Predator 3500 Question

[Route_66_Travel]

Before I ask my question, I will say I did do a search and couldn't find the answer. I have been using a Predator 3500 to power my RV for some time now and have no complaints. I do not use my Progressive EMS because it detects an open ground, which I understand. After watching some YouTube videos I decided to make a bonding plug so that I could use my EMS.

Using my voltmeter I measured the voltage from ground to either side of the 120 volt outlet and found it to be 60 volts on either side. My question is what side do I wire to ground? The videos all seem to show 120 volts on one side and zero on the other. I am confused because I thought I would see 120 volts on the hot side, which is usually the right side of the plug, and zero on the left, or neutral side. I assume to make a bonding plug I would jumper between the left side of the socket to ground. But since I see 60 volts on the left side of the socket I need to be sure I am not going to damage my generator, hence the question.

Thanks for the help in advance.

[Lynnmor]

When my brother built his house he connected the grounds together using a crimp sleeve which is an approved method. Since he is an electronics technician he filled all the crimp sleeves with solder making a super nice job. When the inspector came out he was forced to cut out all those connections and splice again without solder. Stupid rules!

[ScottG]

Yeah, I noticed they often had only one outlet per wall, even if it was 16' or more long. I added new outlets in some of those locations where they had a specific need.

[MrWizard]

good soldered connections DON"T fail

but making all those soldered connections and putting in all those switches and outlets is a slow process

i think if you compare the size of the room too the number of outlets
you will find a lot fewer outlets in those old houses with soldered connections

when NEC was changed to demand more outlets per wall length
the industry invented the wirenuts to allow for faster & easier construction processes

JMHO

[ScottG]

MrWizard wrote:
at one time it was common practice to solder wire connections and then tape them, instead of using wire nuts, the last and only time i did this was on one government subsidized housing complex 46yrs ago

Is this what your talking about?
I recently did a bunch of electrical repairs on a house that was probably built in the late 50's or early 60's. It had connections I had never seen before. They had stripped the wire in the middle of its insulation and twisted & soldered another wire to it. After this odd splice, there was a bit of insulation and then the wire was stripped again and connected to the switch or outlet. The "splice" was wrapped with electrical tape. AT first I thought this was a home-owner hack but I found them all over the house and in area's I don't believe anyone had ventured.
It was strange but sound. Never the less, any time I had to work in one of those junction boxes, I brought it up to modern specs.

[MrWizard]

at one time it was common practice to solder wire connections and then tape them, instead of using wire nuts, the last and only time i did this was on one government subsidized housing complex 46yrs ago

[road-runner]

Learjet wrote:
People...if you are not 100% certain on the "electrical advice" please don't speculate. Generators are not like your ordinary home power 🙂

I agree totally, and this has been an exemplary thread in that regard, in that every statement of electrical information has been correct. It helps that this issue has been "settled science" for a few years now. (I'm excluding the post about soldering which I don't understand).

[Learjet]

People...if you are not 100% certain on the "electrical advice" please don't speculate. Generators are not like your ordinary home power 🙂

[Dusty_R]

When did the practice of soldering wire joints end?

Sorry wrong forum.

[Route_66_Travel]

ScottG wrote:
Place the bonding wire between neutral and ground (the longer slot with white wire on back of outlet).

Thanks Scott....I did that and now my generator has been running my RV through the Progressive EMS-PT50X for the last 1/2 hour. Problem solved!

[ScottG]

Place the bonding wire between neutral and ground (the longer slot with white wire on back of outlet).

[theoldwizard1]

Tom_M wrote:
You could wire up something to your plug like an incandescent bulb. Connect a wire to the green screw and to the silver screw (ground and neutral). If the voltage drops to zero you will be okay.

Or said another way, the OP is read "ghost voltage", voltage that is really not there. This because a digital meter has extremely high input impedance, probably in the million ohm (mega-ohm) range. Old fashioned analog meters (like a Simpson 260) have an input impedance in the 10s or 100s of kila-ohm range. Enough to present a "load" and make the ghost voltage disappear.

The same problem sometime happens when trouble shooting 12VDC circuit, which is why an old fashioned incandescent test light is often be than a DMM.

[Route_66_Travel]

You guys are great! DrewE confirmed what I was suspecting was the case with my voltage readings. I went ahead and wired up a bonding plug and all is well now, my Progressive EMS works as it should now.

Some have said you don't really need a surge protector or EMS while using an Inverter generator, but now I have a choice. Thanks again!

[Tom_M1]

You could wire up something to your plug like an incandescent bulb. Connect a wire to the green screw and to the silver screw (ground and neutral). If the voltage drops to zero you will be okay.

[DrewE]

You're seeing 60V precisely because the ground connection is floating with respect to the output. Due to various reasons that are not important here, it naturally tends to settle around the midpoint of the other lines, or 60V, if unloaded. Incidentally, if the ground and neutral were at the exact same voltage, the EMS would not be detecting an open ground.

You need to bond the neutral to ground; once that is done, there will be zero volts between them and 120 volts between the hot and neutral and between the hot and ground.