Mil-Spec, the best you can do?

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This is a military diesel generator I bought from auction. It's 16 years old and has been sitting outside, un-used, most of it's life. Lets bring it back to life. Model: MEP-831A, which is a 3kW 120/240V model. It has a single cylinder Yanmar diesel engine. Model L70AE-DEGFR, or typically we just say L70.
This is about a 6 horsepower engine, but probably feels more like a 7 horsepower. The data sticker says Cont. Output: 4.4kW, and Max output: 4.9kW. 296cc displacement.
Generator Control Boards:
Kurt Klopp designs and builds control boards for several military generators. In most cases, these are improved designs from the original. Visit his Ebay store here: ebay.us/yCVYqV
"As an Ebay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase"
Note, I purchased my board from Kurt at full price.
Buying a military generator: If you want to buy a military generator contact my buddy, Chris, here: mepgenerators@pm.me He is in North Carolina and buys generators at auction. Then he fixes them up, and load tests them before selling.
Signature Solar Affiliate Links:
If you want to charge an off grid battery bank using a generator, I recommend this charger from Signature Solar.
Chargeverter, 100A: signaturesolar.com/eg4-charge...
Battery Bank, this is the one I'm using with my off grid solar system: signaturesolar.com/eg4-lifepo...
Inverter, I'm using the Schneider XW PRO inverter. It's low frequency, has a transformer inside, and handles my whole house and tools. signaturesolar.com/schneider-...
Disclaimer:
My videos are in no way intended to be instructional "how-to" lessons. I am simply documenting my project for informational purposes. Property damage, personal injury, or death may result, even when following manufacturer's instructions. I cannot be held liable for such damage or injury. It is YOUR OBLIGATION to ensure that you are complying with any local and federal laws as well as code and permit requirements.
David Poz, LLC

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Опубликовано:

13 апр 2023

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Комментарии : 499

@daleatkin8927 Год назад

Honestly not your best video. Cool project, but I think you edited the video a little tight for my tastes. Show me why you replaced all the hoses, show me the various parts of the generator, explain the purpose of the governor, what are the different terminals?

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

Thanks for letting me know. I didn't think people would be interested in those nitty-gritty details. I'm happy to make another video if there is enough interest. Anyone else out there want to chime in?

@friedtomatoes4946 Год назад

@@DavidPozEnergy I'm not a regular to the channel but that's definitely something I would watch. Although I guess I'm an oddball who likes these kinds of things

@MilitaryIndustrialMuseum Год назад

I love obsessive over footage!

@joshanderson1019 Год назад

@@DavidPozEnergy I think you should have short videos like this that are edited down, and just a less skinned down version for the people that want to see the nitty gritty stuff. Personally, I like the quick pace, since we all know how to change hoses etc.

@Mawyman2316 Год назад

Because hoses get old, and embrittle/crack. Why not replace them while you're in there?

@benssolarandbattery Год назад

That is a beast of a generator! So cool that someone makes parts to make it even better. Thanks for sharing!

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

Thanks. Yeah, it's great.

@SilvaDreams Год назад

These old work horses almost never die so there are plenty of parts to fix them up and make them run a bit better because there are so many still around.

@NotSexualAtAll Год назад

Battle Short is an amazing concept. I can't believe I haven't seen that on anything before. A real "do what I say or we're going to die" button. Love it.

@nextalcupfan Год назад

As the proud owner of an MEP-803a I can say Kurt's products are top notch. Late last year I replaced the voltage regulator with one of his due to a failing adjustment potentiometer. From my own observations his regulator seems much more precise than the old original unit. (to be fair the original unit was 19 years old)

@10thAveFreezeOut Год назад

Very happy with Kurts controller, worked perfectly and was reasonably priced.

@user-ue9fd7nu8i Год назад

You brought back memories from the 1960s. My dad and I worked on military surplus gensets made by Onan. These units were for American Red Cross disaster service. The units were very well made and came with technical manuals etc. We had a non-military Onan too from the early 1950s that was hand crank start. It was a true beast to crank. We mounted it in a trailer as part of a lighting unit. This all was a great learning experience for a teenager. Thanks so much for your video and best wishes with your project.

