jlipskoc

The guy says it'll make 11,000 watts, 13,200 surge? Umm how?

I only see only a NEMA 30 amp 120/240 plug and 2 - 20amp plugs, that means...

30 amps + 40 amps = 70 amps x 120volts = 8400 watts

Or do they make a 50 amp 4 prong twistlock plug?





--------------
Brand: Mecc Alte, 11,000 watt, 3600 rpm, 60 hz
Wired panel with duplex and twistlock plug available.
1-3/8" 6 spline shaft
brushless generator design
requires 22hp for full rated output
1 year manufacturers warranty
Model 3P2S20W-130/2

Lil Dog

I dunno about the plug, must be for 220 volt service. If you have the 30 amps at 220 its about 6600 watts. Plus the 40 amps at 120 you get around 11.4 kW. But 22 hp is about 16 Kw. So the rating seems right for the duty cycle of a typical generator.

JD730

That rating sounds/looks about right for that size generator. I can tell you its going make 22hp work hard at rated output. My neighbor has a 12kw he runs with a 24hp kubota, makes it work when the well pump kicks on.

Looking at one on Ebay?

jlipskoc

Oh, sorry, I feel dumb now.

Ok, so can a person just use one side of the this 220 30amp plug to make 120v? I'm assuming instead of hooking up both hot, just make a plug with one hot only.

What size wire do you all recommend to run from this plug to a outside for a transfer box? 10/3 w/g (big round black stuff)? I need 20 ft. Or go with a 8 gauge wire?

I plan to use it to run the furnace, hot water heater power vent, freezer/fridge, and 2 other lighting circuits in the house.

jlipskoc

We have city water, but I've got some emergency water stocked up just in case the city loses water pressure if they run out of electric, mainly for our pasture critters. I wish I had a well, sure would save on water bills.

I have natural gas, but it needs electric for the blower and igniter.

Yes, on ebay. I've got a 32hp tractor, so I feel it'll run it ok, will need to make a mount for it, get a driveshaft, get a transfer box installed etc... so a little bit of work ahead for me.

This last ice storm was a pain a month ago, not going thru that If I don't have to again, country folk gota fend for ourselves imo. My sister was out for 11 days. 20 deg's most of those days. Burr.

John DiMartino

You can make a handy box to go from the 30A to a 20AMP plug.You have the 2 20A recpticles on the unit now,they should trip at 20amps each,so there is 4400 watts worth.What i would do is utilize both legs of 120 when making an adapter.Come off the 30A 4 wire plug,run the white N and ground to both recepticles,and run one set of 20A recepticles from one hot leg(red or black),and one to the other.You need a breaker in there between the 30A plug and 20A recepticle.I recommend looking for a preassembled box with both recepticles,and breakers already in,just wire up the 30A plug and go.MOst have a GFCI also,which is very nice,and keeps you protected in the event you become a better path to ground than the white or green wire .Try to balance the loads out between both legs,so the head is loaded close to even as possible,this reduces the likelhood of tripping breakers,and maximizes reserve power for peak needs,such as starting electric motors.

jlipskoc

Received the head yesterday.

Have a few questions though for the electricians here.

Heres pictures of my unit.
PTO Pictures

First off the item pictured, is not the same "plug in" receptacle black head pictured in the ebay ad. hmm...

http://i15.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/82/5c/7b34_1.JPG

My circuit breakers are up top. This ad, the breakers are in the middle. The 30amp round recept on ebay shows a 220v 4 prong, the head I have is 30 amp 120v 3 prong.

Secondly, when I turn the PTO shaft the alternator inside does not turn, only the center shaft with the nut. I can't tighten the nut until i get a pto shaft hooked to the tractor. What is the purpose of having this nut so loose like this? Should I tighten the nut? Will it screw up the alignment? Anybody have any thoughts on this?

Thirdly, I notice the 20amp two receptables are wired weird, notice the green ground is hooked to the white neutral, does anyone know what configuration is this?

Fourth question, the head on the sticker says 11kw.

The way i see it now setup, a 30amp 120v and a 20 amp 120v 30+20=50 amps 50*120=6000 watts.

The way I see it, this is really a 6kw panel on a 11k head.

How do I get the full 11kw out of this, will I need to rewire the panel?

Does anyone know if there are replacement panels that allow different connectors?

Sorry for all the questions, just my luck with eb-y.

Thanks,
John

John DiMartino

John,something isnt right, I only see it being a 110 Volt generator .The twist lock should be 4 prong 120/240,and its not.The 20amp rec should be both grounded with a single green wire,the white wire looks correct,the hot side should have the break off tab removed,and one rec fed with red,one with black wires.It looks to me like a 240 volt unit,but only 110 is accessable thru the 20amp rec,and the other leg is accessible thru the twist lock 30amp connector.I seen no way to get 240 out of it without rigging up a custom adapter,and even then it would run the one leg thru a 20amp breaker,and the other thru a 30amp.I seen the tag that shows both 120/240,and it is over 41 amps at 240volts,I do not see the wire size to support 41 amps at 240 ,and esp not 80+ amps at 110.My Generator is only a 10K,and the wiring is much beefier,it has a 40amp connector,,as well as 30amp and 20's.This should have some way to access 240 without rewiring it.

jlipskoc

Thanks John for reaffirming what I saw.

