A cautionary tale

[SWMBoost]

Just a warning for those looking to hook up their PB to their home as a generator…

I bought the generac panel every one recommends and had a licensed electrician install it. It still trips at the truck and won’t allow me to power the house. Electrician said I could not connect the ground in the panel (illegal, dangerous, against code, won’t pass inspection) or im out of luck.

Another work around is people removing the neutral from the 220v cord. Also highly advised against by the electrician. So I get to go out and by a 30amp generator even though I bought the PB for this purpose. Just thought I’d let others know it’s not as simple or easy as others make it to be with breaking code or being unsafe.

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[tsigwing]

You need to get a different electrician out, that or you have a defective transfer switch.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

There are plenty of people who have had transfer switches installed and can safely and successfully power their houses with the PPoB and be within code. Sounds like either the wrong type of or defective transfer switch was used or this electrician was wrong.

Just because they are a licensed electrician doesn't mean they know what they're doing.

 

[White Tornado]

Works for me.

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

Just a warning for those looking to hook up their PB to their home as a generator…

I bought the generac panel every one recommends and had a licensed electrician install it. It still trips at the truck and won’t allow me to power the house. Electrician said I could not connect the ground in the panel (illegal, dangerous, against code, won’t pass inspection) or im out of luck.

Another work around is people removing the neutral from the 220v cord. Also highly advised against by the electrician. So I get to go out and by a 30amp generator even though I bought the PB for this purpose. Just thought I’d let others know it’s not as simple or easy as others make it to be with breaking code or being unsafe.

Keep in mind, not all electricians know what they’re talking about. Clearly, this one didn’t.

 

[ryanc111]

I just used mine last night to get through a temporary power outage - worked great.

 

[Gros Ventre]

What I found with my panel was that at least the ground contacts seem to be make before break. Hence when I shift to the PB it briefly senses that internal house ground and trips. I then restart the PB generator with the transfer switch already in the truck position and it then works just fine.

 

[Gator9329]

Gros that's a good thought.
I will try that.

 

[Lefty665]

Just a warning for those looking to hook up their PB to their home as a generator…

I bought the generac panel every one recommends and had a licensed electrician install it. It still trips at the truck and won’t allow me to power the house. Electrician said I could not connect the ground in the panel (illegal, dangerous, against code, won’t pass inspection) or im out of luck.

Another work around is people removing the neutral from the 220v cord. Also highly advised against by the electrician. So I get to go out and by a 30amp generator even though I bought the PB for this purpose. Just thought I’d let others know it’s not as simple or easy as others make it to be with breaking code or being unsafe.

There are several long threads about this and how to resolve it. Suggest you read those before going off half cocked. Those explanations are very thorough, I won't go into them again here.

FWIW, I plugged the 230v cord for my existing generator into the powerboost and it worked perfectly right out of the box. YMMV.

 

[vaeyedoc]

I had the same issue as OP and others. Electrician was determined and finally found it was a crossed wire inside my house. So, could be that it is a wiring issue inside your house Z well.

 

[SWMBoost]

There are several long threads about this and how to resolve it. Suggest you read those before going off half cocked. Those explanations are very thorough, I won't go into them again here.

FWIW, I plugged the cord for my existing generator into the powerboost and it worked perfectly right out of the box. YMMV.

I read through those. Didn’t help my situation. Hardly going off half cocked. Many others have had the same problem even after using the recommended panel.

 

[SonarChief]

I used mine at least half a dozen times, perfectly illustrated why I bought the Powerboost engine!

 

[Mosey]

Sorry if has already been mentioned. The PB is a bonded generator. You can’t hook up the neutral wire from the generator to your home panel. This will trip the truck circuit breaker. What is needed is a switched neutral transfer switch, one that not only disconnects the two hot legs but the neutral as well from your main panel. The workaround many have done is to only connect the two hot legs and ground, leaving the neutral unconnected. But just keep in mind that this is not how Ford designed the PB to function.

 

[Curly]

Chris, you are correct. I've used my power boost on my Rv without any problems,
because the neutral isn't bonded to the ground(sub panel). Since our power boosts have a gfci built in, that senses imbalance in power flow and would trip. That's why gfci's are allowed for ungrounded circuits. I would disconnect the ground, never the neutral.

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

I read through those. Didn’t help my situation. Hardly going off half cocked. Many others have had the same problem even after using the recommended panel.

The cord from the receptacle to the truck is what you need to pay attention to. This is what your electrician doesn’t know about. This is what causes it’s a trip. It’s just the way the truck is designed and it’s just the way it needs to be.

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