Portable Generator Grounding

If you read my last post, we began a discussion about grounding and bonding of portable generators.  To begin, we talked about a standard residential electrical service and specifically discussed the ground wire system, the neutral wire system, and the single bonding point between the two systems.  Lastly and most importantly, we also described what we referred to as a sub-panel and how important this is to us as RVers. So, here we go with the next point: the breaker panel in your RV is a SUB-PANEL.  When you pull into the campground and plug in your shore power, you are becoming a sub-panel to the main panel which is permanently installed at the campground.  Therefore, the neutral wiring system and the ground wiring system in your motorhome are not bonded together.  All the ground wires terminate in a ground bar within the breaker panel, and all the neutral wires terminate at a seperate bar within the breaker panel.  The neutral and ground systems are kept isolated from each other.  The bonding or connecting together of the two wiring systems is taken care of in the campground wiring system not in the RV. Keeping in mind that the above discussion dealt only with the power supplied by the shore power cord, the next step is to look at what happens if your RV has an on board generator set, particularly with an automatic transfer switch.  With an on-board generator we are faced with a problem because the breaker panel in the RV has an isolated neutral bar and ground bar,... Read more

Grounding your generator

portable generator   I was attending the Gypsy Journal rally at Celina Ohio last week and while attending one of the seminars, the subject of grounding and/or bonding of portable generators came up, associated with a lot of confusion and mis-information on the subject.  Let me say up front that I am not an expert on the subject, but before writing this post, I did bone up on the appropriate sections of the National Electrical Code and in that exercise, I learned a little about the subject. As always when I discuss a subject, I like to have a vocabulary in common with others.  On this subject, there are two words we have to agree on, and understand, they are “bonding” and “grounding”.  These two words are frequently used together and sometimes even used interchangeably.  That is not correct as the two words have two distinct meanings and I believe this leads to a lot of confusion on this issue. First let’s use a common residential dwelling to begin our discussion.  In a newly constructed home, electric code requires the incoming power to be grounded by means of at least one and many times, two ground rods driven into the earth.  The ground wire from your breaker panel is connected to this/these ground rod(s) and then continues to run throughout the house with all the ground wires tied together. In addition to the ground wire system in the house, there is another wiring system known as “neutral”.  The neutral wire is generally white... Read more

Your RV Oven – What’s it used for?

Kay Peterson, co-founder of the Escapees RV Club, used to say in her “Living in a Sardine Can” talk that her RV oven was strictly for storage. She wasn’t even sure how it worked. They ate out a lot. In our case, our oven stores extra pans and it gets used frequently. We much prefer to eat our own cooking. I am lucky – George loves to cook and cooks almost all our dinners plus bakes gluten-free English muffins weekly. Frankly, his cooking tastes better than 99 percent of the meals we do eat out. Using your own facilities – stove and oven – has other benefits: control over the quantity of food you are served and eat limit portion size for weight control keep food expenditures down. Some newer RVs don’t even have a regular oven. That should tell you about how much they are used! Instead, they have a combination convection/microwave oven. Some RVers love them, others have never figured out how to cook using their convection oven. How about you? Does your RV have an oven? What’s it used for? If you have a convection oven, are you able to bake with it or would you prefer the old fashioned kind? Let’s hear from you!  And, if you’d like to participate in a poll on what your oven is used for, click here. We’ll share the results in a future blog. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak  Read More →

Keep your Generator Going & Going & Going

Preventive Maintenance (PM) is maintenance the owner can perform on your RV before a problem exists. These checks are designed to prevent or identify potential problems that could lead to mechanical breakdown, malfunction or failure of a component or system on your RV. Preventive Maintenance consists of cleaning, inspecting, lubricating, adjusting and servicing your RV. Read more  Read More →

RV Doctor – Is It Safe To Run the Furnance Off the Generator While Traveling?

Dear RV Doc, I have heard of running the roof air conditioner off the generator while traveling. Is it safe to run the furnace off the generator while traveling? We travel to Florida every March and sometimes the first morning is quite cold, even after preheating the coach for several hours before leaving. The dash heater could not keep up with the heat loss while traveling. Riding in an over-sized icebox isn’t much fun. - Bill Lemke, (South Wales, NY) Read more  Read More →

That’s a switch!!!

