Home Designed 12'- 24' POLE SAW

[Craig Clayton]

Dear Mace Canute
The neutral on my portable generator is floating. This is stated on the front name plate of the machine. The neutral can be also bonded to the ground on other machines but that should be stated on the front name plate.
I hope I did not imply that a floating neutral generator needs to be grounded to work, because they do not.
When you use a GFI recetpacle from a house based power supply it measures the current leaving hot wire through the power tool and returning on the neutral. If the inbalance exceeds a set valve it trips.
When you use a portable generator with a floating neutral nothing should go wrong, except unless it has leakage. If the generator is sitting on rubber tires it is insulated from ground. If a winding is poor there could be a inbalance and stray voltage generated. If the frame is refereced to ground and you are also standing in wet soil the inbalance should leak off to ground and not be a source of potential to you.
Craig Clayton

 

[BigE_]

From
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/pdf/manuals/31Z07610.pdf
Page 17
Honda portable generators have a system ground that connects
generator frame components to the ground terminals in the AC output
receptacles. The system ground is not connected to the AC neutral
wire. If the generator is tested by a receptacle tester, it will not show
the same ground circuit condition as for a home receptacle.

Also, on page 14, there is a ground terminal provided on the generator.

 

[Craig Clayton]

Dear BigE
I believe we are talking the same language. I read the Honda page 17 and that tells me the neutral is floating,because it is not connected to system ground. On page 14 there is a frame ground. This is what I brought to light in my first post. The ground rod was a frame ground. Because I am pulling the generator around on rubber tires I provided a path to ground if there was any leakage current instead of posssibily through me.
I am a licenced electrician and (no )we do not like shocks.
The hydro supply authority are getting very touchy about back feeds from home generators. They pulled my primary fuse to work on the pole and clamped a ground jumper on. So if I had a home generator wired wrong and it tried to back feed to the grid it would short out. They do not like shocks, and they get very upset when they find generators plugged in backwards.
Craig Clayton

 

[Mace Canute]

Here's a bunch of information on Portable generator neutral rewiring plus some on Bad Generator Installations and some on Home generator installation and also some information about neutral bonding http://members.rennlist.org/warren/Gen_Panels_Appl_Note_EN.pdf
The author of "Generator neutral and ground rewiring" states "My personal opinion (and that of others who I have discussed the issue with) is that floating neutral is safer for stand alone operation" and he goes on to explain his opinion but he also states "To meet electrical code requirements for stand alone operation, neutral and ground should be bonded together".
Lots of very good information and a fairly deep read for anyone not up on their electrical theory. Heck! Fairly deep for some of us that are! Enjoy!