Grounding Rod For Portable Generators Necessary?

[eastexan]

The instructions (below) that came with my new 5500w portable generator says to install a ground rod at least 24" deep.
I'm going to be using it to power my welding machine, power tools, air compressor, etc. from the back of my farm trailer, wherever it's needed.

Maybe I've led a sheltered life, but I never heard of this before. I guess it makes sense, but I've never known anyone that's actually pounded in a ground rod before using their generator.
Also, you don't see guys with Miller Bobcats in the back of their trucks pounding in ground rods where they're working.

Is this just the manufacturer covering himself, or is this actually written as code?

Grounding The Generator:
GROUNDING TERMINAL(9)#6 AWG GROUNDING WIRE(NOT INCLUDED) GROUNDING ROD(NOT INCLUDED)
FIGURE B
Note: It is recommended that only a licensed electrician perform this procedure.

Connect a #6 AWG grounding wire (not included) from the Grounding Terminal (9) on the Generator to a grounding rod (not included) that has been driven at least 24 inches deep into the earth. The grounding rod must be an earth-driven copper or brass rod (electrode) which can adequately ground the Generator. (See Figure B.)

 

[bcp]

Note: It is recommended that only a licensed electrician perform this procedure.

And they want you to call an electrician to hook it to the ground rod every time you move it!

Bruce

 

[Rustyiron]

I think it might be osha bullsh!t, we used to get warned about that (while the genny was sitting there in 3" of mud!)
Been using portable generators for 30 years on the job and have never grounded it, he!! it sits on the ground:laughing:

 

[Clint S]

Never grounded mine either. Use it to power the house when the power is out and to run the welder, out in the bush on the farm. Never an issue.

 

[BeezFun]

Sounds like the lawyers ran out of work and started writing the owners manual to me. I've thought about attaching a GFI protected receptacle to my generator trailer and connecting through that. That's better protection than an earth ground. When it's connected to the house to provide power, the prong on the receptacle causes it to be connected to the house's equipment ground. Most tools I use in the field are double insulated and don't have a ground prong anyhow.

 

[deereman75]

I have only ever seen one person using a ground rod on a gen set, and since the thing was running some christmas lights, the ground was compleaty useless.

 

[DonnieP]

I know they ground the big portable gen sets to dissapate static while fueling. They would be fueling them with truck and pump, not a five gallon can.

Donnie

 

[whistlepig]

All the outlets on my Honda generator are GFI protected. Even at that they recommend that this generator be grounded. Last February we had an ice storm and lost power. I picked up the portable generator with the loader, sit it on the covered back porch, and hooked it up. By that time it was 50 degrees in the house, the tractor and I were sheathed in a half inch of ice, and I sure as heck didn't want to be playing with a ground wire. And also the GFI's on the Honda are temperamental. Too much moisture in the air or a fine blowing snow will cause the GFI's to kick out in the middle of the night for no reason. The dealer told me that the GFI's on the Honda are easy to kick out and offered to wire the generator to bypass the GFI's when I bought it new. I believe in safety when safety is reasonable to do.

 

[BobRip]

It is code to ground a generator, over 5000 watts, if memory serves me. I don't have a code book handy. If you are using the thing in the same spot most of the time, why not put in a rod? I read an article on this and the forensic inspector who wrote the article spoke highly of doing this. can you get by without it? Sure, most of the time. The other time will kill you. However, if it's raining, you have some high risk. He had investigated a death in these conditions.

 

[whistlepig]

It is code to ground a generator, over 5000 watts, if memory serves me. I don't have a code book handy. If you are using the thing in the same spot most of the time, why not put in a rod? I read an article on this and the forensic inspector who wrote the article spoke highly of doing this. can you get by without it? Sure, most of the time. The other time will kill you. However, if it's raining, you have some high risk. He had investigated a death in these conditions.

Sometimes just having some common sense is good enough. There comes a time when no matter what man made gadjet is out there to protect you it may be just not enough to protect you. Are GFI and ground rods a good idea? They certainly are. Would I trust my life to either one of them or the combination of both? I don't think so.

