I have available to me right now a 7cm21-rv genny (serial #134213) that I am going to go see, does any one have any exp with this particular model gen? I am ready to step up another rung on the ladder so we can power up both the ac's at once. This would be strictly a trade even deal for my Honda EM-5000 noise maker, owner says the unit runs out fine Undecided Undecided Thanks Ya'll
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V-Man
Go online and see if you can find any comments about it, there is usually some good stuff on SS RV boards.
It looks like a noise buggar to me!!
Those are good generators 1800 rpm uses about 1/2 gph of gasoline under load Sonja said ,the motor home you seen in my shop has one
I thought all these years since 1985 it was a Onan lol not very loud either 2328 hrs showing on the hr meter and Sonja said she never spent a dime for repairs except for oil changes and air filters
I may go fire that baby up before leaving for Scottsdale just for fun it is the same unit as you posted she ran 2 AC's and the microwave with out problems
Update Van she did find a bill for $58 upgrading the engine to soild state from the old points system 58 bucks at Camping World unheard of today lol
That's good hear Cliff, just spoke to the small engine guru in town, said the same thing, thanks!
Gus, thanks..but I am a retired Army Tanker, I d ;Don't hear that well anywho lol!
My kohler generator is very similar not sure of the model no. Mine runs on propane, I have had no problems, It runs great and runs both of my air conditioners, as well as any thing else in the bus, John.
Oh well, the owner upped the anty and wanted 3oo cash on top of the trade and I declined.
Ya know that funny tingle ya get when a good deal is ;D about to happen? It wasn't
Thanks yall, mybe next time!
offer him 150 and see if he bites.
We have a 15 KW Koler and it runs everything including both A/C's and the Microwave at the same time. That should be a good one too. Koler makes great things.
Dave5Cs 8)
A couple days late i know (story of my life! LOL) But just in case something comes around and you find yourself back looking at this unit again, it is the same unit I mounted in our MC-9. Not overly noisy plenty of power for 2 roof a/c's and microwave. I have no complaints. Also I have all the manuals for this model if you might need some info. Hope this might help.
Billy
Thanks Billy, that is good to know. I do have a goal, and getting there will be the toughest part. I have had good luck with our Honda (EM-5000 portable), which had served it's purpose admirably as a portable unit, but now is the time for me to climb one more rung up the ladder and get something more suited for the bus. My goal is to eventually have a 10,000Kw diesel unit, which I cannot afford at this time but will hope to make the transition to an 1800rpm unit capable of running the 2 ac units and have some left over for my other accoutrements ;D the unit I was looking at seemed to fit that bill, but for the owner of said unit a little price gouging seemed to be in order, so I walked ( I can be stubborn too ;D ) away from the deal. But thank you for the response ;) :)
V-Man
Thanks to some good advice I decided to go ahead and make the deal for the 7kw Kohler. went and took a look at it, it ran flawlessly and produced good power under load, now to rewire the bus for 50 amp service. Thanks all for the advice!
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Van, I am happy for you. This will keep you occupied for a few days, LOL. Won't that run 2 ACs? I have a 7.5 Honda in mine and it runs both airs. I bet that is the last generator you buy for a while.
JC
Good for you Van one thing I see missing the seal around the oil filter they need that, it helps in forcing the air through the fins on the head for cooling just so you know buddy
Thanks Clifford, I got one for it, pulled the old one out it was dried up.
JC , Yeah for a few days, I already sent parts to the chrome r :o ;D
This is a good start so that I can finally get rid of that yucky 30 amp ;D But this is just the beginning, 100amp is the eventual goal but this is an improvement. I got no muffler for it (need one :'( ) was thinking up-swept fish tails :o , kinda sounds like a sporty now with drag pipes (bus :o) Whaddya think? LOL!
Feeling all tingly now! ;)
V. ???
Van that's great! I beleive you'll be happy with it at least until you get the opportunity to upgrade to the diesel unit. Like I said before same one we're using and have several different manuals for it if you need any info. I'm not real savy on uploading that kind of stuff to the computer but I will do what ever I can to help if needed.
Best of luck, Billy
Looking good Van. Probably if you stand right next to that one and I park 200 yards away you'll hardly be able to hear mine as long as yours is running.
