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The Generator Mistake Everyone Makes!

Backyard Maine

984,755 views

In this video we'll cover code requirements for generator connections, including bonded vs floating neutral and whether a ground rod is required. Also, how to tell whether your generator has a bonded or floating neutral, how to change it to floating or to bonded and why it's important to get this right (for safety).
⚡️ Want to make sure your generator and home is safe?
I put together a simple Home Electrical Safety Checklist to help you spot problems early—before they turn into something serious.
Grab it here 👉 https://backyarddiy.gumroad.com/l/wvils

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Backyard Maine assumes no liability for damage or injury. We highly recommend using appropriate safety procedures which includes calling a professional when needed. This content is for entertainment purposes only. No information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user. Backyard Maine will not be held liable for any negligent or accidental damage or injury resulting from tools, electrical equipment, fires, electronics or any items contained in this video.

20 Comments

@BackyardMaine Creator 6 months ago Pinned

⚡Quick heads up—I made a Home Electrical Safety Checklist that walks you through what to look for so you can catch issues early (before they become a real problem). You can grab it here 👉 https://backyarddiy.gumroad.com/l/wvils

@christined4452 9 months ago

I think I need to watch this at half speed about 50 times before it sinks in and makes the connection to my brain.

@v0wiivddjko 9 months ago

I’ve watched dozens of videos trying to understand floating neutral vs bonded generators and this is the best one.

@richb7414 8 months ago

If you are back feeding you want a floating Neutral.
If you are using it as a standalone power supply, you want it bonded.

@Andrei-u7o5w 1 hour ago (edited)

Not sure how things are done in USA. In Canada the Center Tap (Neutral) of the transformer is grounded (Earthed). CEC prohibits bonding neutral to GND at the panel. GND and neutral are always separate. It is the responsibility of your utility provider to ensure proper Center Tap Grounding. That is why you often see a thick GND cable running up the pole towards the transformer "neutral". There is nothing neutral about a "neutral" it just has earth reference on it. In the EU there is no center tap, the utility grounds one of the output leads of the transformer. You can earth one but never more than one output lead of a power transformer. In applications where a GND needs to be removed, an ISOLATION transformer can be used that will provide 100% isolated "floating" output.

@McJiver 8 months ago

Not a lot of generator videos even touch on this. Way to go!

@jpeterd92 9 months ago

Some of my friends were setting up music equipment on a stage running off of a generator and they were getting a lot of static and noise coming through the speaker systems, I went and found a piece of copper pipe and hammered it into the ground, to make a grounding electrode and grounded the generator with it, this eliminated the noise because the sound systems used the ground for shielding against electromagnetic interference.

@petersugar4924 9 months ago

this video should come with every generator/inverter. just a quick QR code link for the consumer to learn how/why stuff works.

@davidroach553 9 months ago

retired electrical inspector....; WELL DONE!

@Zdosse 9 months ago (edited)

I spent about 1 month to research this topic a year ago and this video just combined everything that I learned in 1 video. Very informative.

@terryscott5568 8 months ago

You get to the point and don’t spend half the video telling us how important you are! A big thanks!

@andylouden2310 9 months ago

Clearest explanation I’ve seen on this subject, and I’ve seen quite a few. For me, your teaching skills are far beyond most sites. You started with the objectives, covered the fundamentals, and delve into the details in a clear and concise manner, including code. I have a fairly strong electrical background but I’m not an electrician. I’ve had several projects that included back up power and this video answered the questions the electrician couldn’t explain beyond “its code”. Thanks!

@dbishop2860 8 months ago

I have a 15000 W generator for powering my house. But for some reason when the generator was powering my house, my furnace got power but wouldn’t run. Thermostat would call for heat but still nothing ran. I’ve asked so many electricians and hvac guys, no one knew why my furnace wouldn’t work. After I watched this video, I discovered my generator from the manufacturer was bonded. For so long, while I connected it to my house, I was double bonding. I had no idea. I now have removed the jumper. My generator now has a floating neutral. Thank you again for explaining this and helping me discover the solution that no one else could figure out.

@arachnipope 8 months ago

Excellent ! All "grounds" are not created equal. One saves the house and one saves your life. Good video.

@B81Mack 9 months ago

Clear, articulate and properly paced.

You should have been a teacher.

@terrylaw18 9 months ago

You remind me of an instructor I had in trade school. One of his deadpan jokes was about flame type refrigerant leak detectors. The danger with these detectors was that when R12 was exposed to open flame it would produce a bright green flame which was very effective at locating a leak but then it was also producing deadly phosgene gas also known in WW1 as mustard gas. He’d say. If you’re using one of these and you’re not careful, if you had any problems when you came to work that morning, you won’t have any to go home with later.

@DjbGumpy 9 months ago

When I got my home generator inlet and portable generator in May 2024, the question of bonded versus unbonded neutral to ground came up as a one-liner in the owner’s manual.

It stated to go to the manufacturer website for instructions on how to unbond the generator for safe home panel use since it came from the factory as bonded.

My master electrician wasn’t sure about this and most portable generator forums downplayed the issue entirely.

While I figured out what to do and the need to make a bonding plug for full portable use, your video would have been SO much faster.

In my case the manufacturer included a dummy plug expressly for the purpose of making the bonding plug if it was needed, which it is for portable use because I then had to go inside the generator panel to locate the place where to cut the neutral (per manufacturer instructions since it didn’t include a jumper).

Thank you for covering this important topic so thoroughly!

@Coastal_gal 1 day ago (edited)

Just noticed you're from Maine and former AF? Aside from tinkering with electrical, we have things in common! That 'goodie" box from IDEAL is well-deserved! Thanks for a great video. This was one stop shopping for me today-you answered all of the questions that I had on this topic as I recently purchased a Honda inverter gen and an EcoFlow and just yesterday landed on a couple of YT videos on this subject that were much less thorough explanations. Just purchased the plug you have listed. Thanks again!