3000W Chinese Gensets Info.

I have been using my ELIM3000 for about 4 weeks now (4 days a week [Mon-Thur] for about 4hrs/night). Always starts up on first pull. Only thing I have noticed is the 110VAC recepticle is not very well made. Contacts loosen up over time.

We covered this problem several weeks back. The forum has gotten so large, it is difficult to sort through!

Anyway, the 110 volt duplex outlet that is installed on the ELM3000 is inadequate. The same may be true on the ELM's brothers and sisters. Not only is the outlet's construction weak, it is not polarized like standard USA 110 outlets (On the Chinese version, the netural slot is the same size as the hot slot). This keeps the user from plugging in any two prong device with a polarized cord.

The outlet should be replaced .

If you visit Home Depot, Lowe's or some other Home store, you will find 15 amp residential grade outlets for around .59 cents each. These outlets are to be avoided for this swap. What you want to purchase is a SPECIFICATION grade 20 amp outlet. These will be about $3.50 each. You can also add a few extra bucks to the bill and get a Hospital Grade outlet, which may be even better.

When replacing the outlet, just remember the silver screw is the one for the white wire (netural), the gold screw goes to the black wire (hot) and the green screw gets the grounding wire. If the wires inside your generator are a different color (and they very well may be) just be sure to get the correct wire back on the same side it came off of.

One other note on the use of these generators and grounding safety. Portable generators are usually operated "above" true ground potential. Thus, you will effectively be using a power source that does not have a grounding connection if you do not attach the frame of the generator to an existing earth ground. I know that this step is often overlooked and even misunderstood. While it may be a lot of trouble, carrying a 4 foot grounding rod with you may not be a bad idea. Just hammer it into the ground and attach a copper wire of at least 12 AWG from the generator frame to the ground. If this is not practical, carry a piece of steel, like the solid galvanized cover for a 4" square outlet box. Drill a hole in the steel plate, put in a nut and bolt and run a wire from the bolt in the steel plate to the generator frame and put the steel plate under the RV tire so it is in contact with DIRT (not gravel or pavement). The dirt needs to be damp - dry earth is a poor conductor. Ideally the metal frame of the RV should also be connected to this grounding plate or rod.

Not to try and teach a lesson here (but that is my profession), there is a difference in ground and grounding in electrical jargon. Grounding is considered to be the "third" wire which is green jacketed or bare copper. The grounding wire is what carries a fault from an appliance case or contact surface safely to earth ground rather than through you. If the grounding connection is not complete to earth ground, and a fault should occur in a non protected circuit, you could get a serious shock! Many sources incorrectly call the groundING wire a ground wire.