Posted: 7/17/2012 1:05:34 PM EDT
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I live in the sticks, after the recent storms my wife agrees it is time for a generator. I had been considering a Honda, but stumbled on some military surplus generators for pretty cheap (sub 1K) about 1/3 of what I was looking at for a Honda 6500.
Does anyone have any experience with surplus generators? Reliability is priority 1, and I'm not so sure that this is a bargain. Thoughts? |
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Quoted:
I live in the sticks, after the recent storms my wife agrees it is time for a generator. I had been considering a Honda, but stumbled on some military surplus generators for pretty cheap (sub 1K) about 1/3 of what I was looking at for a Honda 6500. Does anyone have any experience with surplus generators? Reliability is priority 1, and I'm not so sure that this is a bargain. Thoughts? Never touched them myself, but have a buddy that has. You can get them to run, but the hours will be high. He's had to rebuild or do some sort of work to all of them. |
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Probably some good deals out there.
But the honda? It's a Honda. You know it will last if you do your part. Sometimes, with something this important, buy once cry once, but know you have the equipment you paid for. FWIW, I have a 2KW Honda Gen, and a 6500W off brand that came with the subaru ohv engine, so that sold me on it. Good luck TXL |
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The military MEP (mobile electric power) diesel sets in 5 and 10 kW are great, don't let the hours scare you. The 002As are nominally 5 kW but will safely turn 7.5 kW. Likewise with the 003A 10 kW. The 5 kW has a 70 cubic inch twin cylinder engine which is rated for 16 Horsepower. 5 kW is equivalent to about 7 Hp, usually a 5 kW genset will have a 10 Hp engine to prevent droop. That is a sign of power, in 3-phase mode (both are reconnectable with switches for ease), my 5 kW powered an 8.1 kW load with ease. It will easily run my central AC in 240 volt mode, just won't run everything else. They are noisy BUT far more fuel efficient than a gasoline engine. They are also heavy, 1000 pounds for the 5 kW, 1250 for the 10 kW. But that makes theft far more difficult. You can build a shed with acoustic insulation to reduce the noise considerably. |
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Quoted:
The military MEP (mobile electric power) diesel sets in 5 and 10 kW are great, don't let the hours scare you. The 002As are nominally 5 kW but will safely turn 7.5 kW. Likewise with the 003A 10 kW. The 5 kW has a 70 cubic inch twin cylinder engine which is rated for 16 Horsepower. 5 kW is equivalent to about 7 Hp, usually a 5 kW genset will have a 10 Hp engine to prevent droop. That is a sign of power, in 3-phase mode (both are reconnectable with switches for ease), my 5 kW powered an 8.1 kW load with ease. It will easily run my central AC in 240 volt mode, just won't run everything else. They are noisy BUT far more fuel efficient than a gasoline engine. They are also heavy, 1000 pounds for the 5 kW, 1250 for the 10 kW. But that makes theft far more difficult. You can build a shed with acoustic insulation to reduce the noise considerably. And I would think they are far more robust than anything sold at the big boxes. Designed specifically for continuous duty, no? Earlier this week I was eyeballing a couple trailer mounted 15KW's at Ft. Polk. One of those could probably power my entire house, all I need is switchgear. Didn't get one, but I am going to keep my eyes peeled. LC |
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Quoted: Quoted: The military MEP (mobile electric power) diesel sets in 5 and 10 kW are great, don't let the hours scare you. The 002As are nominally 5 kW but will safely turn 7.5 kW. Likewise with the 003A 10 kW. The 5 kW has a 70 cubic inch twin cylinder engine which is rated for 16 Horsepower. 5 kW is equivalent to about 7 Hp, usually a 5 kW genset will have a 10 Hp engine to prevent droop. That is a sign of power, in 3-phase mode (both are reconnectable with switches for ease), my 5 kW powered an 8.1 kW load with ease. It will easily run my central AC in 240 volt mode, just won't run everything else. They are noisy BUT far more fuel efficient than a gasoline engine. They are also heavy, 1000 pounds for the 5 kW, 1250 for the 10 kW. But that makes theft far more difficult. You can build a shed with acoustic insulation to reduce the noise considerably. And I would think they are far more robust than anything sold at the big boxes. Designed specifically for continuous duty, no? Earlier this week I was eyeballing a couple trailer mounted 15KW's at Ft. Polk. One of those could probably power my entire house, all I need is switchgear. Didn't get one, but I am going to keep my eyes peeled. LC Yes, designed for 24/7 operation. Well, you need to change the oil once a week. Remote fuel supply plus a day tank. In the 5 and 10 kW units, the set tank lasts for 24 hours, that is 6.75 gallons in the 5 kW and 12 gallons in the 10 kW. They run at 1800 RPM, requiring larger generator diameter which means more weight. But also more efficient The 004A (15 kW) is a bit of an issue to hook up to a split phase 120/240 household voltage but being a 12 lead generator, you could reconnect to a low zig-zag. Here is an example on a 60 kW which has factory provision for low or high wye connection meaning three phase only. But it CAN be connected to zig zag for single phase at roughly 3/4 of the rated capacity. http://www.anoldman.com/strange/re-wiring_a_three_phase_generator But unless you have a two channel or more oscilloscope and know what you are doing, hire an expert. |
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look for a 15kw mounted on a trailer. you can get them at gov auctions for about 1500.00 i buy and sell them all the time. look for one close to home and one with low hours. its also a good idea to go look at it personally to make sure all the parts are on it. most of them come with fluids drained, so look to make sure the canisters for the fuel and oil are in the enclosure. you will need to get a pair of good battery s, as they never come with any. i love them and just last week sold a 60kw with a 6 cyl Alis Chalmers turbo engine. the unit had 43 hrs on it and was in the above condition, i sold it for 6k after i cleaned the fuel tank new filters, new oil, new batteries, the machine was perfect when it left here, started right up purred like a kitten and made more current then i could ever use. they come with a circuit breaker built right in, so you do not have to buy a transfer switch. we have very dependable power here, but once i needed to male my own power for a week, i just ran a cord into a breaker and turned off my main so i wouldn't energize the whole grid.
small gen sets are nice but its good to have hot water, and aic conditioning. one more thing, they can put out three phase power so you can buy cool commercial power tools cheap and run them good luck |
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Some good info on the MEP here. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/649767_96_Hrs_on_genset_quick_AAR.html
Then go here. http://www.steelsoldiers.com/auxiliary-equipment/ |
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The MEP units require TLC at first. Once you have them running and load tested, disconnect the batteries so they won't discharge. Float charge is a good idea. Then every quarter run it at 75% load to operating temperature. On the 002/003A series, that means the cooling shutters fully open. I use electric water heater elements, a 4500 W unit in 240 volt mode is great for the 002A. The 003 A can use two or three elements for a good test. For 3 element, hook up in 208 volt three phase, one element per phase (phase to phase). The water heater elements need to be in metal buckets of water, DO NOT TOUCH THE BUCKETS WHEN ENERGIZED!!!! I use #10 wire for hooking up the test, SJOOW wire is fine. Ground the set and bond the bucket to the ground. A 2-1/2 gallon bucket will get boiling hot in a 10 minute test with a single 4500 W element  . After you shut down, use the water to kill weeds. |