Compression Testing on MEP 002A/003A

[Speddmon]

WOW!!

Looks like someone at sometime might have tried to use ether with that engine. I can't think of any other way for the piston to break like that. Even running it without oil would have done different damage (I would think), and probably to both cylinders as well

 

[storeman]

"Guess we can see the reason for the low compression and where all the blow-by was coming from."

Wow!
Congrats on getting her running. That piston is a real mess.

I ran my 002a to power the house for the first time last night when we lost power for a couple of hours. Awesome performance! Ran all the 110 circuits including well pump without a hiccup. Expect we will lose power later today for an extended period of time. As Stan can attest to, I am in a very rural location, first to lose power, last to regain it. Good luck.....Lucky Dog
Jerry

 

[NJ_Toolnut]

Wow indeed! I've never before seen a piston trashed that bad! It's great that you got her running!

Sandy really drew a bead on my house. All of the damage here in NW NJ was from high winds. We saw gusts of at least 70 MPH. I lost a really big Colorado blue spruce tree which uprooted, glanced off my house and fell in my hedge, carrying down the gutter, soffit, some shingles, power line and Internet line. I re-attached the power line and Internet line myself while the grid was down. I wound up running my 003a for a total of 29.2 hours over two days, using 21.6 gallons. That's only about 3/4 gallon per hour. It ran perfectly and powered the whole house with ease, just like being on the grid (except for the noise). It was great--all my neighbors on twink generators were coming over to my house to get showers! Its performance was a huge validation of the cost and the effort it took to get it operational. The only issue I noticed was that battery charging voltage reached 32 volts. Looks like there is a charging system voltage regulator in my future...

Stan

 

[storeman]

Stan,
I'm really happy to learn she ran so well. Am sure you are too. Mine did also but only had "lights out" for a couple of hours. New shed really helped.

That long line of generators in my avatar is now down to two and they are in the new insulated shed.

If you need dc vr, let me know.
Jerry

 

[RichardR]

Stan,

Glad to hear that all the work you put into your MEP-003A has paid off big time, and so soon too. My fading memory tells me that you fixed her up less than a year ago, so you didn't have long to wait for the payoff. Congratulations!

On the other hand, I sympathize with the tough time you and your neighbors had to go through to get that payoff. Let's hope you don't get another similar opportunity too soon.

Richard

 

[derby]

Great to see that your back in business!

 

[LuckyDog]

It is finished!!!!!

Hey all,

Just a last note on the generator's saga.....

N1OTY came down today and we used his CEP spider box, 4 1500W heaters and one 750W hot plate to load test the generator.

So we had 24.4 Amps on one leg, 29.4 amps on the other leg. 120V, 60.4 Hz. 6456 Watts being used for about an hour.

I left three sides of the trailer covered. It was about 30°F outside and in the shade. She got hot enough to trip the high temperature switch. So, we went inside, made some hot-chocolate, then fired her up again. (with the front open)

WOW!!!!! When we were putting the load to her, she never even coughed or hiccupped. I LOVE THIS MACHINE.


THANK YOU to everyone here for the support. Now, what's the next project?

 

[storeman]

Lucky,
I love mine also. They are awesome when carrying a steady load, then suddenly taking on a heavy start load like a well pump or microwave. My gasser nearly dies and the MEP barely registers a hiccup. Well done!
Jerry

 

[storeman]

Next project? Don't you have a spare engine or two? Log splitter?
Jerry

 

[edgephoto]

Go job sticking with it. I received my parts from Jerry. Hopefully I will get some time next weekend to play with my units again.

 

[NJ_Toolnut]

Stan,
I'm really happy to learn she ran so well. Am sure you are too. Mine did also but only had "lights out" for a couple of hours. New shed really helped.

That long line of generators in my avatar is now down to two and they are in the new insulated shed.

If you need dc vr, let me know.
Jerry

Thanks, Jerry

I was surprised fuel consumption was not higher, since I got to 50% load a few times when several baseboard electric heaters fired up simultaneously. Freq was rock steady, even ran computers and flat screen TV.

Damage to the house has all been fixed; I was happy to have a $500 deductable on my homeowner's insurance!

Regarding the need to replace the DC VR, I'm not yet fully convinced that putting 32 volts into a fully charged 24 volt system will destroy my batteries. Do you think I should be concerned?

Best!

Stan

 

[Triple Jim]

I wouldn't want to go over 28 or 29 Volts. Here's a link about charging lead-acid batteries: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_the_lead_acid_battery

 

[NJ_Toolnut]

I wouldn't want to go over 28 or 29 Volts. Here's a link about charging lead-acid batteries: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_the_lead_acid_battery

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the link; I see your point.

Best regards,

Stan

 

[robkiller]

Ok, Where do I find an adapter to test compression on a MEP 002a or 003a??

The glow plug is threaded 7/16x20 (Champion #182 or CH-42)

ALL the "Normal" glow plugs are a metric thread.

Anyone make an adapter or test fitting? My first thought was to just get a 7/16x24 bolt machined to seal the port, then drilled and tapped to accept a small "normal" glow plug test fitting.

I'm not a machinest. I'm an Engineer. (Mechanical) I can do a drawing of the device if someone can make the part....

Ideas????

Did you ever find a good affordable solution to test the compression?

 

[Isaac-1]

I have been working on finding some off the shelf solution to this too, but have not found one yet.

Ike

 

[robkiller]

I have been working on finding some off the shelf solution to this too, but have not found one yet.

Ike

Do you know what the threads are on the glow plug? Are they standard 7/16 how many Threads per inch?

 

[Isaac-1]

7/16x20 UNF from what I have been able to find, the problem is this is parallel thread and the seal is normally the copper gasket where the tip gets narrower. A shoulder O-ring fitting might work for testing, but it would be normally unsupported so would tend to blow out.

Ike

 

[robkiller]

I wonder if that fitting Luckdog had made ever worked.

 

[Jimc]

isaac do you really think enough psi will escape through the threads to make a difference in testing? it might no be a perfect seal but its not a fuel line either. just a quick 30 sec crank test. wrap a piece of teflon tape around the threads of one of those fittings and screw it in the hole. unless there is some variable i'm not taking into consideration?

 

[Isaac-1]

I don't think all that much would leak out if there were a shoulder o-ring crushed into head of the fitting, but I don't think the O-ring would last very many test cycles this way.