What should a MEP-002a / MEP-003a be worth?

I've seen some of these sets being converted to using a commercial generator head. Marathon Power systems is the one that I have looked at.

Where else can you purchase a low rpm diesel engine already skid mounted that all you have to do is to mount a $2000 head and have a genset well worth over $8K.

If you check eBay, there are Chinses genset heads in the 15-25K range for less than $500.

I checked the TM and the MEP-003 has a 140cu in engine.

(1) The engine powering this Generator Set is a
4 cylinder, 4 cycle air cooled engine, with a 140 cubic
inch (cu. in.) displacement. A mechanical governor
keeps engine speed at 1800 revolutions per minute
(RPM) under rated load conditions for the MEP-003A​

and at 2000 RPM for the MEP-112A.

nonotagain,

you are correct about the CID. I didn't look in the TM, I used some information posted on GL of all places...I should have known it was wrong...LOL

The bore of these engines is 3.5 inches, compared to most of the civilian DJC's (I think) which are 3.25 inches. The stroke is 3.625. That gives you a CID per cylinder of 34.89 inches. Times 4 cylinders is 139.56 CID...so there you go, it's even bigger. There is no way that a 140 cubic inch diesel is only putting out 18 HP!! It's gotta be close to or over 30 HP at the least.

As to the generator heads...why would you want to put on a different head? The generator heads on these are already conservatively rated at 10 KW, in actuality they are capable of closer to 15 KW the way they sit. Plus they are 3 phase, which could be handy for some people. And the specs to rewind them are in the TM, so you can take it to any electric motor rewind shop and they should be able to rebuild it to like new condition if it ever did develop a problem.

On a side note, my power went out at about 10:00 A.M this morning...2 days after the snow stopped. And it's still out, so I'm happily running my whole house with my MEP-003a (2 1/2 hours and counting...LOL). You're never going to find any civilian set to do what these beasts can do, even if the prices on these sets has been creeping up over $2000 or more.

I think I have about $1500 in mine with the ASK enclosure. I had to get a tank, which a memeber here hooked me up with an NOS tank for cheap. Purrs like a kitten with a little over 800 hours.

Ok, I just have to ask, what is ASK?

Audio Suppression Kit - or something close to that. Makes the genset sound like a 707 taking off instead of a flight of B52s

Speddmon said:

nonotagain,

you are correct about the CID.

As to the generator heads...why would you want to put on a different head? The generator heads on these are already conservatively rated at 10 KW, in actuality they are capable of closer to 15 KW the way they sit. Plus they are 3 phase, which could be handy for some people. And the specs to rewind them are in the TM, so you can take it to any electric motor rewind shop and they should be able to rebuild it to like new condition if it ever did develop a problem.

Click to expand...

The only reason that I brought up changing the gen head is/was that if the regulator goes out on a MEP, replacements are pricey and somewhat hard to find. By changing to a commercial head all of the controls would be new and available. Also I am looking at moving my higher hour machine (2200 hrs) down to my mom-n-dad's house and making it into an autostart set.

I don't trust my dad to set the frequency to 60 hz, so a modern set would automatically fix this issue. Dad is getting a little forgetful in his elder years.

Come and get em. I've got a mep003 w/ 542 hr on it too.

You should be able to add an electronic governor for $200-300 if you don't mind hunting ebay deals, it seems the 24 volt governors seem to sell for a lot less than the 12 volt ones on ebay, I guess it is supply and demand. I equipped the 125KW Onan here at work with one (actuator, controller and speed sensor pickup all new, some in boxes ) for about $260 last year thanks to ebay and a couple of months of shopping, mainly for the right actuator.

Ike

rneely said:

Ok, I just have to ask, what is ASK?

Click to expand...

This is what it looks like from the side. For you rural folks, they are just a PITA. For us city dwellers, they really cut down on the noise.

For those of you that are curious about the sale I was following it ended with the MEP-002a's with a few hundred hours selling about $650 ($660 for the mismatched color ASK unit), the low hour MEP-002a's selling for $820-$1234 with most around $1050. The MEP-003a's were all low hour went for $2271-$2722 with the majority selling for $2,450-$2,550. Note the majority were tan units, with a few green units mixed in, color seems to have made no difference on price.

Ike

Nonotagain said:

The only reason that I brought up changing the gen head is/was that if the regulator goes out on a MEP, replacements are pricey and somewhat hard to find. By changing to a commercial head all of the controls would be new and available. Also I am looking at moving my higher hour machine (2200 hrs) down to my mom-n-dad's house and making it into an autostart set.

