# Champion Dual Fuel- Neutral/Ground Bonding ?



## davefred99 (Jan 20, 2017)

I recently purchased a Champion 7000/9000 dual fuel generator from Costco. I purchased it to use mostly as backup power during out frequent power outages we get up here in Lassen County, Northern California.
I am in the process of wiring up my home with an inlet box and back feed breaker with an interlock on the front panel. My issue is that as I read on the interweb I should not use a bonded neutral/ground at the generator. I understand the theory but get conflicting answers when asking what harm it really does if I leave the neutral bonded to the generator ground & frame. I asked a local electrician and he said he never disconnects the neutral bond at the generator and never has had a single issue plus he says its too easy to forget to reconnect it when the generator is used as a stand alone or portable for a jobsite or remote use.
I am leaning toward removing the bonded neutral as per the instructions on the champion website but would like to here from others who may have dealt with this or similar generators. Either way it seems to me you could argue its not code when connected to a home for emergency backup power.


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## motormonkey (Jul 10, 2016)

The neutral and ground in an electrical system should be bonded together at one single point only. In a home wiring system, that bond is usually in the meter or the breaker box. That means that the ground/neutral bond inside a generator creates a second bonding point, possibly creating a shock hazard. That's why you should open the internal ground/neutral bond inside the generator when you use the generator as a power source for your home.

When the generator is used as a stand alone power source in a system with no preexisting ground/neutral bonding, like for simply powering power tools, or a camper, etc., the internal generator ground/neutral bond should be present.


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## davefred99 (Jan 20, 2017)

Today I finished up wiring up my home with a Reliance 30 amp inlet box. I installed a 30 amp dual pole breaker at the top of my main box along with an interlock kit. Before testing it with my new Champion 7000/9000 watt dual fuel generator I disconnected the neutral bond link on the generator as well.
After testing everything with a multi-meter and verifying all voltages I shut down my main and all breakers, fired up the Generator and plugged it into my house inlet and turned on one breaker at a time. Everything worked just as it should with no load issues at all. I was surprised that my new Generator barely noticed any loads and hummed like a kitten. Even my well pump load did not make much of a difference. I was running 2 Refrigerators, one Freezer all my TV plus Internet, Oil Furnace, and most light circuits. So I think I am good to go for the next power outage.
It is amazing how much you can run on 30 amps/240 but I understand that while I could run most everything at once during an emergency I will only energize the most critical stuff so as to keep the generator load to around 50/% just to leave some margin for reserve and fuel economy.


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## HarstineSteve (Sep 10, 2018)

Hello DaveFred99. I have the same Champion 7000/9000 watt dual fuel generator, and the same problem: that the GFCI breakers in the my service panel in my house, trip off when the panel is being powered by this generator. Did you find any coaching on-line for removing the bonding on this generator? Or should I take the front cover off and just look for an obvious place where the ground is bonded to the frame?


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