@bobo11112222 11 месяцев назад

HOLY SHEETS!! 3KW TQG. Tactical quiet generator that’s not so quiet. I’ve not worked one those since 2005. It was pretty new back then. My unit just got 2 of those when I got there 2002. Nostalgia.

@fox0ps22 Год назад

Oh man that surging sound brings back a lot of memories, that was such a widespread problem that I'd just assumed that was its normal mode of operation. The larger generators would do that as well, but only when the fuel started running low - prompting a Lcpl to scramble for a jerry can before the thing died.

@stupidburp Год назад

We had privates on fuel duty. Woe to those that let it go dry. Happened a couple of times, once was the HQ tent which provoked corrective measures(leaning on NCOs to watch closer). Wasn’t my task but I got into the habit of checking fuel levels whenever I passed by, to give a heads up if necessary or even fill it myself.

@SuperRobkar Год назад

Those yanmars were good engines, lots of clones out there now. Do you yourself a favor and look into the the 1800 rpm versions. Much quieter, more output, and more reliable.Onan made alot of the older mil specs in the 1800 rpm variety.

@yolo_burrito Год назад

They’re also usually liquid cooled and multi cylinder engine.

@sethtaylorm925 Год назад

Yeah, like the mep002 or mep003, I have a mep002 and runs smooth and great output, rating way unrated.

@johnDingoFoxVelocity Год назад

Yeah the yanmars where very reliable easy to get parts for easy to repair

@juliogonzo2718 Год назад

I have a clone of an L100 I bought with a cracked piston and damaged head. I tore it all apart and ordered the parts. Gotta put it back together one of these days lol. No idea what I will use it for but it's cool.

@sagigunib8239 Год назад

60hz # 1800rpm

@TheSoloAsylum Год назад

I have a 1986 10K unit with 400 hours on it. These things will hold their rated load 24hrs a day, 7 days a week as mine did last hurricane season. Ran our entire house like normal and a cord to the neighbors fridge.

@AL-pb1lb 10 месяцев назад

I never thought of an retired army generator. Great idea for home backup.

@jhbrown53 Год назад

I have bought 5 of these generators Mep-802,3,4 and love working on them. Curt is the man, helped with the auto start.

@wes11bravo Год назад

I'll definitely be looking him up when I get mine. I love troubleshooting then repairing stuff that people have given up on but it never hurts to consult someone who's forgotten more than I'll know about something this specific.

@curtwuollet2912 Год назад

I went on armed forces day with my dad. He was in charge of the generators. A 10kw unit was enormous and trailer mounted. Had a Wisconsin engine and just hummed all day.

@garyclark4930 Год назад

Your video brought back memories. I was a 52D from 76 to 90. From 87 to 90 I was an instructor for the 52D course at Fort Belvior 10 years after I went through the course. I remember when these things arrived to be used for training. The gas 3 Kw before this went into service had a 4 cylinder engine on it. The pistons were tiny. Power generation field worked out really well for me. As a civilian I have been operating and maintaining a 7 Mg watt power plant for 32 years. Thanks for the memory.

@garygraham4571 Год назад

Hi I was in ft Belvoir in 89 D809th

@tweston800 10 месяцев назад

I attended Delta school at Belvoir from 87-88. Bravo Co.

@Jeff-0621 Год назад

David didn’t know you served. Thank you! Generator the army had were always nicer than what my corp had, because we usual had army hand me downs. 😂

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

Thank you for your service too.

@peterking1134 Год назад

Looks like new! Great buy!!

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

Thanks. Yeah, It looks a lit nicer after it's bath. Although, I didn't get that on camera.

@Kevin_D1 Год назад

I used those old 3Ks for years. I loved mine, mounted it on a trailer and we used it out in the field all of the time.

@jamesbeemer7855 11 месяцев назад

I love this vid . The lesson is , always read the distractions ! And of course if you have a little experience ? Well that helps . But that generator is brand new . And I think they broke it in before it was turned to surplus . In which case you brought it . Good job friend .