 

[eastexan]

Thanks everyone for your input. I've come up with a game plan :thumbsup:

Since ground rods come in 8' lengths, I think I'll cut one in two and use one half where I would be using it at the house in case of power outage and put the rod permanently in the ground there.
And the other half I will keep with the generator in case I decide to use it when I'm out and about, working on the property.

As for working where the generator will constantly be moving (e.g. working along a fence line), I'll probably not use the ground rod as long as it's fair dry weather.

If, for some reason I have to work in inclement weather, I'll use the ground rod.
Of course, for that I'll need to hire a licensed electrician to ride around with me all day to take care of the ground rod installation. :mur: :laughing:

 

[Putter]

We were on generator power last spring and using a small 3000 watt generator. My wife was using an expensive sewing machine and it fried the circuit board. I always wondered if it was because there was no ground.

 

[jonyyuma]

Just a note..Putter. if you do it again, You should use a surge protector strip on small appliances. Gen-sets can cause a lot of havoc if not tuned..A lot of people get away with them just like they came out of the box. But vibration or handling can change the settings as in voltage or frequency.

 

[eastexan]

jonyyuma, do you think using a good surge protector would protect a LCD tv while using a generator?
I used a generator a few years ago when our electricity was out and powered our old tv on it. But I'm kind of reluctant to try our new tv on one without some sort of protection.
It seems that a lot of things have some sort of computer or electronics on them anymore.

BTW, are you "panther quick and leather tough" as the song goes? :laughing:

 

[jonyyuma]

Ya know I forgot about that line in the song. Ya might say he was one of my heros...I do have pair of 44's, but it is illegal to cut down a shotgun, like he carried.But you can bet I am a Rebel...My other guy was John Wayne...We used some nice surge protectors to cover genset surges and spikes, the battery backup units cover more expensive stuff. I still shutter when we hook up a computer to one or electronic cash register. Any thing over 120 volts can pop componants, we like 115 to 117.My home drops to 107 on a hot day, when everyone is dragging on the utilitys.

 

[jonyyuma]

easttexas, BTW I always hammer that rod into the ground. I cannot afford to have a law suit and the law says it will be done...regardless. It is a half, unless they are watching, we use a hammerdrill with adapter to sink tough ones. If we cannot pull it when thru. Just drive it into the ground where no-one can catch a foot..If you don't use a groundrod there is a change of not enought fault to trip a breaker, but less than 1/2 amp can stop a heart, not always, but some of the time..Murphy's law..

 

[deereman75]

less than 1/2 amp can stop a heart

Actually, only 5/1000 of an amp, at the heart can kill you.

 

[2549]

The ground the owners manual calls for is most likely for a case ground. Should the generator develop an internal fault it could hot up the generator case and frame and you could shock yourself by touching the unit if it was faulted so.

Its not needed for generation of power. It's an operator safety concern.

 

[eastexan]

Ya know I forgot about that line in the song. Ya might say he was one of my heros...I do have pair of 44's, but it is illegal to cut down a shotgun, like he carried.But you can bet I am a Rebel...My other guy was John Wayne....

Yeah, I sang that song so much when I was growing up that I don't think I'll ever forget it. :laughing:
I knew about all the theme songs. But my 2 favorites was that one, and Rawhide. They both were catchy tunes, and I'd be singing them to the top of my lungs while pitching hay to the cows.

There were lots of good westerns back then. I think there were more westerns on tv than hair on a dogs back. But us kids loved them all. :laughing:

 

[ray66v]

We were on generator power last spring and using a small 3000 watt generator. My wife was using an expensive sewing machine and it fried the circuit board. I always wondered if it was because there was no ground.

My guess is it happened because the generator did not supply clean enough power.

You should use a computer back up power supply, (UPS), between the generator, and electronic appliances until you know your generator set up is safe for your equipment. The UPS is designed to filter the power, and make it safe.

Generally inexpensive generators are not good for supplying clean power.

The ground rods are to protect the user, in the even to a short in the generator. If it functions as it should, you won't need it. If the generator ever fails, and shorts out, it could be very dangerous. Without a good ground, you could become the ground, and that's not going to be good.