Generator floating neutral conversion. Check my work!

[Noltz]

Ok so upon discussion with other members here I've discovered my salesperson lied and I need to convert my generator to floating neutral to use it with my Generator Inlet w/interlock setup. I read up on how to do that on Generatorbible.com's writeup.

I bought this guy;


Popped the cover off;


Found the bonding wire;


Removed it from the frame;


And secured it back to the originating post;


Now the only wire going to the frame...


... goes up to the grounding post, and then onto the ground pins of my outlets;





And I popped the front panel just to look;




Before I fire this up, does everything look acceptable? And in this configuration will I need to have a grounding rod if I use the generator by itself / not hooked to a home grid? Or should I set it up with a switch so I can do both?

Thanks again,

 

[larry4406]

Confirm with a multi meter no continuity between neutral and ground at an outlet.

I put a switch on mine.

With 4-wire feed I do not have a separate ground rod. I will let the sparkles chime in.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Confirm with a multi meter no continuity between neutral and ground at an outlet.

I put a switch on mine.

With 4-wire feed I do not have a separate ground rod. I will let the sparkles chime in.

looks good, however, as said above, verify there is no continuity between neutral and ground, as well as the frame.

Also, if you plan on using this as a portable standalone unit (eg. jobsite, etc), you will want the neutral bonded. Easiest way to do this is to make a neutral bonding plug, where you jump the neutral to the ground pin on the plug, and plug into one of the outlets on the generator. Keep in mind, you wont be able to do this on a GFCI outlet on the generator as it will trip. Find a non-GFCI outlet to use for the bonding plug.

Also, a ground rod is not needed regardless of the number of wires in the feeder.

 

[Noltz]

looks good, however, as said above, verify there is no continuity between neutral and ground, as well as the frame.

Done and verified. Details below.

Also, if you plan on using this as a portable standalone unit (eg. jobsite, etc), you will want the neutral bonded. Easiest way to do this is to make a neutral bonding plug, where you jump the neutral to the ground pin on the plug, and plug into one of the outlets on the generator. Keep in mind, you wont be able to do this on a GFCI outlet on the generator as it will trip. Find a non-GFCI outlet to use for the bonding plug.

Also, a ground rod is not needed regardless of the number of wires in the feeder.

Yes I plan on using this generator off-grid in the future, so I added a switched circuit to complete a bond where appropriate. Then I don't need to worry about losing a bonding plug.

I didn't have an 10 ga on hand so I doubled up on 14. It also fits the tight space better.


The wires pass up to a heavy switch. I'd like to find something SPST in the future but my local electrical shop didn't have one.


The only permanent modification was a hole in the end cap for the wiring. I used a rubber grommet and a heat sleeve to protect the wiring.

And now when the switch is UP (floating), there is no continuity between neutral and ground. When the switch is DOWN (bonded), there is continuity between neutral and ground.


That spray you see is Fluid Film rustproofing. I applied it to the bare metal before assembling, the welded points and the inside of the frame.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Wow nice customization.

 

[JOE.G]

To do this switch mod, I would run a wire from the neutral wire I unbonded to a switch and then from the switch to the lug the neutral was hooked to? Does it matter what kind of switch and which lug on the switch I use?

 

[Noltz]

Yes, that's exactly what I did. Put a switch in line with the wire that connects the neutral terminal with the body of the generator. I like to make modifications like this reversible so I did not cut the old wire but looped it back.

You want to use the largest toggle switch you can reasonably fit. It will never make or break a connection, but it need to be able to carry current long enough to let the circuit breaker do its job. If I were building one from scratch I'd use a automotive battery disconnect switch.

 

[JOE.G]

If you get a chance do you mind linking to a few you think might work.

 

[Noltz]

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08HHZ1RCX/?tag=atomicindus04-20

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08199P96M/?tag=atomicindus04-20

Honestly I think these are awesome overkill. The other conversions I've found online (very few!) just used heavy toggles like mine.

 

[AP514]

Wow nice customization.

Yup Nice

 

[AP514]

For my setup I went with this Switch from HD...and 1-12awg wire seeing the Ground was only 12awg.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-20-Amp-Single-Pole-Toggle-Switch-1-Pack-GSW-110/100184840?MERCH=REC-_-rv_homepage_rr-_-NA-_-100184840-_-N&