New generator blowing fuse

[Smiddyt]

My propane generator kept getting harder and harder to start. I finally broke the pull order and decided I needed a better generator. I bought a Troy built 7000 gas powered. Brought it home set it up, got it running and every time I plug in the magnum inverter/charger the breaker on the generator pops. It is a bigger generator than I had and I am using the 30 amp plug. I plugged in a skill saw to the 20 amp plugs and cut some wood and it works fine just the 30 amp does not work. The settings on the inverter are the same as when I used the other generator. The charge rate is 50%, the Vac dropout is set to 100. Anything else I can try

[Mike90250]

I'd look at the grounding scheme between the generator and the magnum

Does the breaker pop instantly, or wait till the magnum qualifies it ?

Is it a GFIC breaker ?

[Smiddyt]

It pops instantly. I unplugged the cable from the plug in I have wired to the inverter and tested the voltage coming from the 30 amp plug in the generator. I only have the black wire connected (not the red) and it read 110 volts. As soon as I plugged it back into the inverter it tripped. I checked all the wires and nothing was lose. It's the same set up I was using with my old generator (when I could get it to started).

[Mike90250]

Again:

I'd look at the grounding scheme between the generator and the magnum

**

Is it a GFIC breaker ?

[Smiddyt]

It is not a GFIC breaker. It is the one on the front of the generator. Just a little push button type breaker. I have a ground going from the generator to the same grounding rod that the inverter is tied to. Or are you talking about the ground wire in the cable? The cable is a 4 strand 10 guage flexible cable. I dont use the red wire in the cable. On one end is the L 14 plug, on the other is 3 prong dryer type plug. I have a dryer type outlet wired to my inverter so I plug the cable in and turn the AC breaker on in the inverter when I run my generator. Now I dont even get a chance to turn on the breaker before it trips. To me that means it is not a setting in the inverter but I have checked all the wires in the plug, cable, and inverter and nothing is lose. This same setup worked with my old generator.

[Smiddyt]

Just learned that my generator has the neutral connected to the ground wire. I know my system already has this connection made and you can only have one. When I get home from work I will disconnect the one in the generator and see if that fixes my problem. I will keep you posted.

[neweclipse]

Sounds like a dead short. You may find you have the black hot wire flipped with either the white or green in one of the plug ends.
Assume nothing, check 30 amp generator plug hot to generator20 amp neutral witth meter, neutral is the slot that reads 0 volts to ground,, black should read ~120 volts. If black reads 0 volts to neutral, threre is your problem.
Flip the black and white in your cord end nearest to generator.

[Smiddyt]

So Briggs and Stratton said to take the generator to a repair shot to see if there was anything wrong with it. There was not. The guy from briggs told me the 30 amp twist lock socket is not GFCI protected so it is not neutral grounded. I decided it was my cord or the 30 Amp RV outlet I had wired to the inverter AC input. The cord I have is home made twist lock male plug and 30 amp dry type male plug on the other end. I found out that is a suicide cord because one end plugged into the generator the other end could shock you. I found out they make a 30 Amp RV inlet but no where in the 2 towns closest to me have them. I finally went to a rv dealer and bought a RV inlet that actually goes on an RV and a $80 cord and adapter. I took it home and wired it up, plugged it in, and it works. No more tripping. I dont know why my set up worked with my old generator, and I ohmed out my home made cord and could not find any problems. But I am back to being able to run a generator which is good because there is no sun forcasted in the next 10 days

[Mike90250]

The old cord may have had an internal connection to the shell to a pin. But I'm glad you are OK, and the system is now working