Do you pull a ground to your new generator or just use a ground rod

I DON'T KNOW. FOR EARTH OR GROUND, ANY BARE METAL ROD SHOULD BE OK. MAKE SURE ROD IS NOT INSULATED OR PAINTED AND CONNECTOR HAS
STRONG FIXED CONTACT WHEN GENERATOR IN USE. USE CONTIUITY METER TO TEST.

put ground rod in the ground

No way of telling because the pic does not show where wire originate. Nice generator but wires could be from other owners own ideas about connections. Where do these wire come out of? How are they connected, to the gen, or from the outlets? Odd, if the schematics dont show them then how are they commected

Please be careful, you need a neutral bond for the GFI outlets to work when you are using the generator as a mobile unit and grounding the generator with a ground rod or building. When you are merging with a building with a grounded system, simply remove the two neutral wires (White) at the generators internal terminals from the generator frame but keep them connected together and terminate connection.

Bonding on a generator questions

Q. If I was to keep the tie between ground and neutral in the generator during standby use, would I have to break the neutral tie coming into home from grid?



A. Never disconnect the neutral line as it enters your house. It is held very well at ground potential. Each transformer is grounded, and every home supplies ground as well. The neutral coming in is the reference to both live lines, and without it, anything connected to either live line could see up to 240VAC depending on what is across the other side. Install a proper transfer panel, and the neutral issue will be taken care of.

Q. Where would I ground the generator at this time in this situation?



A. The generator will be grounded through the extension cord plugging into the transfer panel. Your home should have one ground connection only, adding a ground rod at the generator could create other unwanted safety issues.

Q. At this time is it safe to run an extension cord off generator direct to power a drill for example?



A. Yes. The transfer panel will take care of any neutral and ground bonding issues, provided things are wired correctly.

Q. If I was to lift the neutral to ground in generator and tag generator as floating neutral, then would I leave neutral unbroken in service panel?



A. Yes. The common point for neutral and ground will be provided in the main electrical panel.

Q. Could I use the 15 amp outlets on generator safely in this position to run a drill outside? I see generators with floating neutral have a 15 amp duplex outlet on cabinet also. In this situation would I install a ground at the generator?



A. If you were connected to the house with the four conductor extension cord nothing else will be needed.

Q. If you have a floating neutral generator and use it in a stand alone mode, nothing to do with a home, do you place a ground rod down? What happens with the neutral and ground connections? What about a generator on a truck or trailer?



A. In stand alone use, you should connect to a ground rod. Neutral and ground should also be bonded in the generator. The easiest way to take care of this is with a dummy plug inserted into one of the duplex outlets or the twistlock outlet. Jumper ground and neutral in the plug. A generator on a truck or trailer will follow the same rules for neutral and ground bonding, ground rods, etc.

Q. If the generator is a grounded neutral type and you only run the two live lines to the house in an illegal back feed situation where main disconnect is off but neutral still connected will I have 120 volts available in house between each hot leg and the utility grid system neutral? Would someone get shocked if standing next to generator at that time and touched it creating a path from ground to the generator?



A. The only time I would consider backfeeding a house is if the main lines were torn down and laying on the ground. I did this once after Hurricane Juan caused a tree to tear the lines off a neighbors house. The lines were still connected at the pole and were live once commercial power was restored, but there was no possibility of the generator backfeeding to the street. It took almost two weeks before the power company could get them reconnected. We still turned off the main breaker and installed a padlock to prevent it from being turned back on. The house was totally isolated from the grid so I felt it safe to connect in this manner. The generator connected via a 20 amp two pole breaker in the main panel, and there was power available for everything in the house - well pump, electric stove, all lights, etc. Generator neutral was floating as described above. Power supply was limited, they were careful not to overload and trip the generator breaker.

Q. At the same time I went to a friends home and after killing the main breaker and all 240 breakers ran a 3 wire cord from the generator 240 volt outlet direct to his pump, now isolated from the house panel using both 120 volt lines and ground. I then ran a 12 gauge 20 amp extension cord from the generator duplex outlet to a double male pig tail and back fed a kitchen outlet so he could have lights in the house. 1/2 the house to be exact. This was also a grounded neutral generator but we didn't have a problem. I did however drive a ground rod at the generator.



A. I think you were lucky this time. Electricity can be potentially dangerous and can kill and burn if not used correctly. Double male plugs should never be used as invariably there is exposed 120V on one end. If you miswire one end you can send 120V onto the neutral. At best this will trip a circuit breaker, but not knowing what else is done, could easily create a lethal voltage on the chassis of certain equipment. It gets back to doing something properly or not doing it at all. Why run the risk of personal injury or death?

sounds like the valve is binding in the valve guide

In any power generator installation it is always advisable to have a ground/earth rod (minimum 3 ft/1 metre long) attached to the frame of the generator, especially when connecting ancilliaries such as yuor transfer switch. The Earth and Neutral pins of the output sockets on the generator should also be interconnected. They are usually linked at the factory on assembly.

A true earth ground, as defined by the National Electrical Code, physically consists of a conductive pipe or rod driven into the earth to a minimum depth of 8 feet.

Most every house \ building has an earth ground. Look where the elect meter is installed on your home. Close by at your feet will be an earth ground rod with wire to panel. I think, however, that most people that use a generator just ignore this label. Check your local codes /osha requirements for more information about connecting this ground if used at a job site. Good holidays

Page 39 of the current owners manual for the both EU6500 and the EM5000 generators indicate that there is not a neutral ground bond on these units.

Per the wiring diagram, the ground pin on the outlets is connected to the frame ground of the generators (on both generators). To have grounded electrical service, a bond wire would connect the generator frame to the ground terminal on the transfer switch. The ground system from the breaker / distribution box (usually to a ground rod) then serves as the electrical ground for the generator, as well as the balance of the rest of the system, satisfying NEC requirements.

See Page 39 in both manuals:
EU6500 EM5000

"The system ground is not connected to the AC neutral
wire. If the generator is tested with a receptacle tester, it will not show the same ground circuit condition as for a home receptacle."

Any metal frame part of the generator to any metal plumbing part related to earth ground; plastic in the path anywhere will spoil the connection.
If you can't find plumbing that qualifies, drive a solid copper or plated grounding rod available at any hardware outlet at least 2 feet into the ground and connect this to the generator frame. Generators often have a beefy connection on the frame, sometimes with a wing nut.

First check that you have good continuity on the earth conductor from the 200A switch to the grounding rod and that the connections are tight. Beware any live connectios.

If this is o.k check the condition of the ground rod as best you can looking for any corrosion of the rod.

If this loks o.k you may need to get the impedance (ohms) of the ground connection checked and compare this to the level recommended by the heater/generator supplier.

In the worst case you might need a new ground cable and rod(s) to get the required level.

Hope this will FIxYa.

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