3000 watt B&S generator for $880.00 new

[Tom 72]

Worth a look. Honda's are great, but their 2000 watt unit costs more. Honda's 3000 watt unit is twice as much. Do your homework and decide for yourself. I think I have seen Consumer Reports rate B&S high.
This unit would run some A/C units a 2000 watt unit would not.
Limited time sale.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IWJOOU8/...o_xx_P320_100?

[redbarron55]

I would seriously consider this harbor freight unit:

https://www.harborfreight.com/3500-w...tor-63584.html

$699.00

[Neto]

The people with the Honda will have negative remarks about this generator.
For the minimimum amount of time the generator will be used throughout the year this generator will last a long time if taken care of and you saved allot of money. I. The long run you could even replace it when it wears out and still have saved money. Me, I think you should go for it.

[rbryan]

I've heard very good things about the Predator 3500 generators at Harbor Freight. Super quiet and tons of power. I've no idea about their reliability when compared to a Honda, but at less than half the price, they are worth considering.

Be aware on all these generators, they have a floating or unbonded neutral. If your trailer is equipped with an EMS, you'll need to either shut the EMS off, or use one of those little GEN PLUG devices in an unused generator receptacle. Otherwise the EMS will cut off power to the trailer due to the floating/unbonded neutral.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by rbryan

I've heard very good things about the Predator 3500 generators at Harbor Freight. Super quiet and tons of power. I've no idea about their reliability when compared to a Honda, but at less than half the price, they are worth considering.

Be aware on all these generators, they have a floating or unbonded neutral. If your trailer is equipped with an EMS, you'll need to either shut the EMS off, or use one of those little GEN PLUG devices in an unused generator receptacle. Otherwise the EMS will cut off power to the trailer due to the floating/unbonded neutral.

Well, OK, but how can I be using my Yamaha 2000i genny on my Oliver with a modern Progressive Dynamics EMS and not notice this? Am I missing something?
I simply plug the genny into the shore tie plug and all is well.

[rbryan]

If you're using the EMS with the Yamaha, then probably the Yamaha has a bonded neutral. Some generators do. The Progressive Industries EMS will throw an error 2 if an unbonded neutral is present.

[Mike Magee]

What does EMS stand for? Not emergency medical services, I guess.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

What does EMS stand for? Not emergency medical services, I guess.

Electrical Management System. Basically a fancy surge protector that samples electrical input, diagnoses issues and shuts down trailer power if a problem is detected. And they don't like unbonded neutrals, which are common with generators.

The hard-wired EMS on my trailer has found other power issues at least 4 different times at various campgrounds.

[pete_britt]

RVs are built with the 120v neutral not connected to ground. This is to ensure that there is a single point ground when connected to shore power. If you connect your RV to a generator with floating neutral, even though Your A/C may not care about a proper ground, your GFI outlets will not function properly. This is easily verified using a 3 prong receptacle tester.

The moral of the story: Make sure to ground 120v neutral, but only in one place.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by pete_britt

RVs are built with the 120v neutral not connected to ground. This is to ensure that there is a single point ground when connected to shore power. If you connect your RV to a generator with floating neutral, even though Your A/C may not care about a proper ground, your GFI outlets will not function properly. This is easily verified using a 3 prong receptacle tester.

The moral of the story: Make sure to ground 120v neutral, but only in one place.

True. And an easy way to make sure that either your GFI outlets or an EMS works normally when connected to a generator like the Hondas, is to use a GEN PLUG device on an unused generator outlet. Binds neutral to ground, in only one place - the generator.

[SilverGhost]

So, am I the only one who noticed the ground lug on my generator? I assume that attaching a lead from that to ground post (lighting post) would rectify the floating neutral?

Jason

[redbarron55]

All generators should have ground lugs at the frame since code requirements are that the ground be made there.
I don't know about others, but I have never had a problem with my generators and GFCIs I don't know about EMS.

I have used the Harbor Freight 2500 watt inverter generators good bit.
The 3500 looks good to me, but I don't really need another genny right now.
The 3500 can be paralleled where my old 2500 cannot be.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by SilverGhost

So, am I the only one who noticed the ground lug on my generator? I assume that attaching a lead from that to ground post (lighting post) would rectify the floating neutral?

Jason

The generators we are talking about (Honda, Yamaha, Predator, etc) meet electrical code and OSHA requirements to be considered self grounding in most situations. The frame of the generator itself is used as ground rather than an external rod to ground, provided the generator is used according to the manufacturers instructions, and the generator supplies only equipment mounted on the generator and/or cord and plug-connected equipment through
receptacles mounted on the generator. If used in any other way, a connection to external ground should be used.

Bonding is not the same as grounding. Put simply, bonding ties neutral to an existing ground - in this particular case, the generator frame itself. This allows GFI circuits to operate normally (they can trip if a ground fault occurs), and allows things like an EMS to operate without error. Of course, if you don't have an EMS or GFIs, there's no issue. Just plug and play. If you do, use a bonding plug on one of the receptacles.