First off - I AM NOT AN ELECTRICIAN. I know enough to follow the manual and instructions. As for electrical, my expertise only goes as far as changing a light fixture and changing an outlet or switch. But I'm confident if I follow the instructions and use common sense, I will safely use the generator as millions of people do every day.
I just got off the phone with Duromax tech support. He said definitely ground it when it's used through the interlock switch on the main panel. He said galvanized ground rod is OK and it should be a minimum of 12 inches in the ground. As I said in an earlier post, the manual says to ground it. He suggested putting a surge protector between the gen power and the sensitive things - computer, TV, phone, etc.
My brother has a 3500 of another brand and the manual says nothing about grounding, so that contributed to my confusion - something not too hard to do.
For use in the field, Duromax tech support said grounding is a good idea but not mandatory, as some more sensitive tools may not recognize the generator (open ground??). I purchased a lot of ground rod, so I'll permanently mount one where the generator will be used most of the time and put one with a mallet in the travel box.
I respect you all that are way advanced in your knowledge of electricity. I plan to read more so I understand better.
By the way, Duromax tech support seems pretty good. But, the manual is not as up to date as it could be - example: remove the brightly colored one piece orange engine support, when in reality it was two red engine supports. You are left to conclude, OK those are the only brightly colored things so that must be the ones to remove.
