How to wire a power panel right to my mep 803a generator

[rocky4by]

Im so confused, it can't be that hard. I have pulled up 50 posts on it. All I need is a panel and outlets right on my generator that will stay on the military trailer it sits on. Is there a simple photo that shows which lugs to connect for 220 and run to my panel, what size wire, what do I do about the ground? I have wired the past few homes we have owned. shop and all, i did have to ask some ? along the way but all went fairly easy. Almost every article I read on wiring this gen to a panel or home turns into a whirlwind of information. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[DieselAddict]

Lugs 1 and 3 are your hots in 240/120v mode. N and G are labeled.

If you are using a panel that bonds the neutral and ground together, remove the bonding strap inside the terminal compartment.

 

[Scoobyshep]

Fast and easy version:

Generator L1 to L1 on your panel
Generator L3 to L2 on your panel
Generator L0 to Neutral on your panel
Ground the panel to the generator chassis

IMPORTANT: wherever you use you MUST provide a ground, most times a 10' rod (NEC says 8' must contact soil, that why they are 10'). somewhere in the system you must bond (connect) neutral to ground.

IIRC in single phase 240 the 803 is rated at 52 amps, in this case 6AWG is sufficient.


Hope this helps, if in doubt please ask

 

[rocky4by]

Thanks for the information. At our property the grounding rod is not an issue I can drive one in the ground, but I have welders and want it to be mobile, is there a way to run it without the grounding rod?

Fast and easy version:

Generator L1 to L1 on your panel
Generator L3 to L2 on your panel
Generator L0 to Neutral on your panel
Ground the panel to the generator chassis

IMPORTANT: wherever you use you MUST provide a ground, most times a 10' rod (NEC says 8' must contact soil, that why they are 10'). somewhere in the system you must bond (connect) neutral to ground.

IIRC in single phase 240 the 803 is rated at 52 amps, in this case 6AWG is sufficient.


Hope this helps, if in doubt please ask

 

[Scoobyshep]

Thanks for the information. At our property the grounding rod is not an issue I can drive one in the ground, but I have welders and want it to be mobile, is there a way to run it without the grounding rod?

You can, but it's not recommended. A wiring fault could energize the chassis and really ruin your day.

Most of the time it would be just fine, but you have to be lucky every time. It's that 1 time that you're unlucky that goes bad

 

[Light in the Dark]

Use a heavy set of jumper cables. Drive the rod, and hook up one side of the cables to the rod, and the same color (other side) to the grounding lug of the machine. Its better than nothing at all, and affords you versatility.

 

[rocky4by]

Im in NW AZ it's solid rock, even if I do somehow drive a rod on our 40 acres, I can't do that everywhere I might have to go out and weld. Maybe I'm needing a different generator to go mobil, but really prefer to use the 803A if I can. What's different in say a Honda generator, or habor freight? Or do they still need a ground rod too, we live off grid and use our Honda EB 3000 evey day.

 

[DieselAddict]

The most important thing is to get the generator electrically well bonded to the chassis of any vehicle it’s mounted to.

 

[Scoobyshep]

You are supposed to do it with any generator.

Are there common areas you'll be setting up? And out of curiosity what are you welding on?