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New guy with wiring question MEP-803A

K

k9medic

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I just purchased an 803A that shows about 9200 hours on the meter. It's a 2003 so I can't fathom that it has not been rebuilt during that time.

Having said that, I am taking this generator as well as possibly a second generator over to the Bahamas to install as a semi permanent generator at a house.

Here is the weird thing about the way the house is wired - the meter is at the road about 600' away. There is a line running to a transformer/ distribution box (the green box) then to the house is the only one on this box. I was thinking I would open the distribution box and wire the 803a right there since there are large enough wires running to the house.

I would disconnect the "service" side of the transformer so no backfeeding. I have a friend who will supply the proper covers for that.Essentially, the house would be completely off grid until the real power returns in a year to a year and a half.

Thoughts?

Box inside looks like this -

magnex-ug-transformer.jpg
 
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Z

Zed254

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I've never seen a magnex-ug-transformer - I wired my generator through the house's breaker box. And I don't think I'd leave my generator 600 ft from my house.
 
C

Coug

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Hi, welcome to this site

Glad to see you took my advice on getting a military generator for your prime power for now until things get back to normal over there. I seriously doubt that you'll end up disappointed with it. (I'm that guy with a similar name to this one over on that other site :) )
Also glad you made it here, as there are more than a few guys here with lots of experience that can help you with pretty much anything you could ever want to do to the generator.


Is there a breaker panel or service access on the outside of the house? Or would it be feasible to install a feed into the breaker panel using an interlock plate?

I would be wary of opening distribution boxes for power unless you physically own them, or if you can talk to the utility company about doing it for you. I'm sure they are a little busy right now though, so not sure how well that would go over. At minimum they should probably remove the meter for you until power gets restored to your area, if the meter is out then unless someone really screwed up on the install, you should be able to wire anything you want AFTER the meter and not worry about either backfeeding, or the power company frying your gen when someone decides to hook the utility lines back up and don't unhook your generator first.

Also, with how things are, having the generator located 600 feet from the house, and you only being there weekends or whatever your plan was (I don't remember all the details) having it closer to the house will be much better for it not walking off on you while you are out of town, or even just in the middle of the night. Not sure how crime is over there, but some people get so desperate for the luxuries of life provided by electricity that they'll steal anything they can get their hands on. While an MEP803A isn't exactly light, a couple guys with a low trailer or a small crane on the back of a truck could probably make it disappear in short order if unattended.



by the way, all the military manuals and documents you'll need to understand and maintain your MEP803A can be found in the TM section, here's the link for your gen.

https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showt...-802-5KW-Generator-and-MEP-803-10KW-Generator
 
C

Chainbreaker

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If I were the owner of a house in the Bahamas I would most definitely want a proper generator hook up installed. Not just for the situation now but to address any future outages that will surely happen. By the way, my house has the electrical meter located 150' away from the house with a service disconnect there as well as a service disconnect in the breaker box in house. However, Bahamian electrical practices & codes may be a bit more relaxed than those in the U.S. so no telling how that house is actually configured unless you do an onsite inspection or can get some photo's.

Assuming it does have a proper breaker panel at house here is one source for an interlock kit. If you can find one to match the breaker panel installed and if you have room to install the additional generator breaker required in it they should be able to ship to your location.

I have one of the Natramelec interlocks that I installed at my barn service entrance and it was easy to install and works great. They make several versions of this kit to fit specific breaker panel mfg. configurations. You would also need to order an generator inlet box, as well as a mating connector & cable for hooking up the generator.

Be very careful of the implementation you choose, there are some Jerry-Rigged ways out there floating around describing how to hook up a generator in a "dire emergency". No one here will recommend because if mishandled it could easily become lethal!
 
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K

k9medic

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Thank you all.

The transformer box is sitting at the end of my driveway so the generator would be sitting in my yard. I'm the only house that runs off it. Unfortunately, there is no outside breaker box, only the onside one that happens to be in the living room.

I'm not too worried about opening the box. BPL does not plan to have the power on for at least a year on this particular island. My "other" plan would be the guerrilla method involving a dryer... :whistle: I am also going to put in a 100w solar panel with a battery and an inverter just to run the fridge.

