Portable Generator Grounding

[marspec]

I have purchased a pair of Honda 2000s and will parallel them. My fiver has a hard wired Progressive. I know I need to provide a ground by connecting a plug to the generators with the neutral and ground connected. The question is: Make up a plug for one generator or both?

[marspec]

So what does the 100K resistor do?

[Bobbo]

Go to a big box hardware store and buy a replacement 3 prong plug. Get a small wire, it doesn't need to be big, you are only having it see a connection, not carrying current. A single strand off of a stranded wire is sufficient. Connect the NEUTRAL prong to the GROUND prong. DO NOT HOOK ANY WIRE TO THE HOT PRONG! Now, plug that into an outlet ON THE GENERATOR itself.

[MrWizard]

if you wire the plug wrong you will fry the Honda

stick to turning off the the PI unit

[milo]

OK Bobbo ... for this D A .. how do I make a plug? I have always just turned the switch off on the remote cuz that's what the Progressive guy told me to do.

[Bobbo]

VAWinger wrote:
Does your Progressive EMS have a remote display with a switch? If so, all you need to do is just turn the switch off when you run the generator.

The switch turns all the other sensors off except for surge protection.

No, better to make the plug. That way you can't forget to turn the PI bypass off later, and the PI system is still protecting your rig from a generator malfunction. Just need to bond (that is the term) one of them while they are connected.

[VAWinger]

Does your Progressive EMS have a remote display with a switch? If so, all you need to do is just turn the switch off when you run the generator.

The switch turns all the other sensors off except for surge protection.

[MrWizard]

Ground is the Wrong Term

Nothing is grounded,
The adapter plug provides a "Bond" between the floating neutral and the ground lug of the duplex plug

This bond/continuity is what the EMS wants to sense, it is what is expected on utility power from the power company

The Honda cables do not provide this bonding function
They connect/parallel the existing wires
They do not cross connect Aka bond the neutral and ground lugs

[2oldman]

marspec wrote:
.. a hard wired Progressive. I know I need to provide a ground by connecting a plug to the generators with the neutral and ground connected.

Perhaps I need schoolin' here. Why wouldn't the regular Honda cables provide your grounding? Are you using Honda cables..? kinda hard to tell from your response.

[marspec]

I'll be using ready made cables.

Thanks for the responses.

[time2roll]

For additional safety you can make the bond plug with a 100,000 ohm 1/2 watt resistor.

[Bobbo]

smkettner wrote:
Or just use the PI bypass.

No, better to make the plug. That way you can't forget to turn the PI bypass off later, and the PI system is still protecting your rig from a generator malfunction. Just need to bond (that is the term) one of them while they are connected.

[time2roll]

Or just use the PI bypass.

[2oldman]

What are you using for parallel cables?

[ScottG]

Since they are paralleled, one should work.