EL_Ken
Member
- Location
- Wareham, MA USA
I first wrote to Mike Holt about this and he referred me to Article 725. I have read up on Article 725 and could not find definitive enough wording to satisfy my electrician. I should have provided Mike with a more detailed question.
I apologize for this post being so long, but you know better than I that details matter in questions of code.
I am installing a Generac natural gas powered generator with a 200 amp whole house transfer switch. In addition to the power feed between the generator and the transfer switch, there are six "control" wires.
Generac "recommends" #18 AGW wire for these six lines if the length is under 115 feet. The actual length is 40 feet. My electrician is insisting on 14 AGW, saying because some are not "low voltage", the minimum allowed AGW is 14. The town wiring inspector seemed to only care that the insulation was rated for 600 volts.
Running six 18 AGWs would be a lot easier to string than 14s.
Three of the six wires are low voltage control wires. Two of the wires are on 5 amp fast acting fuses and carry 220 volts to the generator so that it can sense when the street power goes out or comes back on.
The last wire is of most concern to my electrician. It carries 120 volts to the battery charger that is contained within the generator. This wire is also on a 5 amp fast acting fuse.
As I read Article 725, Class 2 is excluded because of the 100VA limit. Class 3 is excluded due to the 1 amp limit. This leaves Class 1. I don't see any restrictions that would electrically disqualify any of these lines from Class 1 status, but the line to the battery charger doesn't seem like it would be classified as a "Control Line" and could be considered as non-qualifying because of it's usage.
Questions:
1. Does the battery charger line qualify as an Article 725 Class 1 line? If so, is there any specific documentation that would help convince my electrician that this is the case.
2. Is my electrician correct in saying that this must be a 14 AGW line? If so, which of the six lines have to be 14 AGW?
3. Is there a section of code I could read up on (other than 725) that might address this situation?
Thanks for any information you can provide.
Ken
===
I apologize for this post being so long, but you know better than I that details matter in questions of code.
I am installing a Generac natural gas powered generator with a 200 amp whole house transfer switch. In addition to the power feed between the generator and the transfer switch, there are six "control" wires.
Generac "recommends" #18 AGW wire for these six lines if the length is under 115 feet. The actual length is 40 feet. My electrician is insisting on 14 AGW, saying because some are not "low voltage", the minimum allowed AGW is 14. The town wiring inspector seemed to only care that the insulation was rated for 600 volts.
Running six 18 AGWs would be a lot easier to string than 14s.
Three of the six wires are low voltage control wires. Two of the wires are on 5 amp fast acting fuses and carry 220 volts to the generator so that it can sense when the street power goes out or comes back on.
The last wire is of most concern to my electrician. It carries 120 volts to the battery charger that is contained within the generator. This wire is also on a 5 amp fast acting fuse.
As I read Article 725, Class 2 is excluded because of the 100VA limit. Class 3 is excluded due to the 1 amp limit. This leaves Class 1. I don't see any restrictions that would electrically disqualify any of these lines from Class 1 status, but the line to the battery charger doesn't seem like it would be classified as a "Control Line" and could be considered as non-qualifying because of it's usage.
Questions:
1. Does the battery charger line qualify as an Article 725 Class 1 line? If so, is there any specific documentation that would help convince my electrician that this is the case.
2. Is my electrician correct in saying that this must be a 14 AGW line? If so, which of the six lines have to be 14 AGW?
3. Is there a section of code I could read up on (other than 725) that might address this situation?
Thanks for any information you can provide.
Ken
===