Power Outage

Back in the day I used to be responsible for wiring the Infantry bivouac areas. They would drop a 35kw genny and we ran all the cabling etc. Back then there was some weird things with a voltage that used to surprise the heck out of us.

One day got a trouble call the colour TV in the mess that wasn't working right. Stopped in and found that one the color jets on the picture tube was out. Further investigation found that there was almost a 6v 'floating' voltage to ground. Enough to screw up the TV ..mind you that was back in 1981.

The problem turned out to be the engineers that dropped the genny never established a good ground stake ( sandy soil).

The lesson: always drive in a ground stake and ground your generator frame. Especially with house wiring that has a neutral /ground connection. If you look at the stator windings in a generator you'll see the neutral line bolted to a ground lug.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MikePal

The lesson: always drive in a ground stake and ground your generator frame. Especially with house wiring that has a neutral /ground connection.

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You do bring up a good point to the conversation, Mike
More info from OSHA

Bonding Versus Grounding

Bonding and grounding are separate requirements for generators and other electrical distribution systems. Grounding means the connection, or the establishment of a connection, of an electric circuit or equipment to reference ground, which includes the generator’s frame. Bonding is the intentional connection between the grounded circuit conductor (neutral) and the grounding means for
the generator, which includes the generator’s
frame. Thus, effective bonding of the neutral
conductor to the generator’s frame is also a
concern for the safe use of the equipment. As
with grounding terminal connections, proper
bonding of the neutral terminal of a power
receptacle may be confirmed via testing by a
competent electrician with the correct equipment, and the ohmic resistance should measure near zero and must not be intermittent,
which indicates a loose connection.

https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/f..._generator.pdf

If this thread is about type of gas and seasonal machines, then I can say all I do is burn a hi-test, supposedly ethanol-free gas in those machines and I don't drain the carb or add gas treatment. I've had no problems with any of my machines, ATV, snowmachine, lawnmower, snowblower, ice auger, weed-whacker, chainsaw, outboards...you name it. The only time I use a regular octane gas is when I know for sure that I'll burn it all off before that useage is over with.