@av1204 Год назад

this is what I have as a back up and use around the farm when i need power in the field

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

Nice.

@RickMunday Год назад

We (Army) had a 5kw and 10kw genset that we commonly used, total beasts! 10kw is a misnomer, it was two 10kw generators on the trailer. You could run them independently or bond them for 18kw (never figured out why they said 18kw when bonded). The biggest I saw was in a Patriot unit. When I was there, they had two 200kw turbine generators, I understand now they're using 150kw diesel sets.

@Alex-dz6if 10 месяцев назад

They have a '300' KW truck system, but its two 150k's ran parallel mounted on the back off a deuce

@vandela177 Год назад

Brings me back to 1969 working on 5 kw gen sets . I also worked on Turbine powered and precise power gen sets.Most of the stuff I worked on was bullet riddled or bomb damaged.

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

I'd love to find a turbine generator somewhere, just to make a video about it.

@glennbrymer4065 Год назад

You must be a Fort Belvoir man? I got my 52B AIT there in 69.

@vandela177 Год назад

@@glennbrymer4065 Yep. Studied for and got all 3 of my Moses 52B20 52D30 52B30 but I already had a back ground in fixing electronics

@vandela177 Год назад

@@DavidPozEnergy Tuff to find.

@sbabcock71 Год назад

Fantastic Video David! Thank you for your service, I also was in the Army early 90's. I love watching your videos!

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

Thank you for your service too. Thanks for watching.

@wes11bravo Год назад

Thanks to the both of you! And Steven - I was also in the Army in the early 90s! And, um, in the mid 80s... and the late 90s... and the early 2000s!

@NeptuneSega Год назад

Reliable is a strange word hearing, having been in the Army with so much unreliable garbage. Great to see

@DNomer Год назад

Fortuitous to run across Kurt, for sure. When major companies have lame parts, it creates an umbrella for guys like Kurt to do it right. That's how America is supposed to work! Looks like you have a nice little genset now, albeit rather loud for being enclosed. I like my generators nice and quiet. I am also not sure how long that funky old 'inverter' will last.

@ajith24pj430 Год назад

Wow... First time I am watching this type generator... Awesome you also awesome😀

@zh650 11 месяцев назад

Seeing all those added sensors brought back some memories. You definitely bought a unit that had a lot of testing done

@1johnmthompson Год назад

I miss my 4.2 k on my 577A2 I do not miss taking it out of the cage on the deck and lowering it by chain hoist to the ground. 😅 It is nice to see someone bring military gear back to life.

@KO-pk7df 3 месяца назад

I am suspecting that the unit was used for training. Due to all the auxiliary sensor wires etc and the other problems. You know how training units are used! What a great little machine!

@larcomj Год назад

awesome, i worked on these as a power generator mechanic in the Army. Cool to see one again.

@mikeingram429 Год назад

I was a 52D, Generator mechanic for 10 years. I never saw one of these units. I worked on a lot of 1.5, 3, 5 and 10kw units but they were all gasoline powered.

@MrRedd49 Год назад

The Army started upgrading to diesel gens in the 90's . We had Gasoline gens when I began my Army career as well. In 03 we had some gasoline 3ks that were converted to diesel engines, MEP016D. They were much better generators than the MEP 831.

@offgridinthepacificnorthwe3210 Год назад

I have been using a MEP-016D to offset the solar when the panels are covered with snow. I have used this old MEP for 8 years now. The L 70 Yanmar just keeps on running. Very fuel efficient. .

@BikZom 11 месяцев назад

What a beast! The generator is also cool.

@Chief351L Год назад

In 23.5 years I’ve never seen one this clean including the new ones that got shipped to us out on our airpads! LoL

@verygoodvibes Год назад

great video dave. kudos to kurt. once a starter needs a tap to function it may fail again unless you clean the commutator or replace starter.

