a 100 - 125% load but never has dropped a load.

However, I do proactively turn off breakers that I don't want to use (hot tub, sauna, clothes dryer) but could use any one of them (clothes dryer especially) if necessary by locking out other loads temporarily via breakers thus controlling max load potential. Fortunately, my barn & shop has a separate service entrance where I can run my 2nd generator to run well, septic system & lights for horse barn & shop. If I had a 10 kW generator I would not hesitate to run both house & barn, but as mentioned earlier splitting the load between two generators has its benefits.

If you ever think you might end up in a long term power outage, multiple days or a week plus outage situation, you will thank yourself for buying just enough generator to power your house in "emergency mode" due to having a lower hourly fuel burn rate and no worries about wet stacking due to having a generator appropriately sized to your load. Having enough fuel stored & treated for enduring a long-term outage is critical when roads are impassible or local infrastructure has failed.

However with all that said, if you want the extra kW capacity & have a 500 - 1000 gal diesel tank and don't want to be concerned about load management then go for it! But...there is still that wet-stacking issue if you can't consistently load up a 20+ kW genset appropriately.
 

Coug

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I've got customers with single wide trailers with 20kw generators, and retired doctors with beach front homes running 6kw generators.
Then there was also the guy that didn't want to have to manage the loads, so he put in a 40kw generator so he could keep his pool house operational when the power was out as well.

There are just too many factors. Appliances being electric or propane is usually the biggest thing. After that is figuring out what size you need for the absolute necessities. Lights, water pump (if on a well), and enough heat to keep the pipes from freezing. Some way to cook food, which can be as simple as the microwave or a hot plate burner.
The basic loads can in almost every house I've seen, be handled by a 5kw generator, at most a 10kw.

Next comes the wants. Do you want to have a hot shower, use the electric dryer, or cook in the oven? Or do all three at the same time? Do you want to have the hot tub hot and operational? Or how about the steam shower (one guy with a 7kw generator was kind of unhappy that it wouldn't run his 9kw steam shower when the power was out).
Even with a 5kw most people can do one of the luxuries at a time, and the oven, hot water tank, and dryer are primarily resistive loads so the generator likes them better than big motors that have lots of start up surge.


How much of the load are you willing to manage yourself? Are you comfortable going to your breaker panel and shutting off the things you know you don't need? This is usually what determines the size needed. If you're willing to limit yourself and only use one appliance/major luxury at a time, then a 5 or 10KW generator is a great way to go. 1/2 to 1 gallon fuel burned per hour at full load. If you aren't willing to manage your load, and need to have a large enough generator to handle everything "just in case" all the appliances happen to get turned on or used at the same time, then you'd probably be better off with something other than a diesel, as diesels don't like being run without enough of a load on them for long periods of time. You'll be burning more fuel even if you aren't actually running anything, just to keep the engine/generator mass spinning.

One benefit of going with a non military generator and having it propane fueled , is propane never goes bad. You can buy a 1000 gallon tank or three of them, and if the power doesn't go out for the next 5 years no problems, as opposed to diesel, and especially gasoline, that you need to monitor the fuel's condition and either use it up before it goes bad, or make sure to keep it treated. Even if it's treated with stabilizers and biocides (algae and other stuff will grow in diesel, especially if there is any moisture in the tank at all) you'll still likely need a fuel company come out and polish the fuel every year or two to keep it usable (polishing usually involves treating it and running it through a series of filters to remove anything bad that might have gotten into it while sitting there)
 

Chainbreaker

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Coug makes some good points. Regarding choice of generator based on fuel type...here is a handy in-depth fuel comparison chart with advantages/disadvantages. BTW, I already had a 1,000 gallon propane tank (800 gallons effective) on site but chose a diesel generator based on fuel efficiency, engine longevity and portability of genset.
 
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