DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

To bond or not to bond,That is the question

4K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  Speedy Petey 
#1 ·
External building (Shed), with NO water supply or pipes going to main building, 120/240VAC 60A Underground service, 115 feet away from main. 8' Copper Electrode at BOTH buildings. In THIS case I would think A BONDING to the N-Bus to be correct as the Main house is far away and no pipes connect the two. So a ground to the house would not be preferred by electricity over the local ground rod. Furthermore, Any Electricity or faults from the House (MAIN) would prefer to go to the Main's Local grounding rod and water pipes over traveling all the way to the Sheds Ground rod. At all time keeping the ground INSIDE the underground conduit NON-Charged, as well as any service ground remaining UN-Charged such as phone and appliances.

Now If there were pipes connecting the 2 buildings then the N-Bus would NOT be bonded as a fault could prefer the Pipes ground over the Rods grounds, traveling through the non-Fused water pipes looking for the First Ground which may result in being the plumber.


If I were installing a sub-panel IN the House I would NOT bond as a fault might travel through the ground wire or the Neutral and cause a possible shock or a 240V load to the 120V circuits risking a fire. Do I have it right?. Or am I still way off?

____________________________________________________
NEC code rule#1) If it is easier.. its wrong.
NEC code rule#2) If it is cheaper ... Its wrong
NEC code rule#3) Pay your inspector and see rule#1
 
See less See more
2
#3 ·
You are generally correct. The only thing is the purpose of a ground rod, or the ground itself is not to clear a fault. It is to stabilize the electrical system in the event of a very short term high current fault such as lightning.
Grounding and grounding electrode systems can be an extremely confusing subject.

Bottom line is if you ran a 4-wire feeder to the out building then the neutrals and grounds are NOT bonded in the sub-panel.
If there are not other metallic paths between bulidings and if there is a 3-wire feeder then they DO get bonded.
This is regardless of any ground rods, they are required at each building in ANY case.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top