@dersteer Год назад

I've been looking at these myself and these look like great units. I would ditch the inverter, rectify into DC, send into charge controller and run the engine @1800 RPM. It should drastically increase the fuel economy and would still charge my batteries quickly. It would drastically reduce the hassle with the electronics on the generator. Add a simple 2 wire start setup and just flip a switch Subscribed

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

I've been working on that for months. There are lots of roadblocks to work through, but I should have a working model soon. Once it does work, then I'll show it in a video.

@dersteer Год назад

@@DavidPozEnergy It seems like it would be easy (hence my plan). I've been looking for someone selling one of the inverterless units I see being auctioned in huge lots! Would you happen to have a connection? From what I am seeing on the auction sites the inverters are junk. I would love to take a crack at a broken inverter also. I'm sure you have seen the "interesting" wiring of the PMG.

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

Send me a PM in Facebook, DavidPozEnergy

@juliogonzo2718 Год назад

Those engines will last longer if ran at lower rpm too

@hesoneshot2451 10 месяцев назад

as a 91b i had to learn how to work on these because we never had alot of generator mechanics in my unit. these things sucked, they were old and reliable, yes. but they were always left outside and when something went wrong, combined with the issue of people in tents being pissed, they were never fun to work on. The biggest issue i ever seen with them was a shorted ground or a busted fuel tank, suprisingly i never worked on any of the disel engines in these.

@wayneheigl5549 Год назад

dave you got a beautiful generator there for your set up . as always you got it running great. great video .

@slip0n0fall 11 месяцев назад

Interesting video! I appreciate cutting out the fluf - anyone who has refurb'd equipment (that they plan to keep) knows that hose, filter replacements, etc is just a given. So I don't see the need to see it or hear the rationale behind doing that type of stuff. Would be cool to see a scope shot of the inverter output.

@Rattletrap-xs8il 11 месяцев назад

I love the build quality of military equipment

@alwaysbadideas Год назад

Super cool generator! I like the servicability

@av8tore71 Год назад

My son is in the Army (14E MOS PATRIOT Missile crew member) and when I went to his AIT graduation I took a tour of the system a d the Army has 2 generators running the engagement control and the RADAR. The EPP consists of two 150 kW diesel engines interconnected with 400 hertz generators. The generators are mounted on a modified M977 HEMTT

@loucinci3922 Год назад

Cool. Nice job getting it to run. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing

@TheStabbyCyclist 11 месяцев назад

Not surprised that you mentioned the fuel gauge might need replacing. In my experience with military support equipment, the fuel gauges are almost always faulty.

@heart4Pahoa Год назад

Fun ride along video, thanks for putting it together

@michaeltonyseel Год назад

David thank you for your service, and really cool video thanks

@craigtegeler4677 Год назад

That's a pretty big 3KW generator set!! I would almost bet that the flaw with the engine speed module was with all them potentiometer adjustments just left outside of the module, in the open to salt air moisture, fumes, dust and potential of debris! And so it just might look as though the Marine Corps scrapped the notion of any future contracts and semi de-militarized them to a small degree. Those gen-sets were probably also to expensive to buy anymore and given the reliability aspects and well. That may explain the low hours on this one! The supply chain may have also failed to get these modules given just who is the manufacturer was that was subcontracted for that module build! Who the hell really knows for that matter! I know of a Chief Senior Military Technologist person that was contracted by Pentagon that may have been involved for the testing and approval for the purchase of such equipment for the military. His name is Lee Wheelbarger, Inventor and skilled professional when it comes to a lot of things related to the military! I supposed that if you were to contact him David, perhaps he might be able to fill you in on a thing or two on this Genset!

@DEVIN2u1 11 месяцев назад

Thank you for your service

@rongray4118 Год назад

Nice! Thanks for posting David!

@aspendell209 Год назад

Excellent video David. Anxious to see how the super efficient Yanmar diesel with a couple extra conversion stages compares on DC charging efficiency per gallon (gasoline) to your 6 hp alternator generator. They should be fairly close since the higher power density of diesel should compensate for the low loss conversion stages.

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

I'm excited too. This Yanmar should kick butt compared to my gasoline projects.

