hooking generator to cabin

[jaygtree]

i have a 110volt floating neutral generator i want to hook to a cabin. would i run two wires(hot and ground) or three wires(hot ground and neutral) to the electric box in the cabin. should the neutral and ground be bonded in the elec box? should the generator or elec box be grounded or both.  thanks.  jg

[sawguy21]

As long as it is the sole source of power the three wire hookup will work just fine. If it is a backup for utility power a manual transfer switch would be required.

[Southside]

The neutral is bonded to the box at the first point of disconnect, so in this case since your generator is replacing the utility current unless you put a disconnect in place before the breaker box, then yes you would bond the neutral to the box at that point, but don't bond any sub panels down stream if there are any.  Make sure you drive several ground rods into the earth as well at least 6' apart from each other and have them all run back to the ground buss in the panel.  If your generator has a ground post I would also have that earth grounded.  

[Runningalucas]

If this is your only supply of power, and you're running power to a panel, then yes, you want to bond the neutral, the grounding electrode  conductor, and the equipment grounding conductors; via a main bonding jumper. 

[TIDE-HSV]

In any event, the generator needs its own ground - code is generally an 8' rod. If there's not municipal power running to the cabin, there's no need to worry about a transfer switch, manual or automatic...

[jaygtree]

thank you for the reply's. the generator will be the sole source of electric. since there will only be 110 should i just run the hot and ground from the generator and establish the neutral in the cabin like you would do in normal house wiring(except there is one more hot  wire in a normal house) or should i run a third (neutral) wire from the generator?   seems like i should only run two wires(ground and hot) from the generator.  jg

[btulloh]

Worth a look:

Generator Groundig

Generator Grounding and Bonding Essentials | Electrical Contractor Magazine

https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_Hurricane_Facts/grounding_port_generator.pdf

[jaygtree]

thanks btulloh. i'll be reading those links tonite.  jg

[Runningalucas]

thank you for the reply's. the generator will be the sole source of electric. since there will only be 110 should i just run the hot and ground from the generator and establish the neutral in the cabin like you would do in normal house wiring(except there is one more hot  wire in a normal house) or should i run a third (neutral) wire from the generator?   seems like i should only run two wires(ground and hot) from the generator.  jg

what you'd be establishing at the cabin would be a.)grounding electrode conductor-GEC, b.)grounding electrode(rod, water pipe, building steel, ufer,), and c.) an equipment grounding conductor-EGC. 
The GEC runs from the grounding electrode, say a driven 8' foot 5/8" thick copper/steel rod, to the distribution panel.  I would use #6 for this, as that's the largest wire necessary for any ground rod.  At the distribution panel, you'll bond your grounded generator conductor to it, via ground buss.  It's at this point, any receptacles, lights, or what have you, that those EGC's will tie to, and bond with. 
You do need to run a EGC to the generator, I would also bond the frame, and drive another rod there. 
The idea is to create an equipotential grounding plane.  The overall idea is to get all overcurrent devices to trip fast; within 5 seconds min.  The other aspect of grounding, and bonding, is to alleviate any static noise, static electricity, and yes, even 'help' with lightning strikes(hence why I stated above, I would run the more expensive #6).  Electronics hate static.
It's not power per say, but life safety.