I don't trust my dad to set the frequency to 60 hz, so a modern set would automatically fix this issue. Dad is getting a little forgetful in his elder years.

Click to expand...

The regulator going out on your MEP is not really an issue at all. The TM has all of the schematics and testing procedures spelled out in it. So repairing the voltage regulator is not an issue. Yes, you may have to pay an electronics shop to do it if you don't feel comfortable with a soldering iron, but it can be repaired very easily.

As to the frequency, I can't speak for all of the sets, but mine...once I have them running and warm. I set the governor to 60HZ and it stays rock steady. when I shut it down I leave the throttle knob right where it was and don't move it. At the next start-up the frequency will be a little bit off, but after 5 minutes to warm up it falls right back on 60Hz where I left it.

Anyone who scored one these units from Ft Polk will be very happy, they are all fresh "RESET" rebuilds from a Cummins authorized facility. Paint is very nice. Hours are run in since overhaul. All the tan ones were identical. Price ended up around 1100 for the 5kW's before fees.

I find the same thing as Speddmon with the frequency setting; it always returns to the set frequency after a very brief warm-up. Regulators are typically easy to repair - they are very simple, not potted, and complete schematics are in the TM. It would have to be in pretty bad shape to be beyond repair - like completly burned up, or filled with water and left for a long time. The regulators are also quite easy to damage - at least the output transistor is; that's why you should never be running the engine at idle - leave the throttle at 1800 RPM and just disconnect the load during warm up and cool down, and you're good to go.

just curious. what do the additional associated fees usually total for these gen sets? I'm currently looking at some MEP002A's for sale.

If your looking at GL, it is usually 10% over bid for auction fee, plus these are sold as EUC items, so there is your time filling out and submitting the EUC (say half an hour), plus another half hour or more making sure GL received the EUC, correcting the EUC for any little typo. Then if this is your first EUC item waiting the several weeks for it to clear, then you are given exactly 2 weeks to schedule a pickup and get your item. The reality is it may be much less than 2 weeks you have to schedule and pickup, given this must be done through the people at the facility where your item is located, and many of these are only open 2 or 3 day per week. Worst case would be something like facility open Tues-Thurs 9am - 3pm, you get your cleared EUC notice on thursday afternoon at 4 pm, you can't call to schedule a pickup until the following Tuesday, meaning the earliest pickup you can get is Wednesday almost 1 week into our 2 week pickup window (many times the next available pickup slot will not be the next day). For those of us with jobs, this can cause real problems to have to get off with little/no notice sometime potentially several weeks away when the EUC clears. Once you get the generator chances are the battery will be dead, after all even if it was there, and good when the generator was sent to DRMO the whole bidding process, listing, sale, until pickup likely took several months particularly if it is your first EUC. Fluids will be drained, this usually means it may be missing drain plugs, oil filters, etc. I have bought equipment with liquid cooled engines where they did not take the time to let the drain cock empty the radiator, so they just cut the lower radiator hose and block heater hose.

Has anyone here purchased generators, or similar sized items from GL, and had them shipped freight with one of the "recommended" freight companies, such as Fast Track Logistics?

Which of these shippers it he best deal, and best to deal with?

Thanks,
Jay

jas67 said:

Has anyone here purchased generators, or similar sized items from GL, and had them shipped freight with one of the "recommended" freight companies, such as Fast Track Logistics?

Which of these shippers it he best deal, and best to deal with?

Thanks,
Jay

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One member here had a generator shipped to him to have it lost in transit. I don't believe that it was ever found. The only thing that the insurance company is going to payout, it what you paid for the set. I could have been the best deal in a life time, but Sorry Charlie, you loose.

Being that you live in PA, look for sales in Chambersburg. There are a lot of generators sold at that location.

As for transporting it home, you could rent a small open U-haul trailer for far less than a freight bill.

jas67 said:

Has anyone here purchased generators, or similar sized items from GL, and had them shipped freight with one of the "recommended" freight companies, such as Fast Track Logistics?

Which of these shippers it he best deal, and best to deal with?

Thanks,
Jay

Click to expand...

I regularly send Roadway, Saia, etc to GL locations for pickups. Make sure your item is palletized. If you have a good transportation broker you will not pay much for this freight.

Nonotagain has a good idea. You are located near two GL site that have generators for auction fairly regular. Chambersburg and Mechanicsburg (Harrisburg). Renting a trailer and a day off would be cheaper than a freight charge.

rat4spd,
Could you post a picture of your 003 with ASK. I am new to MEP and don't know what ASK looks like. Thanks