I Bought a Military Surplus Diesel Generator to Power my House
2024 ж. 16 Ақп.
3 838 196 Рет қаралды
I buy, repair, and install a military surplus diesel generator to power my entire house.
My Instagram: / waldowelds
I buy, repair, and install a military surplus diesel generator to power my entire house.
My Instagram: / waldowelds
Generator tech here, if possible you should avoid running your diesel generator under low loads for extended periods, this can lead to something called "wet stacking". A diesel engine needs to run under load in order to burn clean, under no load conditions you'll coke up the engine and shorten it's life. Simply put, you'll want to run your generator at a minumum 25% load whenever possible, and every so often you'll want to run it up to 100% for a few hours to burn off carbon and spooge buildup as well as verify function at rated capacity.
I second this, exactly the same thing is stated in my RV manual for the generator.
So... you need to blow its load to clear the splooge?
run your oven stove and dryer if its electric to give it a good jog
Wonder how much battery capacity you would need to use as a buffer for this
At least bump the fast idle up.
Former 91D (Power Generator Mechanic) for 8 yrs here 👋! The MEP models had common issues with wet stacking. Please run around a 80% load for around 30mins-1hr at your yearly service date. If taken care of & treated right which you are, the gen will take care of you. I've worked on every generator the US Army had to offer and also was a military contractor who would reset these generators on a daily basis. Your gen should have came with a TM (technical manual) so please refer to it for your services. If you have any questions or need some advice please feel free to reach out to me. Congrats on your purchase!
Is it no longer 52D?
@delmar2169 Unfortunately, not anymore. I believe they went away with the old identifier a while back before I joined in 2010. Too many revisions and years later I forget what MOS ended up being phased out but I know the Power Generation Equipment Repairer is still going strong.
Can you attest to the reliability of the 30k 3 phase models?
@randomguy1371 very much can attest to them! The MEP805A & B 30k gens were and still are amazing machines. If you can afford to wing it, take a look at the AMMPS model variants as they can account for lower loads to prevent wet stacking and possibly saving your engine. The AMMPS models have been out now for a few years so I'm sure you'd be able to find a 30k for a steal.
@@iBasurka671 Absolute LEGEND! - Your willingness to share, contribute, and help others is something we need more of in this world.. I salute you 🫡
As a veteran I want you to keep in mind 1 thing, MILITARY SPEC, just means it was made by the CHEAPEST BIDDER.
Maybe so, but from what I've seen of all that they provide to our military, it beats the crap out of most the 'high end' stuff you can buy in the stores for civilian use.
@@ntvypr4820 you are correct, you don’t need the most expensive to be effective
@SykesFW Almost correct; the correct statement is "The Lowest bidder *that can meet the specification."* It's the specification that makes the difference.
i, as a civilian who closest relation to the army is grandparents being conscripted 40 years before i was born, also imagine that for the standart equipment it means it can be fixed in the field
@@iplaygames8090Only if you can get the parts to fix it "in the field"?
Electrician here; pleased to see that you're adhering to code, and doing a neat, non-lashup job. Attention to detail saves MANY problems down the road. Next: Battery bank + Inverter. Two reasons: 1) initial switchover on power loss is marginally faster, especially if your generator is cold or the outage is a short one, and 2) (more important) You can load up your generator recharging the bank, and prevent carbon depositing in the cylinders - Need to periodically run a generator under heavy load to keep it clean. Downside of a bank + inverter is more cost and more maintenance. If you're NOT getting a bank, consider getting a dummy load that can artificially load up the generator.
Merchant Of Cat here; did you know petting a cat reduces stress by 99%¿
What part of the NEC says it's ok to run a fuel line in an electrical conduit? Please include the article number and subsection in your reply
Let me extend the topic. With a decent inverter system you can hook up a 400Hz generator (probably cheap because less people buy them?) and potentially some solar. Since owning a generator means you don't need a giant battery you can get some LFPs or even repurpose a used EV battery or some of its surviving sections like I did. Just don't forget to hook up an active cell balancer to avoid rapid unscheduled lithium fireworks.
Engine sounded great 👍!
I work on these exact generators all the time. The water separator fuel filter you changed at 13 minutes, well, it's a good idea to leave that water drain on there. Especially when filling with jerry cans. If you don't regularly bleed the water out of that filter the ice will blow the bottom of the filter off. If you're interested in some house-bound upgrades, a battery tender, battery blankets and block heater could help in the winter months. If you anticipate running it for a long time (greater than 12hrs straight) you can plumb a 40gal drum of fuel into the aux fuel inlet. Common failure points on these generators are the fuel return line up top, which tends to get porous, batteries, the water separator, as mentioned, and occasionally the fuel shutoff solenoid. If you're interested in service manuals / parts diagrams let me know. Enjoy!
he lies those are the worse quality batteries you can buy.🤣🤣🤣
Hell yeah give my man those TMs and TIs!
Wow, nice comment. Sometimes I love the internet lol. This is what it should be for, quality comments like this
Can they be converted to NG or run reliably on used oils that have been properly processed?
@@MustPassTruck These generators are powered by Detroit diesels, normally they run on JP-8 multipurpose fuel.
I have no need for a military surplus diesel generator, but this sure was a lot of fun to watch.
amen brother
But I want one now!!! 😂
You have no need for it... yet =) It's like insurance, it costs money but you'll be glad you had it when your dog trips you while climbing some stairs.
