Re: \"Little W\".....Jeeplab grounding.
Ok, someone spoke directly to me, so I'm going to throw my $0.02 worth in...
I'm not trying to sell this as a home game, this is just what *I* do...
First off, use 2/0 (not 2 Ga.) stranded copper from the meter box.
Once it comes through that meter, I have to pay for it, and the idea of paying the electric company to heat up aluminum wire pisses me off!
I use two 200 AMP services. One is for 'Utility', the other is for 'Selective' use.
I only use Square D service boxes with copper busses.
I only use Visual Trip Alert Square D breakers.
I don't use 'Copper' wire...
I use virgin copper wire, no alloys that are so common today.
I NEVER use bonding in the boxes.
(The utilities bond neutral to ground at the pole, but that's not the way *I* do things...)
By having an isolated, true EARTH ground, that means having to install earth ground bars in the service boxes. (Square D, as good as they are, don't come in 22 space with a separate earth ground)
All of my outlets, switches and accessories have separate grounding lugs, or I don't use them. (Do you know how many grounded light switches I've seen outside of my wiring....?....)
UTILITY SERVICE.
Two 2/0 'Hot Legs', one 2/0 Neutral Leg, two 4 Ga. solid copper earth grounds run to the same 15' ground rod (ohmed out ground).
3" plastic conduit, going into the building, and 1" inside the building to the heavy outlets.
Each outlet on it's own breaker.
Every outlet has a neutral AND an earth ground.
If the device is 'permanent', (IE, stationary air compressors and milling machines, ect.) I run a 10 Ga. earth ground from the outlet to the machine frame, if it only has a three wire plug.
Conductors...
6 Ga for 50 amp outlets, 8 Ga. for 30 amp outlets.
Four 110 v outlets to each 20 amp breaker. Two 110v outlets per 20 amp breaker over the welding/ drilling/ grinding bench... (I'm pretty hard on current there...)
20 amp breakers get 12 Ga. wire, 25 to 40 gets 8 Ga. wire, 50 amp gets 6 Ga. wire.
I never 'Chain' my outlets like the union guys do. Each set gets it's own 'Hot', Neutral, and Ground back to the breaker.
I use double outlet boxes every time I install a box. Four places to plug in are only $1 more expensive than two when you are doing it...
All of the 'Noisy' and cycling devices get wired here, (and that means the shop at my house).
I ran a couple if lines in the house for the freezers in the basement, but that's all in the house that uses 'Utility' service.
Welders, grinders, air compressors, milling machines, Not to mention LOTS of 4' fluorescent lights all raise one hell of a noise.
SELECTIVE USE SERVICE.
This is my primary home service.
Separate meter box, 2/0 X 2, virgin copper for hot legs, one 2/0 virgin copper for Neutral. One 2 Ga. solid copper to 15' grounding rod at the box.
Most of the house is wired into this box.
Lots of GFI stuff for outdoor outlets and wiring, and my kitchen is on a different GFI, while the bathroom is on still another...
Sub panel #1. Same Square D breakers.
Power goes through my power filter and battery back up, then to the sub panel #1.
8 Breaker Square D with solid copper busses.
This sub panel and battery back up has it's own earth ground rod, 8 Ga. with 15' rod, about 35 feet away from the primary box ground.
This power feed is for my computer and peripherals, and it services the TV, vcr, dvd, surround sound and the rest of the entertainment center and stereo system
Ground # 3 is a 6' rod with 10 Ga wire hooked to the phone line filter and lightning arrestor.
Ground #4 is at the right front corner of my house, and is connected to the satellite TV, antenna, and their lightning arrestor. It's a 15' with 8 Ga. wire.
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Don't like the way I wired my house? Tough.
Don't think it's up to code? Tough.
Like I said, I'm not trying to sell this as a home game, this is just the way *I* do things...
(that should be good enough for the drama queens that like to follow me around here...)
I've been in this house sense '96, and I haven't suffered one melt down on anything electrical.
All of my neighbors have lost something, everything from air conditioners to entertainment systems from surges, brown outs, and lightning.
Lightning is really bad in this area, we are on kind of a hill...
Brown outs and surges are common, as the city services buys electricity from three different plants and when they switch over, they get a little carried away some times....
(all within 30 miles of here, and all have high voltage lines running through one end or the other of town...)
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I am interested in the concept of 'Ground Loop'...
I've read about it, but never actually seen anyplace where it was a problem, and what problems it caused...?
Care to expound on that theroy!?
So many cats, so few recipes...