There has been one government official on the island in 25 days. They only stopped by for a photo op. The entire island is being put back together by locals who are being supported financially and physically by Americans. There is no way for me to get a "proper" backup generator to the island for some time.

I got the 803A for $375 so who knows what I will find today when I start working on it. All fluids look good and it was supposed to go to a volunteer fire department in Alabama but they didn't need 2 of them, so it went to auction. I also have a bid out for another newer one that has been tested and is in good running order.
 
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C

Chainbreaker

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First off, glad to know your house is one of the houses left still standing! I saw this WSJ article and all I can say, having survived a measly CAT 1 Hurricane myself in Florida decades ago, is WOW I can't even fathom a CAT 5 hitting an island & having to deal with the aftermath.

Even if your breaker box is in your living room does not necessarily mean its impossible to install a generator interlock in it. If it has room for an additional double pole 240 breaker it can be accomplished provided there is a way to snake the generator feed line to it (via an above attic or below crawl space?). It may also require re-positioning some of the existing breakers to accommodate the interlock function.

We don't know your electrical skills and I'm sure electricians on the island are already working overtime...so understand that you may have to find "an interim method" to get power to the house given the long-term island electrical infrastructure downtime. Hooking up a generator at a service disconnected transformer box would seem to be preferable to the more dangerous method that involves any type of backfeeding through a limited amperage circuit in the house.

Regardless if the transformer box is sitting at the end of your driveway, I would find a way to chain & lock the generator to something immovable. A running generator is like a box of gold bullion sitting at the end of your driveway given the dire conditions.

Anyway, just my 2 cents worth.
 
K

k9medic

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Florida
Thank you.

Electrical skills are about a seven out of 10. I know how to pull and manage breakers and what not.

I got The generator running today by jumping the starter. It appears that the solenoid is bad on it as is the fuel solenoid. I had to manually open that.

Here is the curious thing now. It runs for about 30 seconds and then shuts down. It appears to have oil pressure so that’s a good sign.

As for chaining the generator down, I’m not too worried about it. The island is a small island and everybody knows each other. Heck, most of us know where we store our hidden keys.

My realtor doesn’t even know where his set of keys are.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Guyfang

Guyfang

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k9medic said:
Thank you.

Electrical skills are about a seven out of 10. I know how to pull and manage breakers and what not.
I got The generator running today by jumping the starter. It appears that the solenoid is bad on it as is the fuel solenoid. I had to manually open that. You are assuming. Test the solenoid. Is the S10 in the run position?
Here is the curious thing now. It runs for about 30 seconds and then shuts down. It appears to have oil pressure so that’s a good sign.
As for chaining the generator down, I’m not too worried about it. The island is a small island and everybody knows each other. Heck, most of us know where we store our hidden keys.
My realtor doesn’t even know where his set of keys are.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Have you downloaded the TM's? Can you read schematics? Have you read the troubleshooting guide?
 
K

k9medic

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Guyfang said:
Have you downloaded the TM's? Can you read schematics? Have you read the troubleshooting guide?
Click to expand...
I tested the starter solenoid. 24V at the large and smaller lug. Turn start switch and almost zero voltage to opposite lug. The S10 switch is the dead crank switch correct? It does nothing when switched over to " dead crank."

There is some assumption here though on the fuel solenoid. I had a similar issue with a Westerbeke generator where I had to manually move it to the (open) closed position. Is there something I'm missing here?

I'm going to try the battle switch and some of the other forum suggestions today.
 
K

k9medic

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Florida
Okay. Got the generator to stay running. Turns out one of the injectors was loose at the bottom and was letting air in. A quick turn of the wrench and it stays running.

Still have to jump the starter for now. New starter solenoid will be here tomorrow. I will also check wiring to the fuel run solenoid.

I'm getting voltage at the courtesy plugs. The generator is not grounded right now so if I am reading it correctly, I would not be able to grab voltage from one of the main power lugs. Is that correct?
 
K

k9medic

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Yeah. I read the -10 about grounding.

I was just trying to get the thing running.

Now to try to find out why I don’t have power at the lugs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
C

Coug

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k9medic said:
Yeah. I read the -10 about grounding.

