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I bought a 4000 watt generator the other day for our camping trips. In looking at the owners manual, it says you HAVE to ground it. I've never seen anyone ground a generator. Is that something I have to do? It says use g gauge wire with a rod that's 24" in the ground
They all say that.....but, I have been useing mine for years and have not grounded it. It probably would be a good idea in case something went wrong but anyhow, I have never done it.
thanks. I've never seen anyone do it
I always ground mine if per chance the surface is damp you can get hurt.
Have never grounded mine but it probably is a good idea.
I have a couple 4x 4 posts I'll get it off the ground abit. Gonna build a noise box for it with a fan to keep it cool.
You gonna take the box camping too?
Yeh. Gonna make one I can fold up, then put together at where ever I am. Gonna use plywood and sound board, some hinges n hooks
Grounding it provides an isolated ground from the neutral. Without it, it would be the same as tying the neutrals (white wires) and grounds (green or bare wires) on the same bus in your electrical panel at home. That will be okay as long as you don't run sensitive electronics or some certain electric motors. Just thought I'd mention it.
Grounding your generator is for safety. Equipment like lights and appliances are built with exposed metal surfaces at ground/neutral potential. On a grounded electrical system, this is safe because the voltage between the soil and these cases is zero. If the power source isn't grounded there is nothing to control the voltage between the soil under your feet and the things that are tied to the generator neutral like metal cases and posts. That can result in a shock hazard.
I bought a small generator for a 4 day camp trip. I left it in the truck. Used it to air up the bed, lights at night and coffee in the morning. The last morning the yellow reset button wouldn't reset. The lady at the shop said, "you didn't ground it, did you?" A simple ground is to stripe back the insulation about a foot on the wire. Wet the ground down and park a tire on it. Everytime out, add more water to the tire. Pee on it if you want to.
Think I'll get a ground rod after reading all this lol
Maybe it would have helped if you had put a splitter on the ground wire and used two tires???
Most all generators will say " floating neutral " either on the front of the gen or in paperwork.......... those need to be grounded. the much more expensive inverter gens operate on a different principle and don't need grounding.
Also If you are trying to quite a loud generator check out youtube there are a bunch of videos on adding a small car type muffler that seems to work well.... You dont have to mount it to where it is a permanent install............
Just cranked it up for the first time and it's really not loud. Got it from harbor freight. Predator 4000 wt peak generator. Not bad for less than $300
It's easy to add a small muffler on it and make it real quiet
My truck was backed in to the tent, head of the bed, about 5 foot away. The canopy was on the front of the tent. We could hear the neighbors generator over ours. It was bigger, on wheels for ac in their camper.
You could make some T post with 2x4s and staple cardboard to it. Place it between you and the generator, I don't think you would hear it then.
Don't you remember your Army training DD? Dig a hole for it.