Electrical Management Systems questions
I'm considering installing a hard wired EMS. I recently saw a thread, that I can't find again, that implied these EMS systems will not work with an inverter generator supplying the trailer. I real...
Forum Discussion
cavie wrote:road-runner wrote:
There is no issue with using an inverter generator. The issue is with the generator having a floating output as opposed to a bonded neutral. Some non-inverter small generators also have a floating output. When the EMS senses a lack of continunity between the ground and neutral wires, it mis-diagnoses the situation as an open ground. The plug-in outlet testers make the same incorrect diagnosis.
One slight correction. It is diagnosing the situation exactly correct. Open ground. In a main service panel the ground and neutral are bonded together. Every panel after that is a sub-panel and the neutral and grounds are kept separate.
The generator is the Power Company and is the place that the neutral and grounds are bonded. Since the generator is not bonded, the ground is not connected. Think OPEN. Hence the OPEN GROUND indicator. Someday Gen manufacturers are gonna wake up.
This is kinda getting off subject but would you explain why sub-panels should not be bonded? I ran into this issue a couple of years ago when I was installing my whole house generator with automatic transfer switch. I'm obviously not a trained electrician and I'm still having trouble (after a lot of reading and research) in understanding this.
