eb6500 Honda. to travel trailer

[Itasca55]

I have a nephew that wants to use my eb6500 Honda generator in back of his truck. For trailer air conditioner My question is about grounding.
Should generator be on a rubber mate in back of the truck ?
Are all travel trailer unbonded like motorhomes? Should he use the 3 prong 30 amp to RV adapter. Or the 4 prong so he has GFI but only one leg ? It's the first time using the eb 6500 like this any pointers would be great ..he's got little kids so we want it hooked up as safe as we can .. thanks for any input .

Itasca55

[Itasca55]

It's pretty complicated the dealer is in the Twin Cities that's in Minnesota. They sell and maintain Motorhomes and Travel Trailer. And sell both Honda and cummings Onan Generators ..It's a big place .

Itasca55

[SoundGuy]

Itasca55 wrote:
Just talked to Honda generator Onan dealer it needs to be unbonded . Thanks for all your input. This trailer has no EMS .. I just ordered a 30 amp surge protector also
He will be all set up correctly.

I have no idea what "Honda generator Onan dealer" means :h but a travel trailer will accept the generator output whether it's bonded or a floating neutral. :R

Opening another can of worms, just which make / model of "surge protector" did your order? ... and more to the point why if this trailer is to be powered by your EB6500? :h As previously noted, some devices that are inserted between the generator output and trailer input will interpret a generator's floating neutral as an open ground and refuse to pass power to the trailer ... so it very much depends on what you mean by "surge protector" as to whether this will be an issue for you or not if you remove your EB6500's G-N bond. 😉

[Itasca55]

Just talked to Honda generator Onan dealer it needs to be unbonded . Thanks for all your input. This trailer has no EMS .. I just ordered a 30 amp surge protector also
He will be all set up correctly .

Itasca55

Hope this helps out others. It was a 45 min phone call lol

[rbpru]

Where is the potentially troublesome circuit?

The generator has L1 the "Live" voltage leg. L2 the return voltage leg often connected to the neutral wire, and L3, a neutral wire that acts like a back up return line if L2 opens.

You just plug your TT into the generator. There is nothing mystical here.

In homes L2 and L3 are often the connected to a ground rod driven into the earth to provide the same reference ground circuit as the power company, should an appliance develop a short to the chassis.

With a generator the power goes to the TT and back to the generator. The neutral provided a second return path.

Just for reference; there is no such thing as a quiet generator, they are noisy or less noisy. Also unless you are alone, there is no good time of day to run a generator, they are only annoying or very annoying to the neighbors, depending on the time of day.

Good Luck

[SoundGuy]

Itasca55 wrote:
he's got little kids so we want it hooked up as safe as we can

DownTheAvenue wrote:
Let me understand this. With the kids, then safety is a priority. Leave the kids home, and who gives a rat's a$$, throw caution to the wind and electrocute anyone who touches the trailer!

Itasca55 wrote:
What's your point ?

His point is this has nothing to do with your question, safety is safety regardless of who is using the trailer. :R And far as your answer is concerned it's in your EB6500's owner's manual and the "whys" explained further by myself, among others. 🙂

[Itasca55]

DownTheAvenue wrote:

Itasca55 wrote:
.he's got little kids so we want it hooked up as safe as we can

Let me understand this. With the kids, then safety is a priority. Leave the kids home, and who gives a rat's a$$, throw caution to the wind and electrocute anyone who touches the trailer!

What's your point ? If your such wizard awnser the dam question . Instead of carrying on aimlessly.

Itasca55

[DownTheAvenue]

Itasca55 wrote:
.he's got little kids so we want it hooked up as safe as we can

Let me understand this. With the kids, then safety is a priority. Leave the kids home, and who gives a rat's a$$, throw caution to the wind and electrocute anyone who touches the trailer!

[SoundGuy]

Itasca55 wrote:
So I get this straight .. He's got trailer that's a 30 amp .. I bought the Honda 30 amp to RV adapter to use.. and on a travel trailer it should be unbonded .

You're making this more complicated than it needs to be. Honda's EU series of inverter gensets are intended for general portable / recreational use and as such have floating neutral outputs which will power an RV just fine by simply plugging the trailer into the genset. However, those also running an EMS to protect their trailer's electrical system discover that the EMS interprets this floating neutral as an open ground and will refuse to pass power to the coach. The solution is to either remove the EMS and not use it at all OR install a bonding plug on the output of the genset. OTOH your Honda EB6500 is an open frame, synchronous contractor genset so in order to meet OSHA requirements the gensets in this EB series have a bonded output. Therefore, since an EU series that has been bonded will power an RV just fine so too should your EB series that has already been bonded by Honda. Nonetheless, in that service bulletin I linked to Honda has provided instructions to easily remove that bond for those who find situations where there's a GFCI confliction.

[Itasca55]

So I get this straight .. He's got trailer that's a 30 amp .. I bought the Honda 30 amp to RV adapter to use.. and on a travel trailer it should be unbonded . So I need to do the unbonding stated in the service bulletin ?? So maked it right for this application? Running in the back of the truck hooked to trailer ..
Itasca55

It's the eb6500sxa with GFI .

[SoundGuy]

Honda EB6500 Owner's Manual ... ensure the voltage selector switch is set according to the instructions. For powering an RV wired for 30 amp main service I'd set it to 120 vac only and plug into receptacle #1 using a 3 pin twist lock male to 3 pin TT-30R female dogbone. Info on removing this genset's neutral bond is detailed in this Honda Service Bulletin. Lots of power but sure will be noisy. :E

[Itasca55]

Are Honda generators bond or unbond .
( is the common wired hooked to the ground? )

Itasca55

Noise doesn't matter it's only run during
The day if it's hot.

[afidel]

Just hope he never uses it in the same county as me, 6kw open frame, that's going to be unbelievably loud.

*edit*
73dB @23', good luck sleeping anywhere close to that!

[trail-explorer]

ScottG wrote:
Mat or no, it doesn't make any difference. Just plug the TT in and go.

Ditto.

I've never seen anyone ground a portable generator.

[ScottG]

Mat or no, it doesn't make any difference. Just plug the TT in and go.