@EndoftheBlock7224 Год назад

As a com's guy I used those little generators constantly for the last decade. They work

@abe677 Год назад

Great video. I see these on the auction sites and always wonder about them.

@willwaconsya3433 10 месяцев назад

Kirt is a good guy. I bought a remote start kit from him for my 803.

@TheTransitmtl 11 месяцев назад

Peope like Kurt are amazing.

@MrMjn5000 Год назад

nice job.... looked like a fun project....

@bigdog8008 Год назад

When you opened the front panel at 8:47 - my eyes went straight to the little blue trimmers. Wow, PC mount trimmers exposed to the world. Those appear to be Bourns 3386 trimmers - very high quality trimmers that are 'kind of' sealed. We have found that they occasionally don't fare well when exposed to high humidity or moisture for extended periods of time. My guess - they went bad. Inexpensive at about $2 each. Bourns part number 3386P-1-xxxLF. The xxx is the resistance value which is printed on the part. For example "253" which would be a 25K ohm trimmer -- 3386P-1-253LF. The replacement board appears to have a digital-potentiometer on it (IC7) - good idea.

@larrykelly2838 Год назад

Great piece for backup.

@pauldonovan5878 Год назад

You kept the fuel filter, good man!!

@boblatkey7160 Год назад

That was fun! Thanks!

@averymackey2966 10 месяцев назад

Really good generators when maintained properly, which doesn't require much to do.

@chrisbarnes2823 Год назад

Great piece of kit.

@rodney4283 2 месяца назад

Thanks David for your videos l am learning alot.

@aprilroseanticamara6772 Год назад

if you ever decide to get the bigger generators the 5k , the low oil pressure will prevent you from starting the generator unless you hold down the fault/reset switch while trying to start it :)

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

That's a good point. I also own the 802 and have a couple videos with it.

@cosmicinsane516 Год назад

Lol I don’t recall ever seeing a mil-spec generator that ran while I was in the army.

@putteslaintxtbks5166 Год назад

Reminds me of my time in the Marines in the late 1970's. Are whole batalion left are Marine base and set up a small city in the woods on an Army base. I was made a Sgt. of the guard and part my job was care of the generators at night. There were around a dozen or more, like each the size of four fridges or more. If it was more then some basic stuff, then I'ld have to wake some of the engineers. Lots of dials and switches to check and know how to start and run. I fully expected some Green Baray(sp) to try to sneak in and try to sabatage them, that being a choice target, but they never did, but the generators were the biggest prob for that month in the woods other than a couple of my guards.

@MissionaryForMexico Год назад

When I was active duty that govenor controller was always the issue! And fuel filter being very dirty! You are right about the 24v batteries, they would go bad just sitting out in the winter, in the battery compartment!

@martinmicheal4595 Год назад

Damn nice generator my friend

@bobbailey4954 Год назад

Great find and repair

@chuxxsss Год назад

Dave, at least you had nice generators when you were in the Army over there. Here in Australia, we had VW generators the kick back would almost back your arms.

@willwaconsya3433 10 месяцев назад

I own an MEP 803. 10kw multi-phase selection. Single phase 120 or 240volt. Or 3 phase. I got it on auction. It was left out in the weather and full of water. I had to drain and replace the oil three times to get all the water out. It runs great. Has a onan diesel. The only problem with it is a winding issue that causes a harmonic ac voltage imposed into the dc circuit. Not a real problem but causes radio interference. I bought an in-line filter that shunts out the interference.

@rustyudder Год назад

I could make it run definitely. Worked on those for years.

@offgridwanabe Год назад

That Yanmar should run a long time. Now you just need a sound proof building to put it in.

@Milkybar3320011 Год назад

Now who doesn’t want one of these in there life?

@jacquesb5248 Год назад

nice little unit

@BigBobbyK Год назад

Hard project. Nice job

@Fei8lo 2 месяца назад

This would make a cool DC generator. Rectify the permanent magnet alternator output and feed it straight into some MPPT charge controllers and you would remove the 240VAC stage to maybe increase the efficiency.

