Travel trailer off grid grounding help

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SwampYankee
SwampYankee Registered Users Posts: 16 ✭
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1
First post here, great info and products from Wind & Sun!

This is what I have:

Off grid travel trailer in florida
Generator power
250W solar (keeping the batteries up)
Xantrex 2000W inverter
500AMP bank

Nothing at this time is grounded and the trailer is off the ground so the wheels are not touching.
Battery bank neg grounds to trailer frame just to make the loop (factory config).
Trailer is hooked to the generator with the supplied 30A cord.
I run a totally separate line for some 12v led lighting for my deck hooked to the inverter when needed otherwise we just use the outlets in the trailer if genny is on.
I have noticed when charging my computer via in the inverter on 12v (genny off) that there is a ground issue. Haven't noticed it when I have electronics plugged into the campers outlets with genny running.

I just want to be sure especially with all the lightening we get in Florida that I'm doing everything I need to do to prevent fires or shorts.

I need to know what should be earth grounded?
Can I "over ground" the system?
Should the genny be grounded?
Should the inverter be grounded?
Should the trailer be grounded?
Will one ground maybe at the genny take care of it all?

I'm a lamen with electricity so....

Thanks!
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  • garbonz
    garbonz Registered Users Posts: 1
    #2
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    Re: Travel trailer off grid grounding help

    Depends on the Genny. Many have floating grounds (Honda and Yamaha , etc) and your trailer does also, so there is NOPLACE where the Neutral and Ground tie together like in your box at the house. Look up athe "No Shock Zone" website for more information on how to correct this condition, which can be done with a jumper at the generator.

    AND careful out there...
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  • SwampYankee
    SwampYankee Registered Users Posts: 16 ✭
    #3
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    Re: Travel trailer off grid grounding help
    garbonz wrote: »
    Depends on the Genny. Many have floating grounds (Honda and Yamaha , etc) and your trailer does also, so there is NOPLACE where the Neutral and Ground tie together like in your box at the house. Look up athe "No Shock Zone" website for more information on how to correct this condition, which can be done with a jumper at the generator.

    AND careful out there...

    Thanks I found quite a bit of info on the No Shock Zone site on this topic which confuses me even more.
    The genny I have is your standard Champion 3500 model 46561. The unit has a ground post on the front which does connect to the frame. So I'm still not sure where that leaves me. I do not have any problems with powering any equipment at this time and everything works. I just know somewhere something should probably be grounded. Can it hurt to ground the Xantrex inverter?
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #4
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    Re: Travel trailer off grid grounding help

    Grounding. My favourite topic. Not.

    It is necessary for neutral to be connected to actual Earth ground to be safe.
    If the generator has a neutral-ground bond and is not grounded to Earth then the frame will be 'live' in respect to both hot and Earth. This you do not want under any circumstances.
    If there is no Earth ground available you want the N-G bond broken, and the neutral line protected by a breaker in common trip with hot so that in the event of a short circuit both sides are switched off.

    Whether or not the inverter can be harmed by having its 'neutral' AC output grounded depends on the exact model of the inverter. As a rule, a pure sine inverter will have no problem whereas a so-called "modified sine wave" inverter will likely fry instantly.
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  • Blackcherry04
    Blackcherry04 Solar Expert Posts: 2,490 ✭✭✭
    #5
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    Re: Travel trailer off grid grounding help

    If the Xantrex is a Mobile version then by ( UL458 ) it makes the bond while Inverting and Lifts the bond with AC Input. As Coot says it depends on the Inverter, look up the specifications. This question comes up when someone uses one in a cabin. You can bond them in the panel, but you must defeat the Inverter ( not always easy ). I usually have the opposite problem, making them create a bond when using a off grid inverter for mobile use. I always wire in a relay that creates a bond on the Inverter and lifts it when Generator or AC input is present, you can also 3 wire disconnect and take the generator out of the loop when not running or unplug it if it's grounded. Then you'll ground the Inverter with the chassis lug. It's called called grounding the source.


    You sound semi - permanent , drive a ground rod.

    .
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  • SwampYankee
    SwampYankee Registered Users Posts: 16 ✭
    #6
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    Re: Travel trailer off grid grounding help
    Blackcherry04 wrote: »
    If the Xantrex is a Mobile version then by ( UL458 ) it makes the bond while Inverting and Lifts the bond with AC Input. As Coot says it depends on the Inverter, look up the specifications. This question comes up when someone uses one in a cabin. You can bond them in the panel, but you must defeat the Inverter ( not always easy ). I usually have the opposite problem, making them create a bond when using a off grid inverter for mobile use. I always wire in a relay that creates a bond on the Inverter and lifts it when Generator or AC input is present, you can also 3 wire disconnect and take the generator out of the loop when not running or unplug it if it's grounded. Then you'll ground the Inverter with the chassis lug. It's called called grounding the source.


    You sound semi - permanent , drive a ground rod.

    .

    I am in a fixed location. All the expensive stuff is locked in a shipping container which is essentially my genny and power shed. I think I will be good just driving a rod and attaching it to the genny. The inverter is a Wagen not Xantrex (my mistake) and it is pure sine wave. Everything is running off the trailers 30a cord and I have two heavy gauge extension cords plugged into the genny powering deck lights when its on and then I have heavy gauge cord plugged into the inverter to give me some 12v lighting when the genny is off. Its all connected together in a small battery bank normal config using the genny to supply the trailers onboard inverter/charger to keep the batts up. When I have the genny off I just use the inverter to charge up my electronics and run a few lights. I have a small panel to keep the batts up when Im not around. Overall everything works fine so I'm leery to change anything.
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