@CoLiC2 excatly.. I live in flordia.. the last hurricane down here had me without power for 8 days.. for the price point of that generator I'm installing one lol
You don't have a need for a military surplus generator YET. * insert simpson's meme here *
I enjoyed watching this video very much. You see, I was a Power Generation Equipment Repairer in the U.S. Army for over 10 years and trained on these. These were called "TQG's" (tactical quiet generators). I would prefer the 10KW (4 cyl eng.) sets over the 5KW (2 cylinder eng.) because of the capacity... let's face it, 10,000 vs. 5000 watts, and it ran smoother than the 5KW. Both sets were tactically quiet and fairly reliable. Another thing we did to make it easier on the ears is surrounding the set with sandbags with a couple of open spots and an overhead cover. I was giggling a little when u had no output AC voltage when you measured between the load terminals and immediately said "close the AC circuit switch"... 😂 Great video. 👍🏽
I specifically bought the 5kw version (MEP802a) to avoid the wet stacking concern others have brought up. We had a severe ice storm in 2021 and I ran the household off the genset for 10days, half of which were sub-zero ambient temps. In practice I found our power consumption was even lower than I'd expected, I was usually around 20% rated load during the day. The fuel consumption of the 802a was also considerably lower. At under 25% load I was using 7-8gal of diesel per day. Great little units!
you used sandbags as acustic barrier? Now that's a nice idea valid maybe for all gasoline and diesel generators, as they are really loud.
I thought that was a TQG. I went to the reserve school at Ft. McCoy for those.
My thoughts exactly!
10 years doing Power Production in the Air force and seeing that AC circuit interrupter switch get you made me happy . Knew you’d get it though.
Diesel tank may have been cheaper, but diesel itself only lasts about 6 months to a year before it goes bad. Propane can be stored indefinitely.
Natural/propane gas will keep engine cleaner with less wear on internal engine components. Iv'e rebuilt diesel engine that ran on propane with 7000 hrs. Guess what no bearing wear, cam rod & main. No cylinder wear. I was shocked. When I pull values out of the head no clinkers. This sold me on natural/ propane gas. Now I know why they want electric vehicles not natural/propane, with these two fuels there not going to be alot of rebuilds, or shop time.
@@jamesarnett4129 - Our electric should all be Thorium and our cars run by propane and LNG. You are spot on.
Man look at that gooseneck trailer just waiting to get finished
You mean his outdoor workbench?
I was gunna ask if the generator was gunna be part of the MOBILE WORKSTATION THAT IS THE GOOOOOOSEYNECK TRAILER!!! LOL HAHAHAHA EDIT that can plug into the house to power it up when the pwer goes out lol
He's not a kid. He's a smart adult. He's square, you cannot dribble him.
I was promised galvanizing. :(
Look at the surface rust on the trailer.....well thats a video in itself
the 400 hertz are for radar systems, namely the SQS-36 Firefinder and ANTPQ-64 Sentinel. Those 10K generators have Yanmar engines and we would run them 24/7 and only shut them down for every 200 hours for oil changes. We had 2 per radar and would switch gens every 200 hours. Each generator would have 4000+ hours on them at the end of a deployment and they would go directly to Toby Hanna Army depot to get rebuilt or what we called a reset. I know those systems like the back of my hand and would by a surplus one in a heart beat.The internal tank is only good for about 8 hours of run time but you can run a line for an external tank.
Tobyhanna has a first class generator shop. Everything reset there is quality.👍
400hz is also for PATRIOT systems/radar, along with other various 400Hz applications. The reason for the 400Hz (3 phase, 4 wire 220/108) is the power supplies within the powered equipment. If they wanted to strictly use 60hz the power supplies would be the size of a small car lol.
Can confirm
Man you reminded me of my deployment. Two MEP 803's powering some radio equipment, swapping them out with a load transfer switch whenever one was too low on fuel, because the fuel truck only came around every 12 hours and those gens were burning through their internal tanks in about 8. Though when I arrived they already had over almost 8k hours on them and they liked to shut down for seemingly no reason. By the time we finally got replacements, both were pushing 9500 hours.
i assume a chopper like in a modern switch mode psu would be big.@@shaun9156
You guys are awesome and super supportive. This is how the platform should be used. Love your work & the comments by the community.
Thanks for the video, I absolutely love the MEP-803A generators! With the brief glance inside your control box, it appears your unit needs both the "Fuse mod" and the "MOV mod". The Fuse Mod adds a fuse to protects the Quad winding in the generator head and the MOV mod protects the voltage regulator from voltage spikes protecting it from damage. The Metal Oxide Varister (MOV) is essentially a surge protector much like the device in surge protector power strips. Also, it'd probably save you a lot of time to just work with Kurt Klopp who already makes a Wi-Fi and 2-wire start controller for these units to get the features that you're after.
Cummins PG tech here. It would be a good idea to have a battery charger and block heater if you intend to use it during winter. Battery heater wouldn’t hurt either
I believe he's gonna do at least the charger hence 20a outlet
retired gen tech here.... he also needs to engineer some mouse proofing if that is going to sit on the ground year round.
Peppermint candy and spray they hate the smell of it just put the candy and buy the spray and good to go do it every year !!
If memory serves, those systems are already in place on these units.
@@rickybailey7123 I installed gen sets for near 25 years. Proper mouse proofing only needs to be done once!
Waldo, A suggestion from an old electrician is to make a habit of making connections - grounding conductors (green or bare copper ground wire) first, grounded conductor ( white neutral) second and ungrounded conductor (colored hot) last. Just a simple way to create safety routes before the final connection. Remember all connections are considered energized until proven unenergized. Good habits keep us alive. Thanks for the videos.
I work live sound and was taught the same thing for 400A cam lock power. Green is always first in and last out even if the switch is flipped.
@@EvildandaloJust about to say this exact same thing! Lmao Also, lick it to see if it’s live.
That is a pretty good practice. I used to work as an avionics mechanic on the UH60
I’m not an electrician (yet) but for electrical in my home i do that practice without even having to think about it, it’s always good to do
Anyone who makes power connections should know and follow these basic guidelines. When I'm training someone, I like to watch them make the connections on their own the first time (on a non-energized panel, of course) to see if they have the innate logic to do it properly. They are the ones I trust most.
