I’ve been round to test a food cabin/ cafe for a friend taking it on. It’s only a few lights and sockets and it’s running off a portable generator. There was no separate earth so I suggested an earth rod and the owners put in 2 and they’ve been linked together and back to the board in the cabin. My problem is I can’t get an earth loop reading at all and my tester is only reading 100 Volts between live and earth. Do I need to put more rods in because it’s not the best ground? Or is it something to do with the generator, because I can’t get a reading if I plug directly into the generator. Thanks
Generator and earth rod problems
- Thread starter Brad
- Start date
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What tester are you using?
Fluke multi meter
the generator probably doesnt have an earth so good luck getting a loop reading...
As above the generator is probably not earth referenced and the windings floating. Your earth terminal probably only goes to the generator frame. This is fine for running single items (such as a power tool in the middle of a field) and is effectivly an IT system, but is no good for suppling an installation, unless there is monitoring for the first fault and the instalaltion is under the control of a skilled person. Generally you'll have to provide a N-E link at the origin of the installation. Have a look at section 7.1.3 of BS7430.
You could put as many earth electroduces in the ground as you want, and still not get an earth loop reading (hint: get a sheet of paper and try and draw out the fault path)
You could put as many earth electroduces in the ground as you want, and still not get an earth loop reading (hint: get a sheet of paper and try and draw out the fault path)
Sorry, but this reminds me of a cartoon I saw a while ago, showing a generator with a bucket of soil and earth rod in it.
