Does a petrol generator need to be earthed?

R

Rizzler

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I bought a little Ryobi RG 1200 petrol generator for emergencies. No manual! I see there is a screw for attaching earthing but nothing in the box.
What are the consequences of running it without being ground?
How do I do that really simply?

Thx for any replies
 
Most power tools and appliances are double insulated making them Waaaay safer than the old machines of the past... metal die-cast housings where the paint almost acted as the insulation.

Take a jam tin, prick a hole in the side, wrap on a bit of copper wire and screw other end of wire to genny, fill tin with damp sand and sorted, water sand occasionally. ......NOTE just kidding!

Good question I would like an answer too....from someone who actually knows.
 
D tj said:
Most power tools and appliances are double insulated making them Waaaay safer than the old machines of the past... metal die-cast housings where the paint almost acted as the insulation.

Take a jam tin, prick a hole in the side, wrap on a bit of copper wire and screw other end of wire to genny, fill tin with damp sand and sorted, water sand occasionally. ......NOTE just kidding!

Good question I would like an answer too....from someone who actually knows.
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I was with you until that watering bit...
 
Not earthing the generator can result in a shock when plunging stuff in and out while its running.
That's about all the earth is there for.

You will need to go to chamberlain or builders and buy an earth rod, its a long brass rod, costs about R100.
Hammer it into the ground all the way then attach at least 12 AWG copper wire from it to the generator earth point.

That's all there is to it.

I have a 8KW generator and have never earthed it, I'm just super careful when connecting all the appliances.
 
sajunky said:
It is probably illegal to connect PG using 2 wires to your home installation. In all cases it is illegal if you do it yourself. :)

If you connect 3 wires, generator already gets earth from your home earth plane. The screw on the generator have only use in portable power deployements.

You will find quite lot of information on MyBB: https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/threads/ballpark-figure-connecting-generator-to-house.715398/
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Thanks you although it's not connected to my home installation. I just run TV, fibre modem and CEP and laptop with 2 screens. For emergencies
 
Rizzler said:
Thanks you although it's not connected to my home installation. I just run TV, fibre modem and CEP and laptop with 2 screens. For emergencies
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Well not sure. You may still have printers or network devices connected to the main installation on one side and to the laptop other side.

The earth of the generator must be connected to the house earth some way, others pointed it already. Did you read messages from a link I gave you?
 
It is all about how permanent the backup power installation is, whether you want automatic change over or manual change over and the size of the generator. The reference link is for a proper automatic change over.

Te earthing issue is for compliance, safety, surge and lightning protection. The generator earth and the mains earth must be properly bonded.

If you want to connect to your normal power distribution, it is a job for an electrician, not for just anyone to do.
 
Rizzler said:
Thanks you although it's not connected to my home installation. I just run TV, fibre modem and CEP and laptop with 2 screens. For emergencies
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If it's just digital devices, (not power tools and items with motors in them) for short periods of time then you can skip the earthing.
Keep in mind that there will be no fault protection in this case.

Nevertheless, the devices you mentioned are more suited to be running on a ups, because, over time the controller circuitry on these devices get damaged by the irregular signal that a generator produces.
 
ayvadia said:
If it's just digital devices, (not power tools and items with motors in them) for short periods of time then you can skip the earthing.
Keep in mind that there will be no fault protection in this case.

Nevertheless, the devices you mentioned are more suited to be running on a ups, because, over time the controller circuitry on these devices get damaged by the irregular signal that a generator produces.
Click to expand...

Only if the generator is badly maintained. Stable voltage and frequency within limits = no damage.
Generators with AVR = no damage but that still means you need to maintain the generators just less critical
Generators with sine wave inverters = no damage.
 
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