MEP mobile emergency power. I was a power production tech in the service. When a unit is no longer needed or parts are hard to acquire it was one of my task to make units we are retiring be operational at 100% for a short period. In short we did what we could to make the unit operational, however minimal work was performed as as you said the unit is going to salvage.
Your little trick running the whole saw bit through the vinyl siding backwards was slick. It reminded me of my apprentice days; how the old dads have real tricks for faster and better outcomes, bravo.
This was a very good intro to these mil surplus gennys. I bought the 813 (400Hz) version because my house in the Bahamas is off grid solar. I will downconvert the VAC to the correct range and then rectify and filter it and then feed it directly into a high voltage charge controller which is meant to connect to a 200-300VDC solar array. The beauty of these 400Hz models for my application is that the filters are smaller due to the higher frequency. Also, everyone thinks they are boat anchors so I paid $1000 for mine with about 1000 hrs on it, but no physical damage of any kind. Finally, if you import a 60Hz house generator into the Bahamas, expect to pay a whopping 40% duty. But a 400Hz generator is considered aircraft support and thus only 5% duty.
Epic little fun fact thanks Bahama guy
I'll remember that next house I buy in the Bahamas! Clueless doesn't even begin to describe you.
@@nathan40307They aren't the clueless one here...
@@Studio23Media When did you buy your house in the Bahamas?
Only 1000$ for such a machine. Nice! New at similar price here, would be a china import 6,5kw diesel generator, but they aren't exactly reliable. Field tested military surplus, that even put out more power, certainly sounds like a wonderful deal!
Diesel economy will also go a lot further with a UPS/Hi-Cap Deep Cycle battery backup system in tandem. The diesel will run fully loaded until the batteries are at maximum charge, then it can be off-cycled until the batteries run down to say 30% and then re-started at full load until the cycle repeats. Plus, running a diesel at full loads is much better on the engine than partial or no load run time.
Combine that with solar panels and you might get even more days out of it as well.
Super cool. Love watching surplus equipment being put back to use. Looking forward to pt 2!
Generator $3,600. Know-how to repair and install-->$$$$$$$$. I know nothing but this looks amazing!
Not sure if it has been mentioned or not, but that outlet post next to the generator might be an ideal spot for a small 3-5W solar panel and controller to trickle charge the generator batteries to keep them healthy and topped off.
Great idea
I have been doing this for my tractors batteries in our off season, no more issues with battles flat and they last long in total
He didn't mention it, but I would assume the reason he installed the outlet is to run a battery maintainer.
As far as that's concerned, a lot of newer standby generators have heat mats that go around the batteries for extreme cold weather, and they just run them with grid power. Same could be applied for a 2 amp trickle charger, since they're minimal power draw..😉 I actually don't know of any 24 vdc trickle chargers, so a guy would probably have to double up on them.
and a small little light to provide light at night
Get a large storage battery like out of a forklift or electric car, and use the generator to charge it up, and power your house from the battery with an inverter. You will burn up a lot of diesel running that generator at 5 or 10 percent capacity just to run lights and a fridge. With a battery for storage, you can run the generator much closer to its rated output, and for shorter lengths of time, and not burn up a bunch of diesel for basically nothing.
Good point, first thing that came to mind and you would also get a break from the continuous noise if you only had to run it a few hours each day at peak load. You could also have it start/stop based on the battery state
That would probably be more expensive than simply storing more diesel. A fridge will stay cold for a long time after power goes out, any computers and lights can run off of a UPS pretty easily.
Using an ups just moves the battery around, why do that? there is expense on the short run and expense on the long run. Diesel is an expense you will keep burning through, while the upfront costs of a semi decent attached battery storage ( and seeing the space available, some nice solar panels ) is not a recurring cost .... It's also more environmentally friendly then 'just burn through more hydrocarbon's' attitude.@@TALIZ0RAH
High kw charger and battery set could double the price of the backup. Maybe if it was common to lose electricity it would make sense, also it would allow for more seamless transition.
I am still a little surprised that there is no smart solution where you use your EV as storage instead. I mean you could ass PV panels and a windmill as well this would double the backup solution and charge the battery all the time.
Awesome video, totally professional. Thank You for your Service. Great deal on that genny too.
Seeing the rest of your comments would probably put mine to shame: no army background, no extended electrical engineering knowledge, just a good ol' regular viewer from Europe over here. I love 'home improvement' installation videos like these, it allows me to live vicariously through those videos and enjoy things I am unable to do myself. While I generally tend to not go through the whole video, let alone comment on one, yours was an exception and definitely stroke my curiosity. It has a sort of DIY but very professional kind of vibe, if that even makes sense. You've earned yourself a new sub and genuinely looking forward to part 2!
Your comment is so true for 75% of us . Interesting learning experience. Waldo is fun to watch.
I was a vehicle mechanic in the US army, late 80s. I used to work on generators also. Yes generator tech (52d) was a different mos from mine (63b), but I still spent tons of time on generators, especially in the field. The big boys, 15k, 30k,60k were not happy campers running at low electric loads. Especially the 15k units loved to run between 70% -130% of their rated capacity. If you ran them with a tiny load they would sputter, kick in kick out, rpms all over the place. I do believe they called it wet stacking, long time ago.
Yes it’s called wet stacking, that’s why on diesel road vehicles whenever you see a idled diesel rev up it’ll soot out the exhaust for the same reason.
Bullsshit
I worked on the 15k in Afghanistan. I load-banked mine once a month.
I think if it was me just buy a Kolher propane generator don't have these problems. 26kw start at $6500 new MSRP.
God i love old 2 stroke detroits. They have their flaws, but grand pappy knew how to party, what lovely un needy engines they were.