I would like to spend a bit of time discussing switches, particularly as they are used in motorhomes, and more specifically the notorious transfer switch. There are several different kinds of transfer switches but I would like to focus on what is normally called an automatic transfer switch. The word transfer refers to the action of the switch when it takes incoming power, either from a shore cable, or from a generator set, and directs that power into the RV, to the breaker panel. Read more  Read More →

Making Your Air Conditioner Generator Friendly

Some RV air conditioners have a difficult time starting when using a generator, especially portable generators. There are a number of factors that contribute to hard starting but most often it’s because there is not enough available power to start the compressor quickly. The compressor motor in a typical RV air conditioner system can draw a tremendous amount of current during it’s start-up time. This can be as high as 50 amps for a typical 15,000 BTU A/C on a hot day. All but the largest of RV generators can struggle to provide this kind of power without significant voltage droop. Not having enough voltage and current to start the A/C compressor, the generator goes in to overload and pops it’s circuit breaker. What can be done to help this situation? Modify your RV air conditioner with a hard start boost capacitor. Read more  Read More →

Extended run time fuel tank for generators!

Super money saving tip! Extended run time fuel tank for Honda 2000 generators (and others) Here’s en excerpt from my RV Tech Tip book of one of my many tech tips…..While dry camping I got tired of fueling the Honda 2000 once or more times a day depending on use. I decided enough of that and after a little surfing on the web decided to make my own extended run time fuel tank. I found these on line for $100 or more + shipping. The exact same thing and cost me a whopping $36! All that is needed is…. A 6 gallon marine fuel tank. Mine is an Atwood marine tank from Wal-Mart ($15!) A Honda mower gas cap. Make sure the one you get fits the generator you’re using! They make different sizes with different type threads! You may also use the stock generator cap. (see below). 6′ or so of fuel line A 1/4″ bulkhead fitting of some kind (or suitable item), usually found at marine shops. All for under $40 or less! The fuel line simply is ran from the marine fuel tank which has a 1/4″ pickup tube in it and then connect the other end of the fuel line to the 1/4″ nipple on the gas cap. Everyone asks what about venting since the original 2000 gas cap comes with a ventable cap. Well the 6 gallon Atwood marine fuel tank (which can be bought at Wal-Mart for $15) is vented so it accomplishes the same thing as the original cap with the ventilation knob. The fuel line and stock Honda mower gas cap was bought at a local Honda and mower shop. Talk about extended... Read more

RV Generator Troubleshooting Tips

GENERATOR TROUBLESHOOTING: Caution – Servicing a generator can create hazards – burns, cuts, fire and shock hazards. Exhaust fumes can be harmful. Notes: Gasoline powered generators are fed from a midpoint on your main fuel tank. Most generator manufacturers recommend a minimum of one hour loaded run time per month to prevent carburetor gumming. Generator will not crank: No 12 volt power or 12 volt fuse located on the control panel blown.The battery voltage should be above 9.5 VDC. Possible bad control board or poor wiring connections. Generator will not start, but cranks: Poor 12 volt power from battery or convertor, bad cables or corroded battery posts, gasoline tank not full enough, carburetor clogged from disuse, spark plugs fouled, automatic choke linkage stuck, faulty oil pressure switch, dirty air filter, low oil level, damaged wiring, or corrosion on the control board. Generator starts, then fails to run: Low oil level or low oil pressure, Low fuel supply, press the prime switch the recommend length of time, sticky choke linkage, or check the generator AC voltage output. Other voltage tests require an Operating Manual, Troubleshooting charts and learned personnel. Contact you generator dealer or manufacturer for further information. Online websites are an excellent source of information. Happy Camping, Fred b.  Read More →

Use That Generator!

Like most motorhome owners, we have a generator in our rig to supply electric power when we are not plugged into a campground’s power outlet. And like many RVers who own generators, we had been abusing our Onan auxiliary power plant for a long time. Not by using the generator too much, but by not using it hard enough! Read more  Read More →

« Previous Page — Next Page »