Towertalk
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [TowerTalk] Grounding Multiple Buildings

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Grounding Multiple Buildings
From: Randy <randy@verizon.net>
Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 20:40:10 -0400
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Problems persist with "us" because of our very nature.
Anybody reading this hasn't managed to electrocute himself...
We're a deadly mixture of cheapskates and self-proclaimed experts.
Almost any of "us" could make something as seemingly elementary as this "work"-- that's
what makes us valuable as emergency communicators...
The "problem" exists when we forget, or move, or walk away from some seemingly "safe"
solution to a problem.
I got lit up pretty good, once upon a time, when I found out the hard way that some idiot was
using the  EMT CONDUIT back to the box as a "neutral".
One of my brothers, a properly educated plumber, saw a big flash when he cut through a 2" water line in a building... an abandoned water line by everybody but the electrician...something mysteriously killed a bunch of computers in the building at that same point in time...that's a pretty fair amount of current going through something only to be used as a "ground".


Somebody gave me a 1HP pump that I promptly hooked up to an abandoned well in my yard. Worked fine for about 2 days, then the long-ago abandoned wire shorted. No, I did NOT follow my cheapskate instincts and figure out if the short was between hot and neutral, or hot and ground, and just wiggle my way around the issue... I COULD HAVE found some cheap way around the issue, but, the hardest thing to troubleshoot is some jackass that took the easy way out... and I can't be
sure the next guy won't get cooked trying to figure out what I did...

73
Randy
KZ4RV


On 9/14/2014 5:56 AM, Jim Thomson wrote:
Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 18:26:13 -0700
From: Bill Turner <dezrat@outlook.com>
To: Towertalk <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Grounding Multiple Buildings
Message-ID: <BLU436-SMTP128B560C5A6AFC544667360C0CB0@phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

------------ ORIGINAL MESSAGE ------------(may be snipped)

On Sat, 13 Sep 2014 16:22:23 -0700, k9yc wrote:

This afternoon, I pulled out my 2002 copy of NEC and found the section
applicable to what we have been discussing. I suggest that those who
rail at my stupidity and tell me how wrong I am do the same.
REPLY:

Anyone who digs up an obsolete copy of something to prove that he has
the "right" to create a safety hazard has a larger problem than we can
help with here.

73, Bill W6WRT

##  Agreed.  It baffles me why the code allowed for NO grnd conductor between 
building ..
back in 2010..that is fubar.  Why the 4 wire code in 2011, when everyone else 
had it eons b4.

##  here we cant even buy electrical cable that does not include a ground wire.
Its been like that at least as far back as 1960, here in VE7 land.

##  In fact, the ground wire is not included in the conductor count in any 
cable.
What electricians call  2 wire, consists of  2 conductors...plus a ground.
Whats called 3 wire cable is  3 conductors  plus the ground... 4 x wires in all.

##  I wonder if 4 wire was cable was available  to K9YC back in 2010, when
he installed his  3 wire sub feed ??   If it was,  it would have been prudent 
to have bought
and used it.

##  will the electrical code allow him to install a  separate ground wire 
between buildings,
then REMOVE the grounded  neutral  in his sub panel ?   That would be the easy 
fix.
If not, I would suggest to rip the 3 wire cable out....and do it right this 
time...and install
the requisite  4 wire cable.   Then the neutral in the sub panel is not 
grounded.   Then
all fault current flows through the grnd wire...back to the main 200A panel.

## what you need to do is..... upgrade it such that it meets the current 2014 
code.

Jim   VE7RF

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk



--
I am using the free version of SPAMfighter.
SPAMfighter has removed 2174 of my spam emails to date.
Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len

Do you have a slow PC? Try a Free scan http://www.spamfighter.com/SLOW-PCfighter?cid=sigen

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>