I really liked all you did. Just one little note - the cable going to generator. I would give it a "drip loop". You ran it direct from box to generator. I would run it about 5 inches below opening in generator side and then back up. So both rainwater and condensation would drip off from lowest point. GL, HF. Just an engineer/IT from Estonia.
Yes. Water will run into your connections if left that way.
From the Netherlands, your are very educatief and self-sufficiency and independence.
Woah, Cant wait for part 2!!! Honestly what shocked me the most was that you got that generator for so cheap!
I worked on many of these 10K-TQG (Tactical Quiet Generator) generators during my 20 years in the Army. I definitely agree with the previous commenters about wet stacking. If these ran at low load for too long, oil would start spraying out of the exhaust. We occasionally used a load bank, basically a large resistive heater, to run them at a higher load to prevent the wet stacking.
I maintain these as a Military technician. Wet stacking is a problem. I agree wasteofmatter.
Otherwise known as Diesel Glazing. Injectors will coat up and she'll no longer burn right turning it into a smoke generator. Also a major fire hazard, seen several generators burn after being idling for too long without a load bank.
I may look into getting one of these load banks. Or at least now I know to run the generator with the oven and a bunch of other electronics on. Thanks for the comment!
@@WaldosWorld yup! As long as you have a load while generator is on, you are ok! You put almost the max load the generator can take and run it monthly. Just need to run it for 30-60 min monthly/ quarterly would be my recommendation. Also, when not in use, disconnect one or both terminals. Cold weather, could just simply remove the battery.
Another option is to run a couple of high output space heaters, keeps the place cozy. Also handy to have in the event of a prolonged outage if your furnace decides to croak or fuel is cut off.
nice work! reminds me of my days in the US Navy where we had massive diesel generators to power the submarine. We took pride in maintaining the genny.
Fairbanks Morse?
Chinese [[ DIESEL ]] generator, LOL Why no solar China ?
I just got interested in military auction generators and this was the first video i found. Wow. Your delivery of the info was awesome. I will be watching part 2 for sure.
Former us army here... generators like that kept me warm on many cold nights. When I was deployed, we had a pair of 40k generators that took 20 gallons of JP8 every 12 hours. They were massive. But generally these 3k, 10k and 15k generators were the ones I loved. 3k was nice because it had some handles that 2 strong soldiers could carry it by.
Thank you for your service!!
warm on many cold nights and days, and cool on many hot nights and days haha. i think i remember using the 5k and 10k the most. we couldn't carry them, but one person could drag them around the motorpool. i was constantly worried that my humvees would fail, but i have good memories and a good feeling about these old generators.
I love how the 3kw gens were "4 man lift" but we all just 2 manned it lol
@@NDHatley1 was a 3kw small enough to not be mounted on a trailer?
Back in '90-'94 I was working at a wooden packaging manufacturer. A local motor/generator shop got a contract to make military generators as there was a need for them given increased deployment overseas. The shop I was at made wooden skids for the motor shop, so our business in massive skids, and crates to fit, increased dramatically. I'll allow one guess as to who got to hump those big-assed, 7" X 10", timbers around. The runners and end crosspieces got bolted together with 1" bolts and the "thin" deck boards were nailed on with an air tool that fired 6" spikes into the oak runners. Damn that was hard work!...But it gave me a good feeling to contribute, in that small way, to the effort that was being put out by those who had put their lives on the line! In just my little area of the Wisconsin woods, there were those who were cranking out 30mm rounds for the A-10s that gave you close air support when you needed it, and I think, also 50 Cal...the crews winding rotors for and assembling those huge generators that kept your communications up, and you warm, and cool, when on base...the crew that cut all of the parts for, and that one dude who assembled three-quarters of, the skids that carried those locally-made generators to you! Many thanks for your military service!! We at home did our level best to keep you supplied...and, just so you know, we thought of you often while we did that work!
I see that when you opened the front cover it doesn't have a field coil fuse modification and capacitor done. It goes up by the voltage regulator. It saves the gen head if it overpowers. Very important to do. Steel Soldiers has all the info you need for that genset as well as a auto start setup.
Mate, brilliantly planned and executed. I worked on similar gen sets with Australian Army for 20+ yrs. We usually had about 15mins to set up. 🙃 Great diagnostics also BTW. The job you have done on this so far has been a pleasure to watch. Looking forward to part two 👍👍👍🇦🇺😎
Advice: I was a controls tech before I became a chiller tech. I'm not sure what kind of controls you're using the "big hunkin cable for" but if you're using any kind of communication it will be catch inference from being right up against high voltage wiring. We werent even allowed to run communication wiring within the same conduit as power wires
Aerospace Ground Equipment technician in the Air Force here, we typically use 15w-40 with these and everything else we maintain (located at Ellsworth AFB, where it gets as low as -50 Fahrenheit). Love the video man! 👍
This winter has been crazy. I hear a lot of the beaches have been destroyed! I didn't know Ellsworth had an AFB! Only about an hour from there too
Ellsworth AFB is not in Ellsworth, it’s near Box Elder, South Dakota about 10 miles from Rapid City. It was named after General Richard Ellsworth. Since you mentioned beaches, I’m guessing you’re talking about Ellsworth, Maine. We had an Air Force base here (Loring AFB) near Limestone, but it closed in 1994.
That didn’t look like a 20amp outlet. A 20amp usually has one prong that is also horizontal as well as vertical.
15W-40 can be replaced by 0W-40 in 99%. in operating temperature both have the same viscosity, when cold 0W-40 is moooore "watery".
@@bartoszskowronski 0w-40 typically sheers down to a 0w-30 due to the amount of VIs in the oil. Mobil1 is particularly susceptible to that but all 0w-40 oils exhibit this behavior.
