I've been reading everything I can find about wiring portable generators for backup power for houses. One thing I don't understand concerns the neutral. A common wiring method is to isolate the neutral and ground at the generator frame and solidly bond the generator neutral to the service neutral in the transfer switch, which is considered to effectively ground the generator (because the service ground is grounded at the transformer). This seems wrong to me. What if the meter is fed from an overhead service that is torn down during a storm? The service neutral (ground) is no longer grounded, nor is it grounded at the generator. This would seem to be an unsafe situation. Plus, since the return current from a 120V circuit would have 2 paths, mightn't it be possible to have some backfeed on the service ground, possibly endangering the lineman? If someone can answer this I have a couple of other questions.