I agree with the wire sizes, theres no way this unit can support more than 30 amps on each black wire, they appear to be 10 gauge wire. Theoretically, I'm only good for 6kw now with its current setup.

I only need 120v, so not having 220 is not a big deal.

I haven't heard back from the seller. I'm guessing since this unit is from Italy, they rate it differently, thus the 11kw must be from running it 220. But like you said, how they do that is beyond my skill.


What my main concern is that center nut, its loose, you turn the pto gear end and the stator? doesn't turn at all, only the nut on the end of the head.

Is there some type of centrifical clutch setup in these things?




I'm starting to wonder if I bought a peice of junk, should have bought a new one from Northern Tool, could have got a full 12kw one that I really wanted. This unit was 1/2 the price of the 12kw. But since it was adverstised as a 11kw, I thought I was getting a bargain.

jlipskoc

Check this out, found a similiar head on Northerntool ,looks to be a different panel, gives me an idea how to mount this sucker now.



Number of Receptacles: 3
Two 20 Amp 120V receptacles
One 30 Amp 120/240V locking plug receptacle

Required Engine: 14 PTO HP (540 RPM) or more
Rated Watts: 7,200 Continuous Watts
Surge Watts: 7,800 Surge Watts
Run Time: Continuous

Uses NEMA 5-20R and NEMA L14-30R

SoTexRattler

The label says 120/240 @ 91/45AMPS
That implies a 4 wire 1ph generator that can be rewired to 120v, but at 91amps!!! Just what you need right?.
The molex plug with 2 black and 2 white wires looks to be the two required 120v windings that can be paralleled to give the required 91amps @120vac. But, I can't get a feel for wiresize from a picture.

Nevertheless, what they advertized (pics) and what you got aren't the same . Did they have a disclaimer in the ebay ad? (i.e, "model shipped may not even remotely look like what you think you are buying!.." )

The actual generator/gearbox part may actually be the same 11kva unit, but they might be selling them with variously equipped endbell covers.
Personally, I'd be PO'ed if they shorted me a 120/240v@30amp 4pole twistlock receptacle and subb'ed a 120v@30amp ONLY receptacle!

Yes, I think the next size up for the 4pole twistlock is 50amps which is what that sucker' OUGHT to be equipped with if it is truly rated at 45amps!!!
Those connectors start getting pricey at 50amps! Even the L14-30R twistlock 120/240v receptacle goes for about ~$35 at Lowes alone!

K.

John DiMartino

My Hobart Gen/Welder has a 50 amp recepticle,its the 4 slot push in connector,no twist lock. It has the female rec for this cord,commonly used on ranges.http://cgi.ebay.com/Leviton-6ft-Rang...QQcmdZViewItem

If you cant get any clear answers from the seller,Id return the item,it is not the one pictured,and you got robbed out of a 240V at the minimum,and Id get a better unit if i were you.Spend a little more now,save alot more aggravation later.

bulabula

If the unit is from Italy, I thought that AC power across the pond was 50Hz AC; not 60Hz like us. Is the gennie 50 or 60 Hz?

jlipskoc

Looking at the head sticker is says 60hz.

PTO Pictures

jlipskoc

I'm not a electrician, but being able to use at least 50 amps to the house would be great, not sure if they make a cord/plug ends to handle 91 .

I guess I could make a custom connection, connect both black wires, make 60 amps, use a 50amp 3 plug with circuit breaker.

The wire looks like its 10 gauge.

I haven't heard back from the seller, being its a chunk of change, yes a little miffed right now, but if hes most on ebay, he problably don't know anything about gen heads, and problably would give me wrong advice, I'd rather trust the DTR gang than some dude on eb-y. I want to see what his response is first before I consider returning it, in his ad he lists, restocking and return fees, shipping fees yada yada, I'd problably end up losing money on the deal shipping it back.

I agree 100% it should have atleast a 50 amp plug, but I knew that in the beginning from the first post before I bought the sucker.

I bought a PTO shaft tonite, wow, don't get one on northern tool, they'll shaft ya a big one. I got one at the local farm store for 1/3 of what Northern tool wanted.

I'm was worried now about that center nut being lose... so I dug thru the manual, looking at a figure thats pointing to a center nut, spanish/+5 other languages version, what luck, guess what! theres the torque spec 21 nm +-7 sweet, pop the pto on, torque away. Nut is nice and snug now.