I have the 2cyl version of your military genset, the MEP802a. When I got it running it smoked pretty badly as well. I read on the Steel Soldiers website that they're commonly ran without enough load and carbon can buildup over time in the exhaust. The cure it to put it under a hard load for at least a couple of hours. Since they're rated to run at 125% of duty cycle I ran it at 5000 watts, the smoke finally cleared up after 3-4hrs and hasn't returned since. We lived off it for 10 days straight when a big ice store wreaked havoc a few years ago. Ran like a champ and was only using around 7-8gal of diesel per day. I wouldn't recommend it to someone that's not mechanically inclined though, they'd probably be overwhelmed with all of it's gauges and voltage possibilities. Your videos are entertaining and I'll be looking forward to more content. Good luck with both of your awesome gensets!

Hey Chris , that is a pretty nice Generator. My neighbor has a Onan propane powered stand by Generator. The moment the electric goes out it starts on it's own and takes over. There has been several times when he is the only house in the neighborhood that has electric. I am so jealous of that LOL.. I do have a portable one that I can run the furnace for heat in case of a power failure in the winter. Thumbs UP man! 👍

Perfect timing as I am looking into a standby gen for my daughters place... propane powered tho... 10K would do the trick for her, the hook up and such seems a bit confusing but, an electrical friend would be the go to guy to help with the wiring. Great vid again and thanks for takin us through the comparison , they are costly, but when you need them, worth every penny! Have a good one.

Couple of nice generators Chris..never have to worry about having no power with them bad boys..great video like always..keep up the good work..looking forward to your next video..thanks again Jeff.🍻🤘🤙👍

If you are keeping the 803a you need to do the fuse and mov mods. Also load that thing up or else its going to smoke and wetstack. parts are not hard to get at least in 2023

Nice video, Chris, and thanks for the tour of both generators. Would it make sense to elevate the Onan in such a way that you can access the oil drain without getting the tractor involved again?

Nice generators. Good job on the house infrastructure too!

The MEP 803 and the MEP 806 are staples in the USMC. When I was in the Marines, my job was to maintain and repair those generators. I did far fewer repairs on the 803 compared to the 806 but this brings back some good memories!

Cut like a 1 liter bottle to go over the oil filter so when your unscrewing it the oil that leaks out will catch in the bottle. Just squeeze the bottle to grip the filter and it works great no mess.

That’s a nice setup you have there,,,looks very familiar 👍

good stuff man, looks like you got a nice upgrade

there are access ports on the bottom of the unit as well for service because these are meant to be serviced while being mounted to a Rec vehicle

Dude! Awesome that you got another generator. It helps me because I am in the market for a backup diesel generator. But honestly that seemed like a pain to do maintenance. Having to lift it to change oil sucks. And having to work around all the covers to change filters…..makes me think that if they are all like that then maybe I want to set up a shed around a generator and remove all the covers so I can easily do maintenance. Have you seen those real big generators from China I think that they sell on eBay? I keep wondering if they are worth it and how to change over to 60 hertz from 50.

Thank you Chris .

To each their own...I live in a small rural township (was a busy logging community circa 1850) so the smell of Diesel is not a concern, most of my neighbors have Wood Stoves... I streamlined my life about 18 years ago, EVERYTHING in my house is electric... It seems recently our grid is not reliable... That Cummins QD model has its perks, a little more fuel efficient and quiet... I am looking to get a MEP-803A and have a Larger Fuel Tank/Stand built to go with it... The reason I think for myself the 803 would be better, because I would likely be running close to max output, the surge or extra head room in power output may be necessary...

Thumbs up 👍

the Kubota engine sure is quiet, my single cylinder 10hp 'silent' generator sounds like a black hawk flying nearby.

You should add threaded pipe to the oil

Do you have a Spotify playlist by chance? You always got some great tunes going on in the background of these videos

The MEP 803 is the better Gen Set No question. Everything is available for the MEP 803. You are crazy going to the little Kubota engine little Gen Set. Don't use coloured Diesel in them only Clear Diesel as the Dye in the coloured will rot out your fuel lines.

Generator porn! Heck yeah! I love your priorities! Constantly on the look out, just never find one.

I love my 1025 John deere

Man, you don’t screw around, go big or go home with generators. I do small engine repair, so I always have 5-20 small generators on hand at a time. Would love to have a bigger diesel generator that just always runs though.

How much does one of these cost?

Before buying an Onan, read in the Old Testament about " The sin of Onan," I could never look at one the same....

Hello How’s the Onan working out. Onan runs 3600 rpm Mep 1800 The Onan parts are more available but also can on expensive side. Nice video

Hey sorry to ask but how / where or what happened to leo?

A question from someone who doesn't live in the USA. Why do you need a home generator, is your power supply that unreliable ?

The less epa bs on the exhaust system = the most reliable and fuel efficient.

I'd buy yours.

the MEP803A is the better generator, by far. no smoke at all on mine, runs like a swiss watch

Been a while have you noticed a downfall to the onan over the 803a?

Dude, you need property

She's screaming out for a trailer build/salvage job.