To Ground or Not To Ground
Dear Swami, A portable generator supply company supplied a generator for a show and told me to use the building ground since the generator is not close enough to any earth to pound in a grounding rod. I believe their generator is ungrounded because they only supplied three hot conductors (black, red, and blue) and a neutral conductor (white) with no grounding conductor (green). Does the generator need to be grounded? Do they need to provide a true earth ground that is bonded to a grounding rod? Or can they use the ground from the building to ground the generator? Signed, Floating Above Earth Dear Floating, The laws of man vary according to location, but the laws of nature are immutable. You should follow the local codes and regulations dealing with driving a grounding rod, but never violate the laws of nature, common sense, and safety. The reasons for grounding are three-fold: 1. to limit voltages due to lightning, line surges, or unintentional contact with higher voltage ...