GFCI Flipping w/ Generator

[CHICKDOE]

this one is bothering me. i have tried to find a manual for the generator on the internet but i can't. from the pictures and from another post there seems to be only a single 20 amp circuit breaker. this must protect both the 20 gfci outlet and the twist lock outlet. so those two outlets have to be interconnected. the question i would have is the twist lock outlet downstream from the gfci outlet or before it? if downstream the gfci would be in play even when you use the twist lock. and two gfcis (generator and rv) do not play well.

i think i can now conceive of why the generator gfci trips when you plug an edison plug into it. assume the generator does have a floating neutral. the gfci monitors the difference in current flow between hot and neutral. without the plug there is no current flowing between hot and neutral. put the plug in and now there could possibly be some current flow between neutral and ground. this would be an imbalance between hot (no current) and neutral (some current to ground) so the gfci trips. at least i can conceive of this. i do not know this for a fact.

but this generator is advertised as being suitable for rv applications. certainly the manufacturer knows that rv's have gfcis in them. there is something wrong here, and it appears to be with the generator. i think a call to the manufacturer with all of the details in post #9 would be in order. remember this is a new generator and it was never posted that it ever worked properly. something's wrong!

[Bama Rambler]

Hopefully they can got all this worked out and use the generator successfully.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by clarkbre

I'm guessing this as well as I recently went through it with my inverter generator. It had a floating neutral that when i plugged a gfci tester into, would show as an open ground.

That Edison plug is just a standard plug that doesn't do much more than plug in to a standard outlet.

In order for things to work correctly, a jumper wire needs to be connected between the neutral and ground prong to create a bonded neutral. This will create a normal functioning GFCI.

Search for videos "floating bonded neutral generator rv". Something informative and helpful will come up.

The Edison plug mentioned above does exactly that.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by CHICKDOE

this one is bothering me. i have tried to find a manual for the generator on the internet but i can't. from the pictures and from another post there seems to be only a single 20 amp circuit breaker. this must protect both the 20 gfci outlet and the twist lock outlet. so those two outlets have to be interconnected. the question i would have is the twist lock outlet downstream from the gfci outlet or before it? if downstream the gfci would be in play even when you use the twist lock. and two gfcis (generator and rv) do not play well.

i think i can now conceive of why the generator gfci trips when you plug an edison plug into it. assume the generator does have a floating neutral. the gfci monitors the difference in current flow between hot and neutral. without the plug there is no current flowing between hot and neutral. put the plug in and now there could possibly be some current flow between neutral and ground. this would be an imbalance between hot (no current) and neutral (some current to ground) so the gfci trips. at least i can conceive of this. i do not know this for a fact.

but this generator is advertised as being suitable for rv applications. certainly the manufacturer knows that rv's have gfcis in them. there is something wrong here, and it appears to be with the generator. i think a call to the manufacturer with all of the details in post #9 would be in order. remember this is a new generator and it was never posted that it ever worked properly. something's wrong!

[whizgig]

We replaced the GFCI outlet in the trailer today and the issue still occurs. We're going to go ahead and contact the manufacturer.

[whizgig]

I guess Atima doesn't offer support on Saturdays, so we'll have to wait until Monday to see what they're willing to do. I sent them an email.

I also went ahead and built a 30 amp Edison plug to see if that would work. Unfortunately, it doesn't. It causes the "over" light to come on which stops the flow of electricity to the 20 amp outlets. I'm out of ideas, so hopefully, they pull through.

I'll update the thread once I've spoken with them.

[clarkbre]

Originally Posted by whizgig

I guess Atima doesn't offer support on Saturdays, so we'll have to wait until Monday to see what they're willing to do. I sent them an email.

I also went ahead and built a 30 amp Edison plug to see if that would work. Unfortunately, it doesn't. It causes the "over" light to come on which stops the flow of electricity to the 20 amp outlets. I'm out of ideas, so hopefully, they pull through.

I'll update the thread once I've spoken with them.

How is your Edison plug wired?

I wired mine with only a jumper between the neutral and ground and it corrected the generator. If you connect the neutral or ground directly to the hot, it better trip something!

Here's a link to a neutral grounding plug. https://www.campingworld.com/generat...oaAmkpEALw_wcB

Here's a video on it: https://youtu.be/M-bTLdMjuqU

[whizgig]

Yep. Neutral to ground. Checked and double checked.

[CHICKDOE]

this is still bugging me.

there is very obviously a gfci receptacle on the generator. i looked at pictures of a couple honda and champion portable generators and i did not see the same type of gfci receptacle on those generators. you replaced the gfci in the trailer with a new one and same problem. plus you have not said you have gfci issues when on shore power. so let's discount the trailer gfci as the issue. it sure looks like the two gfci's in the same circuit do not play well together.

the absence or presence of the edison plug should really not be a factor, unless you have a ems type device wired into the incoming shore power cord. the ems checks for an open ground and will not allow power to flow if finds one. putting an edison plug in a generator with a floating ground will bond it to neutral and the ems will then allow power to flow. if the generator is internally bonded the edison plug is not required. again, the edison plug does nothing other than let the ems see a ground and neutral bonded.

it would sure be nice if you could find another portable generator without the gfci built into it, plug the trailer into it, and see what happens. or take you generator to another trailer, plug it in, and see if that trailer gfci trips.

please let us know what you find out.

[whizgig]

Thanks, Chickdoe. I'll definitely let you know what happens. I'm tempted to remove the gfci outlet from the generator and replace it with a regular outllet. Not sure if that would void any warranty, so I'm going to talk to the manufacturer first.

[CHICKDOE]

i wish i could give a definitive answer. how about a little test. go into the trailer and turn off the circuit breaker that powers the trailer gfci. then start up the generator and plug the trailer into it. does it supply power to the trailer with the exception of the gfci circuit? my guess would be yes. make sure all the 110 vac things work. then turn on the gfci circuit and what happens?

[Bama Rambler]

This is kinda puzzling. I would replace the GFCI on the generator temporarily and see what that does. You can always put it back and the mfg. will never know.

[whizgig]

Doesn't look like we'll ever find out what was wrong exactly. I called Atima and they told me to open it up and check for loose wires. Couldn't find any. Called them back and they weren't much help. Since I purchased it through Amazon, I call them and they allowed me to return it for a refund. UPS is coming by tomorrow to pick it up.

Anyone have any suggestions for portable generators that are relatively quiet and, ideally, will work without an edison plug?

[unyalli]

https://www.supergenproducts.com/cat...ter-generators