r/Generator

Bonding neutral is really quite simple, but until you get it, it can seem confusing. Here's all you need to know. Bonding just means connecting. People use the term 'floating neutral', but we really should just call it bonded or not bonded.

Very simply, bonding neutral is just connecting neutral and grounds at some point. It is done at one, and only one point in a system, with some specific exceptions that will rarely apply to us at home. Most homes and buildings will have neutral bonded in the main breaker panel, and sometimes in a disconnect switch outside.

We bond the grounds to neutral for a very simple reason, the grounds won't do their job otherwise. Their job is to act as a back up neutral, providing a good, separate pathway for stray electricity to get to the neutral leaving the building or system. The grounds of the wiring system are connected to the chassis/ frame/ or body of appliances and fixtures. This is done to provide a path for current to flow that takes it back where it belongs should the wiring short to something in order to flow enough current to 'clear' or trip the protection device (breaker or fuse). Otherwise the power could energize things we don't want energized and then hurt someone when they touch the appliance, or start a fire.

We bond ground and neutral in only one place because if it were in more than one place, the ground wire between the points would be parallel to the neutrals they are connected to and carry current any time the circuit was being used, and that's not good. You may have heard of the concept of 'current on the grounds' or something similar, and this is what they're talking about.

Portable generators will normally come with the neutral bonded, because they are normally used as standalone power systems, so this ensures the grounds will function correctly. When we connect our generator to an existing system that already has the neutral bonded, we should not have it bonded at the generator. If it were, the ground between the generator and the other system will parallel our neutral and carry current, which it should only do in a fault condition.

This all should not be confused with earth grounding. That's the usually bare wire running to a ground rod outside your house. That connects to neutral also, in only one place, but it serves a completely different purpose and has nothing to do with the equipment grounds and neutral. It's job is to dissipate the energy of nearby lightning strikes (lightning doesn't have to hit your house to impart energy on it). It is not necessary, and probably a bad idea, to put a ground rod on your generator, unless it is setup as a standalone system in a permanent installation. If you have a generator hooked to your system, and that system has an earth ground rod, the existing earth ground does the job just fine. If you have a generator setup somewhere as a standalone system that is semi-permanent or permanent, it needs a ground rod hooked to neutral to protect it which can be done on the system or the generator.

I installed a Vanguard 12kw Briggs Stratton generator 10 years ago. I'm a retired inside wireman (commercial electrician) and installed it myself given the go ahead by the regional service manager of Briggs. They agreed to honor the warranty and provide support unlike any other generator manufacturer I called. So I went with them.

The 1st unit had a bad controller at install and I went through hell getting them to replace it. The regional service manager finally sent me one when he intervened. This unit started burning oil from the get go....had to stop it every 8 hrs and top it off. After hassling with them for over a year they sent me a new generator. This happened the 5th year of a 7 yr warranty, when I took on getting them to honor the warranty. I knew it would be a bitch.

For the most part after breaking my ass at the beginning tech support started working with me when I called. There were a lot of small issues with the new 12kw with the new Genset GC1031 controller. So it took years for them to stop being assholes but they finally came around.

Over the past year the new generator is burning oil, not as much as the old one but burning oil. I called yesterday to resolve an issue with GC-1031 Controller I/P sense loss failures when it's exercising. This is a known issue and there is a service bulletin fix. They changed their call processing menu so I can't call tech support direct and refused to let me speak with them because I'm not a dealer. I explained my agreement with them but the lady was a robotic asshole who kept miming her party line. She said her manager would call me back..no one has....just BS.

This company and their product have been a gigantic pain in my ass and extremely reluctant to honor their promise to fulfill their warranty with me installing the generator as promised from the beginning. By the way where I live Pollock Pines, CA.. there are no generator service companies that will even work on Briggs Stratton. Stupid actually as there are so many power outages here that Generac is making a killing.

I should mention that there was one company 10 years ago that I kept in the loop with all the issues I had from the start. They were so impressed with me and my install and repair they offered me a job. But I'm retired so declined.

I've seen issues with Generac online but none of my friends up here have issues that have needed a service call. And none of them are burning oil.

So here's my warning to anyone considering a Briggs and Stratton generator and having to deal with this company that has been horrible. And the Vanguard line is at the top of their offerings. It's obviously an inferior product and Briggs has no interest it seems in selling them. I will dump it some day soon and be forced to install probably a Generac through a dealer when I'm perfectly qualified to do it myself. Neither Generac or Kohler would honor the warranty or provide support if I installed it.

