Aha! I think you've hit the clarification I needed but wasn't
asking correctly! Inline, please:

"volts500" wrote in message
oups.com...
: POP wrote:
:
: "m Ransley" wrote in message
: ...
:: I question your generator frame gound, my Generac goes right
to
: the
:: dirt from its frame lug nut to a wire attached to a rod thrown
: down, its
:: a ground for my unit.
:
: Yeah, I'm questioning it too. I've always read/understood
: though, that you don't gang up on earth grounds. So, since
the
: L14 P/R/C has two 120V pins, one Neutral and one Earth( genset
: frame when it's plugged in), I -think- it's all earthed
correctly
: when you plug the generator in.
:
: Almost correct. If you're using a transfer switch that doesn't
switch
: the neutral
=== Exactly; it does not switch the neutral.

and a 4-wire cable that plugs into the generator,
--- That's the plan

: ... the
: generator neutral (white wire) and the generator equipment
ground
: (green wire) must _not_ be bonded together at the generator.
=== THAT has been the missing component for me! Neutral and
Earth are not connected in the generator; I checked with an
ohmmeter.
THAT makes the 4-wire cable make sense now! The neutral of the
gen connects to the neutral of the breaker box and the frame of
the gen connects to the earth of the breaker box; thus, all are
bonded at and only at the breaker box tie points.
For a moment, that left me wondering then, why there would be
a large ground lug on the generator. But that now makes sense,
too:
IFF I were to use the L5-14 3-wire receptacle on the generator
for, say, a worksite instead of emergency house power, THEN I
would need the earth lug on the gen for an earth ground! Or
even, I suppose, if there were a power panel with no earth ground
yet, then I'd use the genset earth. In this case it would have
nothing to do with the power company but would be a safety issue.
Right?

I'm hoping you agree, because now it finally all makes sense to
me. Or that at least I'm not too far out into left field yet.

: ... Some
: small generators have a "bond link" just for that purpose.
=== Not that I can see externally at least. Maybe under a
cover someplace but ... nothing visible, nothing in the manual.

Check for
: continuity between the generator neutral and the equipment
ground at
: one of the receptacles. If you have continuity, then they are
bonded
: and you'll have to change it so that they aren't.
=== Done. Not connected.
:
: I'm not sure what, if anything, grounding the genset frame
: would do - it would make it a 2-earthed system, though, which
as
: I understand it, is a no-no. No? g.
:
: The system that you are installing is NON-Separately Derived.
The
: requirements for a non-separately derived system (in your case)
a
=== Ha! "separately derived": intellectually I know what that
means, but w/r to the industry, I'm not so sure. Something to
Google on since it's not real clear to me.
:
: 1...Use a 4-wire cable, two hots, a neutral, and an equipment
ground.
=== That's the plan
: 2...DO NOT bond the neutral and the equipment ground _at_ the
: generator. (most small generators are bonded at the f
=== Yup. Dunno what it's supposed to mean, but this is an
"Industrial" generator. The control panel has a duplex 120, an
L5-14 30A and 3-wire and an L14 4-wire 20A receptacles. Plus the
idle with no-load switch, ignition switch and choke lever. The
manual talks about both job-site and emergency house powering but
doesn't go into the earthing situation at all other than to say
be sure to meet all codes.
: 3...The neutral is solidly connected to the normal power
neutral in the
: transfer switch (The neutral is NOT switched).
:
Thanks; I suppose I sound like the smart-ass student that keeps
asking silly sidelight questions but I only feel comfortable
about things when I have a full understanding of what I have and
what I'm causing to happen. Real or not, it's a comfort level
for me.

Regards,

Tom