Exercise genny while on shore power?
New to on board generators. Parked for the winter with 50 amp service, and it's time to exercise the genny. Do I have to disconnect first? 2006 Bounder, Onan 5500, ATS
Forum Discussion
4x4van wrote:way2roll wrote:
Not just hearsay, I've heard of real cases of things getting screwed up when running the genny and shore power at the same time.
Ummmmm....isn't that the very definition of "heresay"?;)
Seriously, there is no need to disconnect, but it is a good idea to shut down any heavy loads (A/C, WH, etc) prior to firing up the generator. If the transfer switch works, it will simply switch over to generator power (after a short delay for warm up/rpm settling). If it doesn't, it will remain on shore power. There really is very little possibility for it to connect to both at the same time. The contacts can only be in one position at a time; it is a "break, then make" system.
I'm glad you said "very little possibility for it to connect to both at the same time." That is tacit admission that it is possible and could happen. That is the perfect rationale for unplugging first. Small risk but large consequences, with piddly (a technical term) effort required to absolutely prevent.
