"Steve W." wrote in message
news
Dave, I can't do that wrote:
On Friday, May 25, 2018 at 9:32:00 AM UTC-7, Terry Coombs wrote:
I think you'll find that those 3 pins are neutral and 220 on the
other 2 , with either hot to the neutral at 110 .

Thanks Terry,

It is only a 3-hole twist-lock socket on the generator. Looks like
I
will have to crank it up and get the meter out. I seem to recall
using it to power something 220/240v about 6-years back, but no
idea
what wiring I used.



Three wires is a common generator output. You will find that you
have 110 - 0 - 110 volts. Just the same that feeds into a breaker
box.
The fourth wire that you need is ground. On 99.9% of generators you
will find a ground lug on the generator head or near the output
panel. That goes to a good ground.
--
Steve W.

Generator grounding isn't obvious because it interacts with other
considerations, for instance checking for buried utility lines before
driving a ground rod, or impenetrable frozen soil.
https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_Hur...generator.html

Neutral is the power return conductor. Ground is for safety, only
carries fault current, and is connected (bonded) to Neutral only at
the main breaker box, or the generator frame when it is an isolated,
"separately derived" power source.

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Techn...3-05%20(1).pdf
"In other words, a ground rod is not required and, in fact, may create
a hazard."

Naval standards don't ground the neutral so that a single short won't
take down the ship's power. The problem with grid power is that the
pole transformer secondary could short to the 19.9KV distribution
line and bring high voltage into your house if you didn't have a
ground rod connected to the neutral. That isn't an issue for
generators.