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Old November 3rd 04, 07:05 PM
Jack Painter
 
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Ruben, some corrections from:
"Richard Clark" writing:
Ruben Undheim" wrote:
Should I use the water pipe system as ground, or should I use a thick

wire
on the housewall down to a ground rod?


Hi Ruben,

The water pipe is better, a ground rod is OK. For a balanced system,
ground's only use is for AC safety (to protect YOU).


About the worst advice ever given, offering a water pipe in a second or
third story structure as an AC safety ground. First, unless you can verify
that the cold water supply in your structure is a bonded grounding electrode
conductor (and it probably is not), it must not be used for any kind of
electrical safety connection. Secondly, the AC circuit breakers that are
designed to protect your life by limiting the time-frame of a current
overload or neutral-sensing return voltage deficit cannot do so if you
modify the circuit path. This is dangerous even if the ground is as poor as
you would achieve from the elevated potential of your second or third story
flat. Only the bonding of all shack equipment, at least some of which would
be directly connected to the AC mains would provide additional electrical
safety. Grounding does NOT provide electrical safety, bonding does. It was a
typical "unbalanced amateur's response" to tell you otherwise. In an
equipment fault event, you could easily be killed by the current diverted to
a separate station ground if the equipment was not properly bonded first.

Best regards,

Jack Painter
Virginia Beach