Question for someone w/ general knowledge

[HADave]

quote:

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Oh geez... your making this much more complicated then I was hoping for.

Just so you know... I'm not working on it w/ the power on. I keep turning the master power off in between.

But after reading what you just posted. I'm pau for now.

I was really hoping you would say...."Oh no need to ground da buggah"

Oh well... lesson learned.

Somewhere on this message board there is a link to what we should teach kids.... I guess I never learned the basics.

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Coming home soon!

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Damon, see if this helps you understand first the nuetral ( white wire ) is essentially the return path (or ground) to complete a single phase circut so an electrical device can work. So to answer your basic question You don't need da bugga......however More technically speaking.....As Code required...the neutral and ground at the main panel or disconnect are one and the same..and this holds true of older installations as well as NEW ones. If you do not see this bonding in newer homes...it tells one of two things have transpired....either the home has the main breaker out at the meter (or in a separate main disconnect inside)...and therefore now requires that a 4 wire be brought in (having the ground and neutral isolated from each other at the panel as Code required) or you are looking at a sub-panel...separate from the main panel...where the ground and neutral must also be kept separate. As you know, the neutral is the primary return path for any single phase circuit....and the ground is a safety return path in the event of a fault....to help eliminate the potential for shock from any metal casing in the event of an internal short (the neutral will NOT provide this protection...so hence the need for the extra ground path). At the main panel....the service neutral, the outside ground rod (and any internal water pipe or supplemental ground) are all technically one and the same wire and point...but that is where it ends. Once you leave the main panel...on any grounded system...this extra added ground wire now serves a totally new purpose....and because it is now isolated from the neutral from that point on - it adds the extra degree of protection that the neutral can not. It is picking up any "bleed" to metal on all your appliances (the frame of your light fixtures or dryer or stove, etc)...and taking that back to the panel...(and hopefully tripping the circuit breaker monitoring that circuit). The neutral - having an internal connection (and insulated) inside that device...can NOT do this...and this is the main purpose (and why it's required) for this isolated ground (isolated only in reference to the neutral)...to provide that extra safety path back to the panel....so that in the event of a fault or short - electricity has a quick way back to main ground. Without this ground path...the user might encounter a shock touching the device if it has an internal fault....or in the case of electronics - internal circuitry damage may occur. Technically...it is more or less redundant...the two wires have no difference in potential - as say, the hot black and neutral would...but the 2 wires now serve completely different purposes...once they leave the main panel.

Aloha HADave

S. China / Kurtistown

Black Raiders "Class of 71" We Go Unafraid