my power was out for a week due to an ice storm. my power is back on now. i got a 5000 watt 5500 surge watts generator and i tried to to hook my goodman GMH95 gas furnace. i hooked the black and white wires up but not the ground it was not hooked up in the first place(my house is not grounded). all the furnace would do is click. does anyone know how to hook it up to a generator? will my 5000 watt generator run my goodman SSZ14 Heat Pump in the summer for air condition or is it to small? i had to stay at my inlaws for a week and i dont want to do that again!! i want to be ready next time.

 

your house has to be grounded someway.. what type of fuse panel and wiring do you have?? just buy some electric space heaters for back up heat. dont mess around with your gas furnace.sounds like you have a ignition lockout.

 

the breaker box is grounded but most of the 110 volt plugs are not grounded. the line going to the furnace is just a black and white. there is no ground there. the house was built in the 50s.

 

someone told me my furnace needs a neutral to ground bond is that true?

 

When the furnace was installed was it set up to run on 120V or 240V that could be your problem....If it was wired for 240V, and your generator is putting out 120V, it would click like you are describing....Check the wiring diagram on the furnace to find out. Just be aware that if you change the furnace to run on 120V, that it will draw twice the amperage to run the blower motor than it would on 240V. If you are running other things on that generator at the same time, it will be working hard, lights and things are no prob, but things like TV's and microwaves are the big draws...Report back how it goes..

 

Be careful with that stuf. But you are prbably needing the 240 as noted above.

 

the furnace is a 110 volt. it is on a 110 volt breaker. i had nothing other then the furnace hookedup.

 

house was built in the 50s? it probably has bx type wiring. is it flexible metal type conduit coming from the breaker panel?? if so the metal conduit is the ground itself. most residential furaces are on 120v power and have a dedicated circuit. yea if you put to much voltage or wire it backwards etc.. it will lock itself out.

 

the wire have a brown material around it. it is all most cloth like.

 

I know the kinda wire you're talkin bout and it is 50's stuff and fire prone so be careful. 1 neutral 1 hot. You need to check your breaker box. The old code did'nt jump the neutral and frame. Simply put as I can, look and see if there is a jumper wire from the neutral bar (white wires) to the frame grounds (bare wires). If this is above your expertise I stongly advise finding someone that knows more.

 

that bond would be correct. IE the jumper. 220 will work without a ground just make sure you're not it. 110 will not work without the proper ground. Will do all kinda crazy stuff. Melt the glass off a light bulb.

 

so is that why it did not work when i hooked it up to the generator i did not hook the ground up?

 

i agree. find a electrician to help you. sounds like you have the old cloth type early romex. and also your furnace should have a service switch and not be wired directly to the breaker panel. thats code up here in mass. alot of the buildings i work in have that type of wiring and it can be tricky if you dont kow what your doing.

 

I think you should have the power company hook up an outlet(I think it's called a double throw transfer switch) by your meter. When the power goes out, it allows you to run a cord from this outlet to your generator. This way, your whole house is powered.

 

Not good to let the power company here near your outdated wiring. They may decide you're a fire hazard and whack you off. Once you disconnect, you will have to be up to code for a reconnect. $$$$$