That trailer looks like it wants another installment in it's video series
I think you're right 😬
Clearing the rust and painting the trailer to start
😂
Expensive work bench
🤣
You’re the man. Everything you do on here seems to always be done to the highest reasonable quality you are capable of. That’s a gift. Love it.
All vets raised an eyebrow when dude said "reliable"
I also live in NH. I spent $1500 total buying a trifuel (gas, propane, natural gas) 12k watt portable generator , inlet for my house, wiring to my panel. 1100 for the generator (new) and 400 or so for interlock, wiring, and inlet. It uses .5 gallons of automotive gas per hour running my whole house, and it has a 6 gallon tank. No auto start and transfer switch, as that set up is much more costly. In 1.5 years I've only had to use the generator once, so set up isn't needed often.
Which generator did you buy?
@@alex_ottomano Westinghouse Wgen
5 gallons per hour? 6 gallon tank? So every hour you're filling it?
@@jordangouveia1863 .5..... Half a gallon per hour
@@jordangouveia1863 There is a decimal in front of the 5. So that's half a gallon of US auto gas per hour, 12 hr run per tank.
Most military gens also have an external fuel supply port, so you could connect the gen directly to the large fuel tank.
He mentions the fuel hose in the video, so I reckon that's the plan.
The AUX fuel port is next to the primary fuel tank filler, there's a threaded cap on it and should be labeled. The Start/Run switch also has a AUX position for running off an Auxilliary tank. The fuel system should make the switch between fuel sources automatically depending on the Run switch position. We have several of these gen units where I work and we set them up with a 100 gal. aux tank. We use the aux as the primary and save the 7-10 internal tank as an emergency backup if the 100 gal. tank runs dry. They'll run for about 4 days straight on 100 gal. at 25-35% load.
You know you're working above your pay grade when you keep discovering neat tricks like "oh, there's a pull string to cut the outer insulation" and "there's an interrupter switch for the power output". There's no shame in learning these things about industrial scale installations, and mad props for showing both the "doing it wrong" and the "oh, there's an obvious thing right there" shots in the video. There's a reason most people would have an installer or operator do this kind of thing, but you're an expert in most of the stuff.
Thanks for all the info... Great overview.
All I heard in the opening was, “after doing a bunch of research, I didn’t finish the gooseneck trailer in yet another video” lol
I worked in the Shell plant that made that T6, in the blending department. I can say this with absolute confidence, we took making that stuff seriously and its why Shell Rotella is trusted through the whole diesel engine industry. I specifically made turbine oil (generator/turbine lubricants), viscosity modifier, (the stuff that makes the oil work in cold weather and gives it the winter rating) and various other lubes that most people wouldnt know used in industry. This is probably why this video came across my feed. Either way, good stuff and a great video!
Shell jet engine oil? The one woth TCP?
@@rkan2 Aero Shell is one of the few oils that doesn't come from HLP (Houston Lubes Plant)
2006 powerstroke loves your oil! T4 in the summer and T5 or T6 (which ever one I can get) in the winter..thanks!
Thoughts on using T6, instead of convention oil in other engines? so my.. my 1992 Honda accord loves the cheaper, better oil
That's awesome, thanks for the comment!
Very well made video and super informative and interesting. Thanks for posting! I'll look forward to Pt II.
Excellent video, I bought a 15kw fermont from an auction, it starts and runs just fine but is not generating any power, it shows a light that says low voltage.
As somebody in the military who doesn't work with these machines but has been forced to do a lot of work with these machines, I HATE THEM. Your generator is also the absolute cleanest and newest machine I have ever seen
What if you didn't have one to use at all? I think of all the stuff we provide to our people, and then have they don't give squat to the guys in the Russian military for example. expect them to Supply everything for themselves. EVERYTHING
@@ntvypr4820 I am not equipped to handle this question. I just don't like these generators because they break all the time HAHA
The stuff I never see
I bought a 50$ used kerosene moonlighter w cotton wick and a 180$ generator i can lift for1800 watt 120v an 12 volt charge. port at tractor supply and a 20$ new spare carb .didn't have to pour concrete or rent a crane 🎉
@@dondesnoo1771 and that should work great for 500 hours or so before it needs to be replaced
Waldo, every video, I grow to enjoy you more and more. You're so thorough, straight forward, and to the point with your explanations. It's truly a joy to spend time learning from/with you!
I recently purchased a MEP-804B 15kw and have purchased a 25kw single phase gen head to put on it to take advantage of the hp output of the engine. I am also gutting the electronics and converting it to full digital controller, one step at a time slow process for me but look forward to seeing you second video!
I started watching your channel when you did the c3500hd cummins swap and I have been a loyal viewer ever since. Your videos are very informative and well done and I like how you never cut corners and do things the best way you know how! Great job once again, now im heading to marketplace to look for a diesel generator 🤣
So I normally don't comment on videos of this nature. However I am an electrician and I wanted to say that while I can complain about anything as many of us do I am impressed that you did an amazing Job on this. I saw that you used a proper product through the knockout and the panel while not perfect was at least presentable and looked decent, noticed you labeled things, and you put things in places so many would ignore. over all I tend to quietly give low marks to people. however with that said I say you did a 9.8 out of 10 on this job with the ever minor complaints I would reserve for professional electricians. Even though the conduit did not require securement to the home due to length I would have recommended putting one into the concrete. however this is not a main line into the house from the power drop so I don't take issue with it in any way just personal preference. excellent Job over all and you did not do any of the Home Depot insanity. Thank you so so so much for leaving extra wire omg that was like honestly amazing.
I'll gladly take that 9.8/10, and thank you for the comment!
Did you miss the fuel line running with the power wire in the conduit
@jimbo7042 yeah didn't see that, that's a huge no no yikes
@WaldosWorld definitely rerun the fuel line if it's in the same conduit. Though diesel takes a lot to catch on fire it's defintly not code to run in the same conduit if you already re ran it no worries.
