Hi. Im installing 30RCLA Kohler for the first time and there’s no stub outs for load leads underneath the generator. Is there a way to make it connection from the side or other way? Doesn’t look like the channel underneath has other access. Thanks for any hints
No stub out for 30Rcla Kohler
- Thread starter Kohler 30
- Start date
hillbilly1
Senior Member
- Location
- North Georgia mountains
- Occupation
- Owner/electrical contractor
Stub outs? With real generators, you have stub ups where the cut sheets show. Here is the cut sheet for your model. Kohler has gotten bad at having only a small access area, so plan your stub ups to fall within those areas carefully.
hillbilly1
Senior Member
- Location
- North Georgia mountains
- Occupation
- Owner/electrical contractor
Birken Vogt
Senior Member
- Location
- Grass Valley, Ca
They stopped including paper manuals but search for "30RCLA installation manual" and read and understand the whole thing. These callouts are in the back pages but you need to read the whole thing.
Thank you for response. The problem is that the slab was poured and nobody stub up conduit prior that. I noticed on other installation that contractor run 2in liquid tie conduit into lifting holes but not sure what was the raceway underneath.. I assume customers want often install generators on existing slab so I’d think there has to be other way
Birken Vogt
Senior Member
- Location
- Grass Valley, Ca
The lifting holes are not connected to any useful space. It is possible to cut holes in the rail and run wire underneath but you will have a little exposed THHN when you remove the doors technically. Depends on your inspector I guess. I have seen it where a TA was landed in a rail and then a rigid coupling screwed on the inside and FNMC continued from there. There is no really great answer other than to do the slab properly while reading the manual.
hillbilly1
Senior Member
- Location
- North Georgia mountains
- Occupation
- Owner/electrical contractor
Very seldom is the generator output piped in all the way, at least on commercial generators. Block heater and charger outlets are usually piped, but control wires seldom are. Kohler has a rubber bushing at the bottom of the enclosure for the wires going to the output breaker, so it is designed to not require piping all the way. Also don’t forget to remove the bond jumper between the neutral and ground if the neutral is not broken through the transferswitch. As you probably know already, unlike Generac, control wires cannot be in the same conduit as power and output wires. Doing so will void Kohlers warranty.
Birken Vogt
Senior Member
- Location
- Grass Valley, Ca
I work on these every day. Unless you come in where they intend you to come in, you will have some semi-exposed THHN running across the bottom of the enclosure one side or the other. If you cut holes in the rail it does not come into a "protected" area like it would if you stubbed up properly. That is why I mention, I have seen it done to extend some LFNC conduit inside the unit if you make a mistake like this, so it is protected until it gets through the rubber bushing at least.
There are many, many things in medium and above generator installation waiting to bite you just like this if not properly planned in advance.
One slightly funny story, I do remember coming behind a contractor who attempted a slab entry into a Kohler RCA model. Knocked a hole in the base that looked like he got a rabid beaver to do it for the conduit stub up. Where he intended to route the wires once he got into that space I don't remember. It was ugly.
hillbilly1
Senior Member
- Location
- North Georgia mountains
- Occupation
- Owner/electrical contractor
The bigger ones with the diesel belly tanks are much easier to pipe straight to the breaker. Saw a picture of one today where they had two 3” sealtite 90’s going into the bottom of the breaker enclosure. I bet they had fun wrestling with that! Didn’t look like more than two inches left between the frame and the breaker enclosure. I would have went into the side!
electrofelon
Senior Member
- Location
- Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
I've done several of these and do not recall it being that big a deal to come in thru the side with seal tight. I think I had to hole saw thru some 1/8 steel, but no biggie with a sharp hole saw, lube, and the right speed.
Birken Vogt
Senior Member
- Location
- Grass Valley, Ca
What I am saying is that if you come in through the side, your conductors will not be in any sort of conduit or enclosure for 12 to 30 inches depending on the side you pick. You remove the door such as to start/stop the unit or check the oil and the conductors are right there in the open.
Whether this will be a problem is a question for the inspector.
Whether this will be a problem is a question for the inspector.
electrofelon
Senior Member
- Location
- Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
I'm pretty sure I was able to run seal tight all the way to the breaker
Birken Vogt
Senior Member
- Location
- Grass Valley, Ca
If you run seal tight straight through the rail and terminate inside the rubber grommet, then yes you can. Is that what you did?
It kind of offends my sensibilities not to terminate on the rail itself. Maybe I need to adjust my expectations.
This would work a lot better on the 24-30 kw generators. When you get to the 38-48-60 they still have the same wireway but the wires and conduits are getting pretty large. And the consequences for mistakes like this would be greater/more difficult.
It kind of offends my sensibilities not to terminate on the rail itself. Maybe I need to adjust my expectations.
This would work a lot better on the 24-30 kw generators. When you get to the 38-48-60 they still have the same wireway but the wires and conduits are getting pretty large. And the consequences for mistakes like this would be greater/more difficult.
hillbilly1
Senior Member
- Location
- North Georgia mountains
- Occupation
- Owner/electrical contractor
Though not required, you could change over to a rigid coupling inside at the frame and continue sealtite the rest of the way if conduit is wanted to the breaker enclosure.
Birken Vogt
Senior Member
- Location
- Grass Valley, Ca
I noted that in an earlier post here. It is a clumsy and ugly thing to do but it does work.
electrofelon
Senior Member
- Location
- Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
I think I used reducing washers and put a seal tite connector where the rubber grommet was? That rings a bell but I would have to look. I think the conductors were 4/0. I remember thinking they could have made better provisions for a side entry. Both of these I am thinking off were mounted right next to the building in a parking lot so it would not have been worth all the work to come in the bottom.
Birken Vogt
Senior Member
- Location
- Grass Valley, Ca
Right next to a building, well until recently these generators had a 5 foot setback, how long ago was this?
And in any case if you are near a building you would have had to come in the side opposite the controller and run all the way across the inside/underside, or else the exhaust would be impinging on the building, was this accomplished?
We had to come in behind some guy with one of these and rotate 180 degrees for this reason, redo all the wiring and the gas, the owners basically ended up paying twice. It was sad.
And in any case if you are near a building you would have had to come in the side opposite the controller and run all the way across the inside/underside, or else the exhaust would be impinging on the building, was this accomplished?
We had to come in behind some guy with one of these and rotate 180 degrees for this reason, redo all the wiring and the gas, the owners basically ended up paying twice. It was sad.
electrofelon
Senior Member
- Location
- Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
These are probably a little less than 5 ft, maybe three to four feet? They are concrete buildings with no windows nearby. I don't remember the orientation of the controller relative to the building.