You guys are awesome thanks! I do have a question on the remote start panel, looks like only the start/stop leads were used (blk/red/brown), can any one tell me what the other 3 wires are used for ( blue/white /Green)? Is this to read voltage/indicator light ? is anyone using the stock kohler remote panel? The PO didn't have one so I guess I will have to construct one. I did manage to down load a PDF for the service manual and parts manual, so I am good there (thanks Billy!)
A Onan remote will work also check my shop there are several remotes for Onan's with the hour meter and there are several HWH slide switches in panels that will work they are neat they have a rocker switch and a key switch you could hook the fuel pump on the key but they are not hard to make just takes a momentary switch
good luck
Van the blue and white are for the hour meter greens not used. There is a install manual on line that shows wire diagram for hooking up remote switches I didn't get the original panel with mine either. When I bought mine and started the install I searched everywhere for the manuals online could find any info for the life of me, Had to buy them all from a kohler dealer (and had to pay way to much!!!!) just did a Google search and they all popped up..... Just my luck LOL
Best of luck, Billy
Hah ha, I just found the install manual :o ;D Ok Looking at the remote hook up schematic, that you are correct that the blue and white are for the hour meter and the indicator light, easy enough but now I'm currious what the green is for ??? back to the book ;D
now comes the fun stuff, the muffler and y-pipe, or is there a dual inlet muffler available? How are you running yer exhaust? I'd hate to have to run dual muffers, more research is in order. thanks again! :)
The green is for the run light ground on the panel on mine what it grounds to the generator I have no idea
Van, mine came with the muffler and yes it is a dual inlet. Billy
Thanks B! I have been scouring the internet for this muffler # 277726 no luck yet, might have to get creative ;)
Van if it helps they use a Nelson muffler
Hello Van,
I wned one of these at one time. They are great units! You probably alreeady know this but this unit is strictly 120 volts. No 240 split phase unless it has been re-wired.
Best regards,
Rusty
Van, MPG Service Inc. Out of little rock seems to have quite a bit of knowledge on these units. I used them for my remote switches and manuals. You might give them a try for a replacement, I would guess they could at least get you heading in the right direction. They have a web site but not much for parts listing online more just company info. Thier number is 1-501-565-0009.
Billy
I found this site: http://www.rvmechanic.com/current_category.181/Forum.137483/offset.61/forum_thread_full.html (http://www.rvmechanic.com/current_category.181/Forum.137483/offset.61/forum_thread_full.html)
which led to this part: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200381957_200381957?isSearch=169998 (http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200381957_200381957?isSearch=169998)
Does that help?
Rusty, thank you, I did notice how the jumper connecting the 2 legs to the circuit breakers on the unit, I am curious on how (if possible) we might be able to work this. Our coach is wired for 30 amp temporarily at the moment, wiring for 50 was the initial goal, but was not feasible at the time. This will take some more careful research on my part as I am no electrician ;D ;D
Billy, I will look into giving those folks a jingle too, thanks for the number, much appreciated!
Thanks Len! wore my fingers to the bone searching the web to no avail but did cross these posts at least a few times, but the fella eventually had a shop do the repair.
This Kohler unit has no Y-pipe in the mix, the 2 exhaust headers go straight down into a double inlet on the stock Kohler muffler which is great if I could find the exact replacement. The alternative is to fab up a two into one header, which will allow me my choice of muffler to bring this (as B.O.T.N would say) noise maker under control lol!
Clifford, I will look into Nelson and see if there is one available, if not fabbing a header will most likely be my best bet. The easiest alternative is just to run 2 separate mufflers out the backof the bus, heck at least I can make it look like I have an 8-V71 lol!
Thanks Fella's but today I have to get back to the shop full of Hadley's, whose owners have agreed to throw all kinds of dough my way to fund my genny project lol!. ;D ;D ;D
Onward and upward
Van :)
O boy a generator with chrome fish tails I can see this one coming lol the do sound cool with duals
good luck
I had a similar commercial Onan 6.5 with Vacuflo cooling where the air is sucked over the engine then blown out the bottom in my big rig truck (the Kohler pushes the air over then is vented out the bottom on either side). Since the Kohler is a flathead engine, you'll have to decarbon it every so often-it tells you when it needs it-it starts to knock. One way I kept the carbon built up to a minimum was to keep at least a 1500 watt load on it at all times-which in my case was simply running the block heater.
