Subject: Re: FYI: Home Depot Good buy on conns/cables 20' 3Phase

> Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2000 00:25:17 -0400
> From: "Jeff Davis" <jeff0124@...>
> Subject: Re: FYI: Home Depot Good buy on conns/cables 20' 3Phase
>
> Ahh, but if you go from your main panel to, lets say a sub panel (or
> something like it), you can not (because of a rule) add a ground rod to
> that sub panel. So you need the fourth ground wire that is connected to
> the
> ground (rod) in the main panel. They do not want to have ground looping.
> So
> you get only one ground rod at your house or farm. I do not know about
> a
> large industrial set up. That maybe different.

Aaah! But there IS [or at least was], a sneaky "work around". The last
copy of NEC that I had available, specifyed that IF there were
'lightning rods' on the building, and the conductor from the 'lightning
rod' to it's 'dedicated Ground Stake' passed within something like 6' of
a circuit run, that the 'ground' of that circuit MUST be bonded to the
'lightning grounding conductor'. So, just drop a 'lightning rod' ground
conductor past your distribution panel [within the 'magic distance'] and
you have the rule you need to put in the ground that you want.

I've always kept this in the back of my mind, to be able to have a
'KNOWN GOOD GROUND' available for my house wiring. (I have this strange
reluctance in trusting the 'Power Company' wiring out to the pole, and
connecting to the 'pole ground'.)

Current NEC may not still be the same, so check it out yourself.

Chuck D.

>
> Jeff Davis
>
> <Yes, but they still bring the power in from the pole with 3
> <wires. 2 hots and a neutral. Then the neutral and the ground
> <are all connected together at the breaker box along with a
> <wire to earth ground.
> <Darrell
>
> >> 2 hots
> >> 1 neutral
> >> 1 ground
> >
> >> It's a new rule.
> >
> >> Jeff Davis
> >
> >
> > <Why would you need a 4 wire connector for single phase
> power? And if the
> > <connector is indeed rated for 240 volts then it will work
> just fine
> > whether
> > <the power is 3 phase or single phase. As long as you
> don't exceed the
> > <current rating or voltage rating it is perfectly safe
>

--
-----------------------------------------------------------
He, who will not reason, is a bigot; William Drumond,
he, who cannot, is a fool; Scottish writer
and he, who dares not, is a slave. (1585-1649)
While he that does, is a free man! Joseph P. 1955-
-----------------------------------------------------------
Chuck Davis / Sutherlin Industries FAX # (804) 799-0940
1973 Reeves Mill Road E-Mail -- cad@...
Sutherlin, Virginia 24594-3819 Voice # (804) 799-5803