I was just trying to get the thing running.

Now to try to find out why I don’t have power at the lugs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
did you flip the AC Circuit Interrupter up to the "closed" position? If so, is the little light on above it? If you don't close that connection, then there is no power at the lugs.
 
K

k9medic

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Florida
I did. Nothing happened. I went back through the manual and see where there is a test procedure for that.

The lightbulb works. It doesn’t seem that the relay is closing though.

I am having difficulty identifying a1, a2 etc.

I checked continuity from the other side of the relay to the lugs and there is good continuity there.

Now it seems as though the voltage is hunting a bit and the hertz are off. Everything was working fine until I rotated some of the switches and returned them to the original position.

Using a meter there is some variance in the voltage. I have no way to check the hertz.

I did spray the contacts down with some WD-40.






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T

TheAlfredo

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Hello K9Medic If you are in south florida/Miami I'd be glad to show you how I have my permanent set up at my parents house and how I did multiple temporary hookups in the Florida panhandle last year.
 
K

k9medic

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Florida
Thank you. I’m in North Central Florida and I’m getting this thing ready to ship over to the Bahamas.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
C

Chainbreaker

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Just a tip: In the future, or now if you want to, you should start a new thread whenever the subject of your initial thread has changed. You've now gone from needing hook-up advice to troubleshooting a generator problem(s). When the thread title topic better describes the issue at hand you will get a LOT more assistance. However, it looks like your pretty far along with some help so your call as whether to start a new thread now.
 
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Guyfang

Guyfang

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k9medic said:
I did. Nothing happened. I went back through the manual and see where there is a test procedure for that.

The lightbulb works. It doesn’t seem that the relay is closing though.

I am having difficulty identifying a1, a2 etc.

I checked continuity from the other side of the relay to the lugs and there is good continuity there.

Now it seems as though the voltage is hunting a bit and the hertz are off. Everything was working fine until I rotated some of the switches and returned them to the original position.

Using a meter there is some variance in the voltage. I have no way to check the hertz. You cant check hertz, until you have VAC.

I did spray the contacts down with some WD-40.

What you are telling us, is everything worked well until you moved some switches? What did you move. If the engine will not turn over with the S1 switch, or the S10, then you need to see why the K2 is not getting voltage. And if the S5 is turned on, and you get a light from DS7, then the K1 has to be closing. If K1 closes, then you have to be getting VAC at the output lugs. If you have no voltage at the output lugs, then you have no output from the main gen. You wrote that "Using a meter there is some variance in the voltage". How much Voltage are you getting, and where are you measuring it from?





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Click to expand...
.
 
Guyfang

Guyfang

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Chainbreaker said:
Just a tip: In the future, or now if you want to, you should start a new thread whenever the subject of your initial thread has changed. You've now gone from needing hook-up advice to troubleshooting a generator problem(s). When the thread title topic better describes the issue at hand you will get a LOT more assistance. However, it looks like your pretty far along with some help so your call as whether to start a new thread now.
Click to expand...

Please start a new thread. Its better for you, in the long run.
 
T

TheAlfredo

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After Michael hit Florida last year, I had 4 803a running my counsins and family houses. I removed the electrical meter from the box and then used these Polaris Electrical connectors to connect the generator to the load side wires of the meter. Mind you...technically you are not supposed to remove the security seal. But Gulf Power (the utility) had stated it would be months before power would be restored. When they came to reconnect utility lines, they were impressed with the clean connection and that precautions were taken not to backfeed. Either the Generator was right next to the meter box....with the exception of one....to which I had "White Duct Tape" over the meter box, and wrote "GENERATOR IN USE, DO NOT INSTALL METER WITHOUT DISCONNECTING GENERATOR". In reality they could and it wouldn't affect the generator connection.....it would just make it easier and safer to reconnect to load leads to the meter lugs.

https://www.grainger.com/product/14...wcid=AL!2966!3!264955915673!!!g!461787465034!


btw....been spending the last few weeks shipping pallets of hurricane relief items to Grand Bahama. Grand Bahama yacht club is a much easier port to clear customs, etc. Elbow Cay and Treasure Cay you should be fine.
 
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