My advice...run from a Briggs & Stratton generator..this company should get out of the business that they don't seem to want to be in anyway.

So power has been out for like 4 hours and had the generator running through the interlock into the house. I thought it was set up for floating neutral and double checked it and it seems bonded. As far as I can tell everything is currently running normally, but is it dangerous to touch? Do I need to be careful when turning it off? I know code says it needs to be floating but not sure of what the repercussions are.

I have a portable generator that I bought a few years ago (Champion 6250W Dual Fuel) and got a quote back in 2022 for $1,025. This was for an installation of a power inlet box and an interlock kit on a 200amp electrical panel.

I already have a 30 amp cord that I bought with the generator (25ft) so hopefully that knocked a little off the total cost. I reached back out to the same company for a renewed quote and it is now $1489. Am I being charged too much or is this reasonable? I have another company coming out to give an estimate end of this week. For those knowledgeable and have experience with this, how much should I expect to pay in 2026?

There have been 114 reports of generator fuel leaks, though no injuries have been reported.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled portable generators and go to generac.com/about/recalls/GP-Carburetor to check if your model and serial number are included in this recall.

I'm looking to have a Generlink 30 Amp transfer switch installed, and was wondering if the WEN DF680iX would be a compatible generator.

It looks like it would work (it has an L14-30R outlet, according to the manual) and seems like it falls in the right wattage range.

But I'm not an expert and would like to defer to those who know more.

Apologies in advance for the lengthy post, but I want to make sure I explain everything...

Home is under construction. Electrical rough-in is complete. Meter can and service entrance (SE) load center mounted on outside garage wall and a subpanel is on the inside garage wall. Meter has not been installed. Conductors are run from the meter can up the utility pole but are not connected to the transformer. SE load center is connected to two ground rods. Neutral is bonded to ground in the SE load center. Indoor subpanel has a floating neutral (2 hots, neutral, and ground conductors run from the SE load center to the subpanel). There's also a temporary service pole that provides power used for the build. It does not have any 240V receptacles, and I don't want to add one to that pole. The temporary service pole is on a different transformer (and utility pole) than the one that will ultimately power the home.

SE load center has an interlock kit, generator input box, and a double pole circuit breaker (to power the generator input box).

I want to use my Champion generator (#100520, 7000/8750 watts) to temporarily power my 1.5 hp water well pump (submersible) to pressure up the home's water tank and lines to check for leaks and make leaks easier to detect if one happens after the drywall is up. The generator will only be connected/used when the well tank needs additional water. The circuit breaker for the water well pump is in the subpanel inside the garage.

I've watched a few videos on when the neutral needs to be floating or bonded, and based on those videos, mine should have a floating neutral in this scenario, and no ground rod. However, when the videos show a floating neutral, they always assume that the house wiring is connected to the utility company's transformer (but mine is not).

Does the fact that my home is not yet connected to the grid change the requirement for floating vs bonded neutral, or should it still be floating?

Hi! I’m a 32 year old aspiring Gen Tech with little real experience here in Southern California. I worked at a turbine manufacturing company in San Diego. I fabricated fuel and hydraulic lines for the turbines for almost two years. I quit to become a full time student at an Aviation Maintenance Technician trade school.

I learned about the A&P certification through the Turbine company and saw how valuable it was to almost any industry that involves reciprocating engines and turbines. So I chose the A&P school route after considering other engine based trade school because it seemed like the best bang for my buck.

Now that I’ve graduated from that 15 month trade school, I’ve considered going into aviation but it doesn’t interest me nearly as much as being a Gen Tech. I’m almost ready to test to get my Powerplant certification which covers all things Reciprocating Engines and Turbines (mechanically and electrically).

I also have solid basic troubleshooting knowledge about Electrical, Mechanical, Oil systems, Schematics, as well as Precision Measuring Equipment like Calipers, Dial Indicator, Thickness Gauge, Borescope and an understanding of Non Destructive Testing.

My question is, what would be the best way for me to start my career as a Gen Tech? I eventually would love to work on large Generators

I have an 18 year old Kohler 17RES with a matching whole-house Automatic Transfer Switch. Works great with a little over 400 lifetime run hours.

New car in the driveway is an EV, so I need to install a level 2 charger which can draw as much as 11kW. I'd hate for the generator to see that extra load, especially during the summer when the 5-ton A/C is cranking.

How can I lock out the new EV charger when utility power fails and the generator kicks on?