Find out what the ignition system is-on my Onan the points were a pain-and converted it to electronic. Also, make sure you understand how to adjust the carb to lean it out when you're in high altitude. Change the oil every 100 hours, and it will last many years-my first Onan had over 12,000 hours on it before it quit. When I did run the gen at night, I placed a box fan outside next to the exhaust pipe to blow the fumes away from the sleeper-course this is in a truck stop with close parking. Only pain is using two fuels. Personally like Diesels much better. Good Luck, TomC
Yup diesel is the way I would like to go, but this is a step closer in the mean time. I did notice this unit has been running a little rich, but until I get the exhaust dialed in not much use in trying to retune at this point. And speaking of points, the ones in the unit appear to have been replaced... just not gaped very correctly.
I have been mulling over the schematics for the different models, there are 2 7000 units in the installation manual one rated for 120/240 and mine at just 120v. The only difference that I can see at the moment, is that mine has a jumper at the circuit breaker and the 120/240 unit does not, easy fix I thinks to my self right, well not so fast there buck-a-roo, with out a full understanding of this set up I'm not willing to venture into uncharted (for me) waters till I sort this out. My buddy Paul the elec contractor has offered to have a look see. More to come! Right now gonna make a template (courtesy of the manual) so's I can get this 350lb beast mounted in it's new home.
I converted my Powertech generator from 240 volt to 120 volt. One of the instructions as part of the conversion was to place a jumper between the two breakers on the output. The jumper may be there for a very good reason.
The purpose of the jumper is to balance the loads between the two legs. Mine is setup the same way. Matter of fact, the jumper between the two is the only difference between 120 and 240 setup on mine.
My point exactly, that jumper may be there for a reason that I am unaware of at this moment. For those that might be following along, here is the install manual with the schematics for mine (7cm21) and just below it the 7cm61 which is pretty much the same that I can see, cept for the jumper going into the double circuit breaker. So if anyone wants to jump in and help it would sure be a help ;). thanks Mucho bunches ;D ;D
Edit. Helps if I put a link up huh! dummy me, see I need all the help I can get ;D ;D ;D
http://campkahler.com/files/kohler-7cm21-rv-installation-manual-tp5005.pdf (http://campkahler.com/files/kohler-7cm21-rv-installation-manual-tp5005.pdf)
Page 29 for mine and page 30 for the 120/240 model :)
IMHO, unless you are planning on running any 240 loads, leave the jumper and just run 120. I originally wired mine as 240, but later changed to 120. I have no 240 loads, and being wired as 120 with the jumper between the two legs, it will always be balanced across the two legs. There has been some speculation that running unbalanced for a prolonged period of time can damage the generator head. If it's true or not I don't know, but I'm not willing to be the Guinea pig with my money.
Where are all the generator gurus when we need one you guys are confusing the hell out of me I thought a true 220v generator had 2 hot 110v legs a neutral and ground
Matt's generator uses both 110 legs for balance nothing in his coach tied to just one 110v leg then he has a 240v cook top so I don't understand the jumper at the generator ?
Clifford, on mine there are 2 separate 120 legs feeding the double breaker on the generator (called circuit interrupter), but only to one side of the breaker with a jumper feed to the second breaker. On the other side of the breakers going out there are one seperate leg on each to feed the breaker box on the coach. What Thomas says makes a little sense about the load being balanced that way thru the jumper. No, I don't plan on having any 240v appliances, the biggest loads will be from my 2 1350 btu Colemans. I know this is probably simpler than meets the eye. The other 7000 kohler mentioned, the 7cm61 (120/240) is as Thomas mentioned is for 240 powered appliances, which makes it an even pull off each 120v leg. Where as if I pull the jumper off and connect the 2 legs feeding the generators double breakers separately would make it unbalanced because of no actual 240 draw. Clear as mud Huh! ??? ???
They way I read this is you are saying the generator needs to be wired for 240 or 120 outside the head why ?
There is obviously more to changing from 120 to 240 than just removing a jumper. There has to be some internal rewiring as well. Otherwise, the jumper would be a dead short across 240 volts (GO BOOM).
