Sine Wave Inverter Anomaly
After following this recent discussion about how to best utilize a sine wave inverter for RV use I decided to go ahead and buy the 1000 watt model mentioned in this discussion since it was on sale for...
Forum Discussion
ktmrfs wrote:
If your trailer is wired to code, ground and neutral CANNOT be bonded together anywhere in the trailer when it is plugged into shore power. Code only allows bonding at the main distribution panel for the power. That is (a) the breaker panel in your house (b) the breaker panel at the campground etc.
Check your trailer with an ohmmeter. if it is wired to code you will find 'infinite" resistance between the neutral and ground if you check at the main plug.
Returning to this earlier comment from ktmrfs I have now measured my trailer with an ohmmeter and did find "infinite" resistance between neutral and ground, so the trailer is wired correctly, is not bonded, and does meet code just as one would expect with a 2014 model trailer. So WHY when I plug the trailer's main service cable into the inverter's floating neutral output does doing so seem to nonetheless "sort of" bond the inverter's neutral to ground (as brulaz put it)? :h A house breaker panel or campground breaker panel is earth grounded by definition but with a genset or standalone inverter one would have to drive a large metal stake into the ground at each campsite and physically ground the genset or inverter chassis to the metal stake to achieve an actual earth ground. That's obviously impractical so the question then is whether it's preferable to simply ignore the issue OR electrically bond neutral to ground at it's source, in this case either my EU2000i or 1000 watt inverter. :@ Judging from the varied responses so far to this topic that seem to support arguments in both directions I'm not so convinced now there is a definitive answer. :h
