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Old 03-09-2021, 03:38 PM   #81
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It's difficult to make things foolproof, because fools can be so ingenious.
Darwin Awards and those FailArmy channels show us just that.

In any case, this has been a useful discussion. It helped me think through some of the "Why" code requirements are what they are, and reconcile the ways things are frequently done. And thanks for everyone's input, I didn't know how my generator was bonded since no documentation came with this rig.

Using a small, floating AC inverter isn't the worst thing, since the loads are usually limited to a few small items. Any charge they might build up relative to a ground potential is limited since capacitance to ground is limited. Q = C * V, and if C is small, the charge is small as well. Good insulation of inverters and appliances minimize leakage currents on surfaces people touch. Lightning protection is lacking, but RVs never had very good lightning protection anyway.

eric, there's at least three possible bonding and grounding connections on a generator; a Neutral to Electrical Ground "bond" that ties Neutral to the electrical socket's ground pin of your generator, an Electrical Socket Ground to Chassis/frame strap, and if you add it -- a Frame Ground to Earth ground wire. The one you mentioned is helpful, since you're often standing on Earth Ground when you touch the generator.

But the other two are not always designed into generators because they don't know how it will be used (with another bond). Some generators float their neutral, and some are bonded. And the latest trend with plastic encased portable generators provides safety like your double insulated tools.

I could start a basic electricity course using easy-to-understand analogies in a different thread if people want it. It would start like this: "Electrons are like apples..." I was going to do this for RTR, but with Covid, those seminars have to wait.
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Old 03-09-2021, 04:42 PM   #82
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nic7320 View Post
I could start a basic electricity course using easy-to-understand analogies in a different thread if people want it. It would start like this: "Electrons are like apples..." I was going to do this for RTR, but with Covid, those seminars have to wait.
Moderator's Note:
Forum rules require that all threads be RV-related. The current thread meets that requirement. A generic tutorial on basic electricity would not, and so would be disallowed. There are plenty of places on the Net where such a thread would be appropriate.
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