And as a Electrician from Sweden where we follow Europeean standards its interesting to watch US electric installations. We really work different and also the materials differ a lot.
Diesel fuel has one drawback - it can get a fungus growth in it that lines the tank and can clog the fuel filters, lines and injectors. This happened on my farm utility tractor, and took a lot of effort to get rid of. The engine would run for a bit, then stall out. Drained and cleaned the fuel tank, cleaned all fittings that the fuel went through, replacing the hoses and lines was easier than cleaning, and of course, the pumps and injectors. Ran like a charm after.
That's why if you have diesel that is going to be sitting for any long period of time you add a Biocide treatment to the fuel
Paulmoffattat9306: He can program the software to run the generator once a week for an hour, under load, that's how the generator at my fire station worked. It would also do an extensive diagnostic and leave a report for the technician. I know that Waldo can definitely do that!
all ways add biocide if storing, for long term storage we add water binder and biocide.
@@nssomedudeand? that doesn't solve the algae problem.
@@Refertech101 biocide treats diesel for everything algae, bacteria, yeast, moulds and fungi for example Penrite Biocide Fuel Treatment. I've left diesel in Jerry cans for up to 2 yrs with Biocide and it as need had any sign of growth in it. Do the research.
I'm going through electrical engineering right now and this video was a treat to see! Definitely something I would love to do after I find a decent job.
Great to see the many days of power, but the generator will use fuel fairly rapidly even while idling just to supply power to your hallway light. A battery backup paired with the generator would allow it to run very efficiently when you need power, and let the generator shut off completely during low power demand times.
Diesel-electric generator, expensive battery investment but more efficient than running the generator at max whenever you want power
@@jlofi000 a relatively small battery backup would allow the generator to turn off maybe the whole night.
@@jsbrads1 A deep cycle agm marine battery for $120 but those are 12 volt.. I think he'd have to change the lights to 12v like a camper. idk other ways to get to 120 volts efficiently throughout the night without linking 10 of them together for $1200 or if that's safe to do lol. Could just go without power overnight at that point
@@jlofi000 inverters exist for this purpose, but you'd need a battery with enough current throughput to supply the loads temporarily while the diesel kicks back on to take over.
@@james2042 yes idk if it's efficient to run a high wattage inverter all night tho especially with one small battery. I'm imagining a fridge which can range 300 to 800 watts, high startup amp draw, 5 amps while running, 120V, that's pretty decent juice for a single battery to put out. At 1000W it seems you sort of decrease your battery capacity by 16.5% using an inverter. Inverting means efficiency of about 85% so your fridge overnight would use 115% the normal draw in addition to whatever else drawing, plus per search 10 to 20 watts idle use per 1000W inverted (1.5% assuming 15W). "A 1000W inverter connected to a 100Ah battery with a nominal voltage of 12V can deplete the battery in around 60 hours due to idle power consumption." 100 Ah in 2.5 days just from the inverter being powered. I guess the question is avoiding the inverter with 10x 100Ah batteries for $1200 to run at 100% efficiency with 1000Ah at 120V in series, vs at 83.5% efficiency with an inverter you're at 120V so maybe you don't need as many? I forget the formulas to figure. Seems it may depend how much juice overnight. You'd need 11.97 batteries to get 1000 Ah
I found this video very interesting and informative. The comments by the generator tech added a lot of info too. Keeping an eye out for part 2
Im from Sweden and english is not my first language, so I hope I express myself correct. But what a satisfying/gratifying video. I love your attention to details and meticulous way of doing things and you are so thorough when you deal with this generator. You are like my father, who never does anything half heartededly. I understand your not finished yet. But when you are at it, I would consider to build, not a small house, but a little roof to protect the generator from the sun and bad weather. It would even out the temperature surrounding the generator a little bit. Engines tend to like that and it might even extend the life of the generator a bit. Congratulations to a job well done sir! 😊👍
New sub (and Army vet) here. Everyone has gifts, but yours transcends so many differing levels. Thank you for inspiring curiosity, while being entertaining and encouraging.
Current Seabee construction mechanic. We work on the digital screen 60K AMMPS generators and you troubleshooting the back of that gauge is the perfect way to explain it to my junior mechs. Great watch!
I have been running a 60kw NG it is now . 25 years old now other then belts replacing water hoses and thermostat it has run flawlessly. There have been times when it has run 2 weeks straight . We have a large house running 4 refrigerators 40 tons of ac and running our pump house for our pool as it runs year round instead of winterizing the pool. We do replace the battery every 2 years and we do service the unit twice a year. Our home has a 400amp power panel. This has been one of the best investments we have. When we applied to install this unit the county required us to have an electrical engineer sign off on the installation do to the size of our home.
Epic installation! This is great stuff for starting tech's like me, thanks for uploading this. Cant wait for pt2! ❤
One drawback to diesel is that microbial growth likes occur in the bottom of the tank at the fuel-water interface. A sludge clogs fuel filters and creates starting and running problems, not to mention a smell. This is not as much of a problem for over-the-road trucks where the fuel is constantly being used and replaced with fresh fuel and the condensation water is frequently being drained, but the generator is mostly just going to sit there.
It's no big deal to polish the fuel every year or so. Fuel sits in marine applications too, it's not a problem.
Biobor JF
Add Diesel Doctor additive?
Hi Waldo, I would love to see you become a full-time KZheadr. I think you would be surprised just how fast you would become a huge success. Everything you do is right on point. I learn so much from your videos. Keep up the great work.
Very nice video, thank you for producing it and sharing it with the masses.
Love all the experience coming from those that have used these generators. My experience is as a licensed line user. That's right we had to have a license to use any equipment that had a motor. You may not have been given a TM (Technical Manual) to this piece of equipment but it would behoove you to obtain on and read it and it's drolling on of what may at first seem superfluous but I for one will suggest being familiar with every aspect there of. Make sure you get the latest update as well and keep up with all aspects listed from within.
