Portable Generator

The 120V cord should have a hot and a neutral (grounded), but they should not be connected to each other. Your description seems unclear about this.

The cord is made for confusing parents. This is what sons do, and it worked!

I'm confused about how he made a cord using only a manual...haha.

If the cord has a 110/120 (household edison NEMA code 5-15 or possibly 5-20 for your cord) plug on it, then it can't really have a hot and ground (tied together) and then have "the other hot wire" as there is only one hot, one neutral, and one ground in a proper 120V cord. Perhaps the cord was made with the intention of tying the neutral and ground together, leaving the third conductor for the hot. BAD IDEA.

This would be very wrong and very dangerous, and might not trip a non-gfci breaker.

The cord could be used to blow a breaker, ruin your generator, start a fire, or hurt someone, and therefore should not be used until assembled correctly.

If you can send a drawing, or photo, of the cord in question, some CR4 folks can probably get this set straight.

Please don't use that cord until you know what's going on.

One more thought, and I have not googled your unit to see if it has this feature -some generators in this smaller size have a feature to tie two generator outputs together to provide more amperage. Perhaps your son was following the manual to make one of these jumper/tie cords? See? Now he's confused me too! Still - no using that cord till you get a definite answer.

txmedic: He wasn't trying to confuse me--it was too long ago. Maybe just a mistake due to his youth; I won't be using this cord.

Perhaps a call or letter to the manufacturer could help you:

Coleman powermate 525302.

4970 airport road
po box 6001
kearney, ne 68848

1-800-445-1805
1-308-237-2181

generally a power plug prong twisted 90 degree goes to 30AMP PLUG. I kinda doubt that this is the truth for your unit. Ask your son if he has the manual.

A. 120 V, 20 Ampere Duplex Receptacle

This duplex is split so that 20 amps of current may be drawn from each half of the receptacle. However, total power drawn must be kept within nameplate ratings. These receptacles may be used along with the twistlock receptacle provided the generator is not overloaded.

B. 120/240 V, 20 Ampere Twistlock Receptacle

A maximum of 20 amps may be drawn from the 120/240 volt receptacle, provided it is the only receptacle used. However, current must be limited to the nameplate rating. If the 120/240 volt receptacle is used along with the 120 volt receptacle, the total load drawn must not exceed the nameplate ratings.

A. Two identical Receptacle , side by side

B. One Twistlock Receptacle, centred below Two identical Receptacle at A above

C. Circuit Breakers

The receptacles are protected by an AC circuit breaker. If the generator is overloaded or an external short circuit occurs, the circuit breaker will trip. If this occurs, disconnect all electrical loads and try to determine the cause of the problem before attempting to use the generator again. If overloading causes the circuit breaker to trip, reduce the load. NOTE:

Continuous tripping of the circuit breaker may cause damage to generator or equipment. The circuit breaker may be reset by pushing the button of the breaker. These two buttons are located at either extremes of 120 V, 20 Ampere Duplex receptacle.

I am unable to paste the image from PDF manual. Manual can be downloaded at:

http://www.manualslib.com/download/134031/Powermate-Maxa-5000-Er-Pm0525202-02.html

Joshi: I got the manual OK, but it is not quite the same despite the model. There is no twist-lock receptacle. The 110 & 220 receptacles are on a panel not on the end-bell of the generator. The 220 receptacle is similar to a 110, but with one prong turned 90 degrees. As said above, I won't be using this cord. Probably will destroy it.

Thanks for your extensive response.

Maybe to make sure the breaker trips on the generator. Possibly he was checking it for safety?

This makes no sense please revise the question

Each hot leg should be 110 vac and then the third one is ground, use a multi meter to check the power. From your description you should be either dead shorted or a 110 circuit. Or I am not reading your question correctly.

When in doubt hire a licensed electrician.

That is what I did for our portable genset, switchgear and wiring.....tied into the circuit breaker panel.

I found a similar link to the other one posted, I do not know if the manual is identical or has the difference that was mentioned, check it out:-

http://www.powermate.com/pdfs/2007/11/17/manual_pl0525202.02.pdf

Best of luck.

Yes, In order to get the 240v to work you must use the plug that you have described !!! I don't know why...I think it is the way that the panel box is wired. I lost my manual and I am trying to figure out why it was wired that way. I will post again when I find the wiring diagram

I believe that since the coleman is using a floating neutral on the three prong 240, connecting the neutral to ground on the 120 creates a "bonded neutral" . Does this make sense? I have been afraid to use it. BTW my generator came with the exact plug as described by the original post.