@JasonsLabVideos Год назад

This was a sweet video !! Thanks for this !!

@chotuusian4127 Год назад

Good work

@BrassMtn Год назад

Hell yeah Kurt!! What a legend!

@HansOvervoorde Год назад

Love that generator! Kurt did an awesome job! I'm curious about why diodes, not just simple bridges.

@scottfriske9186 10 месяцев назад

Usually the diodes will be for some kind of holding path check in the circuitry. When you press the start button some electrical test will go on and close a relay, allowing the system to come on. The diodes prevent it from coming on as soon as the on button is pressed. Don’t know this system though

@MrSanmanbob Год назад

welcome back to the ARMY.

@kymflowers6644 Год назад

Nice job

@myacidninjatheamazing1025 11 месяцев назад

the yellow parts of the temp sensors looks like the pieces that plug into the electronic bluetooth pyrometer they have at my work

@Vigo327 Год назад

What a cool piece of equipment!! I think all the people asking “how much $$?” are glossing right over whether they themselves could have muddled through all the work you put in before it ever made a lick of power. Or maybe they want the price for one that’s 100% debugged and turn-key where the cost of a guy like you going through it for them is just built in! They won’t like that number. 🤣 Interested to see all the test/project ideas for this thing that you alluded to in other comments, in their due time. Thanks for another interesting power generation vid.

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

You are probably right. A ready to go unit typically is sold around $3k.

@DrHarryT Год назад

Glad to see you did what I suggested and got a gen set. I didn't know you battery charge controller would accept AC voltage and is why I included an external rectifier between the gen set and charge controller. That gen set @ 240V/16A = 3840W peak but the continuous rating is 240V/12.5A =3000W You can expect to get close to 12 gal for every 24hr use. [Or 1/2 gal/hr]

@WimPrest Год назад

If you look in the background of his videos, you'll catch that one here and there. I bet he's been sitting on this one awhile!

@shephusted2714 11 месяцев назад

about 15 bucks a day - we can see why pv panels are taking over but nice to have a backup - liberal amounts of foam insulation plastered to this thing would help sound issues - compared to modern gernerators it is sort of a non starter (pardon the pun) #yamaha #roi #tco

@mario3804 Год назад

Being in the Army I hated these generators we got to a point we brought a Honda and never had any issues.

@zigzigler5111 8 месяцев назад

You had me at Yanmar

@VetvsWorld Год назад

See? There is utility in falling down the RU-vid rabbit hole. I find cool content like this. It just so happens I’ve been perusing govplanet for just such a generator. Cheers!

@johnny555 11 месяцев назад

It's a lot easier to label when they aren't screwed in. Removing one at a time then labeling it.

@darkspectrum7195 11 месяцев назад

I've worked on those generators and adding a digital controller for being able to remote start when mains power fails you can combine the remote start with an ATS and you have a good budget backup system

@davidbohner692 Год назад

Awesome generator👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✅✅✅✅✅

@user-fh2fm7vr4m 11 месяцев назад

I like the shorter format!

@TrackGeeks Год назад

If you aren't careful you'll end up with one of each capacity! :D

@DavidPozEnergy Год назад

Haha, that could never happen... LOL

@jimmykreutz6087 Год назад

Good lookin machine, wish I had one

@boblatkey7160 Год назад

This is solid proof as to why a Honda EU 3000is is a smoking deal compared to this tired out old beast. but getting it running was a lot of fun!

@sfcpaylor659 11 месяцев назад

Oil pressure warning light will always be on until the oil pump starts pumping oil.

@michaelhardy195 Год назад

Good idea

@Gambiarte Год назад

You have a handsome equipment! If it is military probably is very robust!

@sethblackman8445 Месяц назад

hi david paz what a cool dizzel canverter generater cool ass two🎉

@ronaldtreitner1460 Год назад

different from the generators i used to work on in the 80's, kinda cool. only thing is back in the 80's all the generators as i recall were made in the U.S.A. Governors back then if i remember right were all mechanical and the first thing to go was usually the voltage regulators.