Craig Clayton
Platinum Member
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
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