Looking at the wiring for the 7CM21-RV, the 120 volt leads connect to terminals 2 and 4, and with the neutral on goes to term 1, 3 and ground.
On the model 7CM61 which is the 120/240 model, L1 connects to term 4, L2 connects to term 1 and the neutral connects to term 2, 3 and ground.
All removing the jumper would do is remove power from one of the breakers.
Clifford, this is where I fall off the edge with elec lol. I am gonna need to re-wire my bus to take advantage of the available 50 amp at the rv parks, I know... you told me early on to just go ahead and set up for 50A, in the beginning ( I think that was the one and only time I had never taken you advice :-[ ;D). To set up for 50A I know I am gonna need two hots(120V ea.) one neutral, and a ground. Now wiring this stuff up in the coach I'll probably use an 8 or 10 gauge (what ever I can lay my hands on ::) ;D) wire. I got the pig tail, no biggy. Where I get lost is, I checked the schematic and am thrown off kilter when I saw the jumper wire in there feeding the two circuit breakers. Thomas posted something that kinda clicked, it was about "Balanced Load (s)" so I think I am starting to understand it now, the jumper keeps the load balanced when wired for 120V-50A only. Removing the jumper, allows for two separate 120V hots when using appliances requiring 240V to operate on. So how am I doing so far? I'm ready ta drop back three and punt ;D ;D ;D ;D
BZZZZZZZZ :o :o
Len there are two hots attached at the first breaker, the jumper goes across to the second breaker, thanks fer lookin at the schematic by the way ;) :)
Some photos might help here, I'll go git em" ;D
Van we will be home for a couple of days this weekend I have a bunch of MC cable we removed from the building here come get it save your money it only will cost you a Burger King I am not losing count of the burgers lol
good luck
OK Clifford, I might splurge and take ya up town to Carls lol!
Here are a few photos, first one is the top view, Breakers, flex pigtail
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Second shot, wires 4-2 along with jumper on a three way spade connector hooked to the first breaker w/jumper feeding the second breaker. The two leads on the other side are from the connection pig tail.
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Here the pig tail (oink! ;D)comes in,top/left the grey LO and the green are grounded on the stud
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Wire 1-3 coming from the wire tied bundle are grounded to the chasis via the green screw.
;) ;)
I would wire any motor home generator under about 8 KW for 120 volts. It eliminates any concern about load balance and is just simpler to deal with.
The shore power, of course, would be wired for 120/240.
To anyone else reading and following this thread...DO NOT simply "throw in a jumper" and think you are going to "balance" your generator. Most generators are reconfigured inside the head by moving jumper wires around INSIDE the head. If anyone is planning on changing anything about the way your generator is wired, you MUST get the manuals and do it the way YOUR generator is designed to be wired. My generator head is not reconfigurable, it is designed to be able to connect the two 120v leads for a load balanced operation. Yours may not be. You need to find out, don't just do it because "someone else did and it worked for them". IF YOU LET THE SMOKE OUT, DON'T BLAME ME! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
Well all that being said, I thin I learned how this style/vintage gens are set up for 120V and 120/240V thanks y'all :) made a template and sized it in the old ac condenser comp, gonna have to do a lil' alteration so I can get it mounted in there, we're on a roll! ;)
V. Man, I can see having to do another trip down to your country to see your genny install, LOL.
JC
Come on down JC. The weather is fine ;D
Just an observation based on my experience. I have a 7CKM21-RV which has two 120V breakers. I connected the output from those two breakers and fed it into my 30amp panel. Seems to work fine. It will run two roof airs.
But I've noticed the voltage regulation isn't very consistent and have heard that complaint about these older 7K Kohlers. Seems like the hotter the ambient temperature gets, the lower the output voltage gets. I know how to adjust the rheostats on the regulator but it will run all day at about 123 volts until things start getting hot; then the voltage will work its way down to about 108. Of course the current increases as the voltage drops. I usually only run one AC with it and seem to get by.
FWIW - Fred
Fred, that's what I decided to do. Being as the two hots are joined and jumped before the breakers. Speaking of breakers, does any one have a lead on replacements the two on this unit are shot. 25amp, thanks ;)
Van