Since our EMS is a "portable" Progressive Industries EMS-PT30C (precursor to the EMS-30PTX), we leave it out of the circuit when connecting to our Jackery. Note, however, when we just want to power the 12 VDC outlets and charge the house batteries, instead of connecting our shore power cord to the Jackery, I disconnect the AC input to the convertor/charger from the adjacent "wall outlet" and connect it to the 120 VAC output from the Jackery. This is relatively easy to do inside our RV (Winnebago Travato 2016G). This eliminates the need to route the shore power cord through a door or window. It would be nice if RV manufacturers made available a connector that allowed connecting portable lithium ion power sources inside the RV to power the RV from 120 VAC in the same manner as if the RV was connected to shore power.
Brilliant solution to a problem I didn’t know existed until now! I have an Eccoflow River 2 max that I use all the time during power outages and while camping to power computers and the like but I’ve never run into this problem. I don’t have it with me so I can’t check now but I’ve always wondered how they wired the ground pins. It will be interesting to check to see if is just a hole in the case like the one in your picture. I would have thought the outlet ground pins would be bonded the internal chassis which would also be bonded to the 120V ac power cable ground. Since my unit will pass-through the line-power and function as a quasi-UPS, it seems like passing through the ground would be a safer way to wire it. I’ll post again after I check it out!
I tested my Eccoflow River 2 max and found that the outlets are grounded and that the ground passes through from the 120V utility connection cord and plug when the inverter is on. I also inserted an outlet tester (with the inverter running)and to my shock (pardon the pun) was informed by both a standard three light outlet tester and that Klein electronic outlet tester you recommended that the neutral and hot are reversed! I've been using it a lot and the reversed hot/neutral has not caused an issue. I'm quite surprised that a commercial product would have the hot and neutral lines reversed. How do you feel about reversed hot/neutral from a safety perspective?
I noticed you didn't mention EcoFlow here, which, as you know, is another big brand. I have two Delta Pro's and they must be built different with respect to the ground pin. Using my receptacle tester, it shows open ground until I also plug in the N-G bonding plug. No need for the three-way plug.
Something else that's interesting...I now have those Delta Pros connected to the EcoFlow double voltage hub, which then feeds both legs of my rig via a manual transfer switch. When connected this way, I no longer need the N-G bonding plug. Testing the outlets in the rig with the receptacle tester show all normal.
I know you've covered the generator grounding question many times, and I understand the topic fine. However, in at least one of your articles, you note that not having the N-G bond can make troubleshooting problematic, but what about safety? Is there a safety aspect to this topic?
I'm an old retired Navy submarine electrician. Our whole lives revolved around ungrounded systems. Since retiring, I've learned a lot about grounding and bonding, but I'm still trying to get the hang of it!
(Potential) PROBLEM: JACKERY OUTLET (shown in article) LABELED "300 W MAX", and internet says "Key Takeaways About Coffee Maker Wattage
An average coffee maker consumes about 550 to 1200 watts of power.
Assuming you use your coffee maker for two hours daily, the total power consumption is about 1 kWh to 2.4 kWh.
A solar power generator is the best way to power your coffee maker on camping, beach picnics, off-grid settings, or emergency power outages. ...
I have a 1500KWH Jackery that easily powers my Nespresso coffee maker. Each Cappuccino with foamed milk takes around 30Wh of energy. Read my article about Cappuccino Energy Units here: https://open.substack.com/pub/rvelectricity/p/caffeine-university?r=1txmtl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Since our EMS is a "portable" Progressive Industries EMS-PT30C (precursor to the EMS-30PTX), we leave it out of the circuit when connecting to our Jackery. Note, however, when we just want to power the 12 VDC outlets and charge the house batteries, instead of connecting our shore power cord to the Jackery, I disconnect the AC input to the convertor/charger from the adjacent "wall outlet" and connect it to the 120 VAC output from the Jackery. This is relatively easy to do inside our RV (Winnebago Travato 2016G). This eliminates the need to route the shore power cord through a door or window. It would be nice if RV manufacturers made available a connector that allowed connecting portable lithium ion power sources inside the RV to power the RV from 120 VAC in the same manner as if the RV was connected to shore power.
Brilliant solution to a problem I didn’t know existed until now! I have an Eccoflow River 2 max that I use all the time during power outages and while camping to power computers and the like but I’ve never run into this problem. I don’t have it with me so I can’t check now but I’ve always wondered how they wired the ground pins. It will be interesting to check to see if is just a hole in the case like the one in your picture. I would have thought the outlet ground pins would be bonded the internal chassis which would also be bonded to the 120V ac power cable ground. Since my unit will pass-through the line-power and function as a quasi-UPS, it seems like passing through the ground would be a safer way to wire it. I’ll post again after I check it out!
I don’t have an EcoFlow unit to test, so please check your unit for an EGC pass-thru and let me know.
Hi Mike,
I tested my Eccoflow River 2 max and found that the outlets are grounded and that the ground passes through from the 120V utility connection cord and plug when the inverter is on. I also inserted an outlet tester (with the inverter running)and to my shock (pardon the pun) was informed by both a standard three light outlet tester and that Klein electronic outlet tester you recommended that the neutral and hot are reversed! I've been using it a lot and the reversed hot/neutral has not caused an issue. I'm quite surprised that a commercial product would have the hot and neutral lines reversed. How do you feel about reversed hot/neutral from a safety perspective?
Reversed hot/neutral isn’t dangerous unless you’re touching a neutral conductor in a live panel.
Hi Mike,
I noticed you didn't mention EcoFlow here, which, as you know, is another big brand. I have two Delta Pro's and they must be built different with respect to the ground pin. Using my receptacle tester, it shows open ground until I also plug in the N-G bonding plug. No need for the three-way plug.
Something else that's interesting...I now have those Delta Pros connected to the EcoFlow double voltage hub, which then feeds both legs of my rig via a manual transfer switch. When connected this way, I no longer need the N-G bonding plug. Testing the outlets in the rig with the receptacle tester show all normal.
I know you've covered the generator grounding question many times, and I understand the topic fine. However, in at least one of your articles, you note that not having the N-G bond can make troubleshooting problematic, but what about safety? Is there a safety aspect to this topic?
I'm an old retired Navy submarine electrician. Our whole lives revolved around ungrounded systems. Since retiring, I've learned a lot about grounding and bonding, but I'm still trying to get the hang of it!