On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 22:26:31 -0500, "Alex Batson"
wrote:

Consider:

The National Electric Code says otherwise. Earth ground is *not*
considered adequate bonding for the purposes of electrical safety.

The bonding rule is there for a very good reason... safety.


Bonding the grounds together will cost maybe $10 worth of wire. It's
cheap insurance.

My main pannel's nutral bar is attached to a stranded 2AWG wire attached to
the cold water pipe (from 1963). Other work done in 2001 by a contractor
has a solid 6AWG wire on the nutral bar, going out to a stake in the back
yard. He tied the gas line in the house, to the cold water pipe, and also,
in another area of the basement, tied the copper sewer line to the cold
water line. Am I good-as-gold with this setup?

Here the answer would be no, but YMMV depending on location (local
codes)

Although tied together the Neutral and ground are not considered the
same. Neutral is the return to the power transformer on the pole and
is normally the same size at the hot wires. (220 VAC). There should
be a ground at the pole and one (or two) within 6 to 12 feet of the
service entrance.

*Here* and I emphasize here, that ground varies with the size of the
service, but for a 200 amp service I believe it was #6. It had to be
"Green" and tie to the ground clamp in the breaker box. In the breaker
box is a jumper that ties the neutral and ground together. My
electrical service for the house has two 8 foot ground rods, one with
in 6 feet of the entrance and the other at 12 feet. The shop with the
same size service (200 amp) only has one ground rod.

BTW, although the ground wire is #6 the feed wires are 2 ought, or
(#00) for both the house and shop. It takes pipe benders to get that
stuff around the bends in the meter sockets and panels. Both the
house and shop are fed with underground runs of about 130 feet. Some
where I have some photos of me running the "trencher" across the
driveway to install the PVC conduit.

The gas line should have another Green wire (insulated except at the
connectors) of the same size tieing back to the ground in the breaker
box. Each of the other lines should also have it's own green wire
going back to the breaker box ground. Only one ground wire from the
box to the ground rod(s). This puts all of those metallic systems
tied to the same potential. We were not allowed to "daisy chain"
grounds. Each had to be a separate run and all tie to the buss where
the green from the ground rods ties in.

Again, I emphasize *here* is quite likely different than *there*
although I'd assume they'd be close. Everyone has to meet the national
electric code, but some areas are more strict. (I make no claim to
being an expert on the national code, but having just rewired our home
including installing a transfer switch to a 9 KW generator I am up on
the local requirements) Part of this is still under way.
Here being, Homer Township, in Midland County, Michigan.

You'll have to fix the return add due to dumb virus checkers, not spam
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair?)
www.rogerhalstead.com

alex
batsonaatcomcastdotnet