I am happy you figured out the AC interrupt switch and didn't get deep into tearing it apart 😅. We ran these style gennys for thousands of hours in field ops. Got a brand new 15k full LCD screen controls with the ability to self diagnose its own problems and send alerts to the screen for routine maintenance. We put somewhere around 120 hours a week on it for a month straight 😂😂.
Former 15W here (UAS Operator). We used those exact generators (mounted on trailers) for the Operator Shelters as well as the Datalink Transceivers. When I saw him meter the power output and get 0 my first thought was "INTERRUPT SWITCH! Hit the switch!" XD
The choice of diesel & a used military generator seems very good to me. It's clearly designed to make servicing easy & accessibility is good. One day you may even want access to three phase for some machine tool & this could potentially provide it. In some European countries three-phase is already available in the home. Sadly Britain isn't one of them 🙁. Where you live a backup power option seems almost essential.
Sadly,😅 I don't get to work on something like this here in Austria, as the power never stops, esp. after the power company buried all outside wires in our village a few years back. Here we get 3phase power at 400 volts coming into the house. Inside, it is split up to single phase 230 volts. I do have a 400 V outlet in the garage for power tools.
Everyone should have a backup power supply, even the bare minimum can make the difference between staying in your home or having to bug out. I live in hurricane country so it's even more important. I personally consider it a necessity rather than a luxury
@@mick-berry5331 It is the same in Germany. 3phase in every house. (Servus Nachbar).
@@guzziwheelersame in Russia, but not by default. We have to resign contract and pay extra to get 3 phase supply and 15kw instead of 5kw single phase.
Waldo. Great video. Very informative. Many thanks on sharing your knowledge. Rock on!
Great video! Keep up the good work. Can't wait for part 2. Looking to set up my generator for auto start.
I live in an apartment so would in no way ever need this kind of setup. Don't ask me why I clicked on this video, other then curiosity. I can say though I really enjoyed the video, and now I am looking forward to more useless to me knowledge. Great video thanks :)
I bought one 10 years ago because I live in a remote area, and we often have power issues, it has a perkins diesel engine and a 550V 100Amp 3 phases with a 200Amp 120V / 220V transformer. I added another transformer for my neighbours house ( he paid for the transformer but I did the job ) I needed it a few times a year so far as we have electric pumps for our wells. We don't have electric heating, but water is essential as well as our freezer. It's a very reliable engine, old, but reliable. It's maybe a bit too big for our use but it's better to have more than not enough. I always made sure it doesn't run at less than 30% because it's not very good for the engine as it becomes coke up. A run at full power is required. Sorry for the bad English, it's not my language.
Great presentation! Thank you for providing helpful content 🙏
Am really excited about part 2 of this build
What a great price! I got mine (30k) from a military surplus auction around 17 years ago and I think I paid almost 6k…. Mine is still on a manual transfer switch, as I converted to Solar/Wind/Battery (I live in a windy, rural part of Arizona) and went completely off-grid about 12 years ago. I’ve only had to used it a few dozen times over the years, mostly to charge my batteries when I’ve used my shop tools (Welders, plasma cutters, powder coating ovens, Air compressors, CNC Machine, etc.) to excessive amounts. I keep track of when I use it, and when it’s been more than 30 days, I disconnect my charge controller from my battery bank at around 10 AM, letting my battery bank run down (This is also good for my batteries, letting me check the health of each one.) then, once my battery state gets to about 15%, I start my generator up. Thing of beauty! Make sure you rotate out your fuel. I have two 500 gallon tanks, and I rotate them, using one to fuel my truck, while using my Auxiliary (90 gallon, with transfer pump) tank in my truck to refill the tank I just emptied. That way, the LEAST amount I have on hand is always at least 590 gallons. I’m interested in seeing how you automate the thing! You got a new subscriber in me!
What's the point? Is it cheaper then being on the grid?
French guy here (watching your vids from the south of France), leaving his first comment on your channel, which I've subscribed to probably 2 or 3 years ago. I really enjoy your content. You've got a lot of skills, which is impressive, and you always come up with great projects that are delightful to follow up on. And I love the way you explain things, in a thourough manner. I can't wait for part 2 to come out, which I'm sure is gonna be epic! Keep it up dude, you're really good!
Wow, thank you for the comment!
Thank you for this video. I live on a remote piece of land and have been wrestling with what generator to use. This has been very helpful
From my experience with Onan military generators, they come with preservation oil, which is thick, so good you decided to change it as it will seize if run on that oil.
Really love watching your content. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to find ideas, plan the videos, actually do the work while filming, then edit and publish. So no complaints about the time involved. Also gotta love NH, where if you have the knowledge, you can do the work yourself whether it’s plumbing, electrical or structural.
14:19 this is the most important safety tip. Some good friends of ours house burned down, they were using a new commercial generator that name starts with a G
Ah yeah, those Generacs are rated to be installed 18" from the house. Sounds like a bad idea to me
i bought a used Military generator years back when i went off gride. i went with diesel their easy to maintain and rebuild if need be. generally military machinery other than vehicles are maintain well and are in good shape.
Dad was a chief on Mace missile crew, which were mobile launchers on trailers with a command trailer, which were all tied together. They had an issue where communications weren’t working between missiles and command trailer. They ended up having a ground stake at each trailer and were getting a ground fault and the communication cabling became a ground wire. To fix, they tied all the ground stakes together and all systems came up. I work in datacenters and under the floor is a 8 gauge ground mesh and all cabinets are grounded to the mesh. This is to avoid the same ground fault problem. So, you might tie you generator ground to the house ground. Pretty cool video. I’ve wondered about these surplus Gen sets for household use.
