Connecting house to 3ph generator

[MEisme]

Hello list,
Can an engine driven 3ph generator be hooked up to a house and keep the phases balanced? I can see that two phases are used in the normal connection, but how is the third phase utilized? I have searched FAQs and the archives, but may have missed a previous discussion. I apologize if this is a repetitive question and if so, could someone recommend a thread to search out?

Thanks,
Phil

 

[rbulsara]

While you will not be able to balance the phases, as long as you do not exceed the rating of each phase, and run a full size neutral, this should not be a problem.

Specially if this for a residential application and will only be used in emergency.

Question should be 'is it necesarry to balance this generator? ' and I am sure you will get a barrage of answers telling you what you 'can' do convert a 3 phase to single phase, but won't be practical and you dont have to do it.

May be your neighbour can use the unused phase and have a win win situation)

 

[busbar]

There’s no way I have found to get full generator capacity {kW-kVA} on a 12-lead 3ø generator with an “Edison” 120/240V 1ø 3-wire load.

Best that can be expected is about 2/3 capacity, and a corresponding unbalanced load. For a plain-vanilla 12-lead stator..

“L1” — T1 & T7
“N” — T4, T10, T5 & T11
Bolt and Tape — T2, T8, T6 & T12
“L2” — T3 & T9

That’s from memory, so may not be accurate. Some have referred to this as a LeBlanc connection. {Some consider the LeBlanc connection a way to get 1ø power to present a balanced load to a 3ø source through a transformer set, but that is not correct.}

Adjust the voltage regulator for 120V/coil.

 

[MEisme]

Thank you both for the feedback.

Phil