The MEP 803A was a good gen, I only had to work on two of them while serving in the Marines. The engine in that gen is great!
Looks and sounds like a HATZ, or deutz diesel…?
@@neb4x4Don't know if Hatz makes them that big and i think Deutz usually Air-cooled... thinking Perkins or Lister 💁♂️
It is a Lister. English made @@neb4x4
Reading almost all the comments here reminds me how devilishly complex some of these decisions (fuel, batteries and set up) can be. As an aside I live in a Chicago suburb and back in 2011 I can recall two weekends, two weeks apart when our power was out for over 24 hours at a time. Many in the area installed Generac automatic whole house netl gas units. Due to tough zoning requirements one of my neighbors and I backed off putting one in. Fast forward a few years (around 2015/16) ComEd installed smart meters and did other supply system upgrades and we haven't had a major outage (greater than 1 hr) since. I'm reminded of this every Saturday when my other neighbors generator fires up for 15 min to get its weekly exercise. That said there are costs to living out in the sticks and power reliability is one of them. Love the channel!!!
We had one of these growing up. Fantastic. Didn't have to sharw the propane either. Oven/stove/water heater could ve used like normal and the power would be on.
Nice looking job you did from the cement pad to the conduit and wiring!
There you are - I was getting worried!
Very nice and well done project, thanks for sharing. I would install a fuel polishing system with a 3my #500 Racor filter & water separator and an algae x fuel treating device, all on a timer which runs like 3h x week, adding some fuel stabilizers well. Problem with stored modern diesel is that it tends to grow 'diesel bugs', collect condensation water and gum up your tank and fuel system over the years. This way, your fuel stays clean and useful over a very long period of time. Modern fuel is supposed to be recirculated around every 4 weeks to prevent component separation or stratification, due to the methanol and other additives
Worked with a lot of 805s during my time in service. Great generators!
man i will will never own generator but your video so nice !!! very calm guy and i am sure you are enjoying it., thanks for sharing your happiness with us !!!
Hey Waldo, former electrician here. I know you already ran your conduit, but you may want to consider redoing that run (if it's not to late) to add in some expansion couplings/fittings on each end above grade. They allow for ground movement without breaking the Schedule 40. Check out NEC 2023 Section 352 (specifically 352.44(B)) for the code requirements.
Well Simon , I guess Waldo didn't think of this , glad you mentioned it.
Why not run weatherproof flex? It's good for vibrating loads.
@@ctrlaltdebug I'm pretty sure you could run LFMC in this use case, see NEC 350 for code requirements when using LFMC. That being said, it would be a much higher cost overall, and it may be difficult to find the correct size for the use case.
Sealtite or Carflex!
Im electrician in Germany 😂😂 I’m confused
Hey Waldo, that diesel generator was a good investment! You may want to consider antigel additives in your diesel tank to prevent issues in colder weather! Looking forward to part 2!
And treat the fuel with some marvels mystery oil...that stuff is amazing for fuels both lubrication and stabilization for up to 2 years (and with the low sulfur junk now a days, it adds much needed pump/injector lubrication back to the fuel)
And a shot of biocide with the antigen. You don't need anything growing in the fuel tank or the storage tank. My car uses either Stanadyne performance formula or Power service white during the winter months.
Along these lines, think about cleaning your diesel fuel tank. With those low hours and age that thing must have been sitting around for years. I took an air conditioning brush set to an old JD tractor and flushed the tank with kerosene. The slime I dislodged was amazing….
I envy your knowledge and know how! We're working with a contractor to build a house for us, and I want a generator. Going this route would save so much money! I just don't know enough about diesel motors to make it a viable and dependable option for us. Especially with fixing it up to be auto on and off, and wi-fi monitored.
Great video. Very informative. You've got a good understanding of the ins and outs. American Electrical systems will never cease to blow my mind. How it's not mandatory to have RCD's (GFI's for my people across the pond) in every electrical install is beyond me. That said, we have ring circuits here in the UK, which are inherently unsafe AF, so......
Being more "electro" orientated, I'd look at an inverter to run 10 - 20% of your load then control the generator to come on at 75+% power only as needed. An inverter will support your house in case of a power cut with an almost instant pick up, and an inverter is silent to support your house overnight when you and the neighbours want to sleep. Also no generator runs well and efficiently at long term low power so having a generator to cover that is a great idea.
You could go the solar inverter route and also install a small battery pack, so you don't have to run the generator, other than to recharge the batteries.
I don't know how I ended up on this channel at 4:12am but im impressed with the content i've seen so far. Keep up the great work.
Thank you so much!
@@Honestly-xx6rk the other half of that .... fools seldom differ ... Trump and Biden being PRIME examples ... and of course the people who voted them in
In another time, in a land far away. I was a power generation specialist (52B) on a forward deployed HAWK missile site. The engineer section maintained all the generators on site. We used 5kW, 10kW, 45kW & 60kW generators. This brought back a few memories.
T6 will help a TON in your cold weather starts as you found. It did a world of good on my 7.3.
I might be old-school Army and I might be 20 years your senior, but I learned things watching your video and I look forward to the next one. I was in the Army for many years and seeing that generator brought me way back! Thanks for the journey! Also, I can't WAIT for PART 2 to come out! I just bought a 13000Peak/10500Running gasoline genny on Amazon for power outages here in TN. We've been hit by a few tornados and other adverse weather in the past few years but my gennies were never big enough to run my whole house. With this one, I can run everything, including the HVAC system as long as I don't run the Oven, Dryer and Microwave all at the same time (LOL). Thanks and keep them coming!
I absolutely positively you are not supposed to run fuel line next to power wire.
Found your vid & channel by accident a week ago and was very curious about a generator this size for the same uses you're using. Love this vid and now I'm curious about miltary surplus too!!