grounding cable tv and normal phone line?

russrp

hi, i recently moved my cable and telephone entry boxes into my attic instead of the outside of my house.

is it ok for me to run 2 sepearate ground wires back thru the wall and then connect them both to the metal electrical meter box? (before the phone only was connected to the metal meter box)

thanks!

russrp

Pudge565

Did you clear the move with the cable and phone company first? I wouldnt have moved it unless htis was done first or better yet just call em and have them do it.

$J0

you dont need to ground the phone and cable separate. I would suggest running the ground to the main panel. You can usually see the grounding for the house. Its a bare copper wire that leads into the main panel. wrap it around it or buy a split lug/clamp to attach.

!Do not attempt to open panel and ground in there!

Jim Port

You just cannot wrap the ground wire around the house ground as was suggested above.

Use a split bolt connector of the proper size and do it correctly.

russrp

hi, thanks for the responses.

i did call both the cable and tel. co. they both wanted to charge big $$ to move them, but i need to do so for aesthetics but more imprortantly for security- before it was too easy for a burglar to snip our phone lines (connected to security co.)

also- when i say wrap, i mean use a proper cable clamp around the metal electrical terminal box. if that is the case: should i
1) use one clamp for each wire and connect them at the same place 2) use one clamp for both wires or
3) pigtail one ground wire to the other then properly connect the remaining end to the terminal with a clamp?

it is too much of a pain to access the main electrical panel (inside the house though a couple of walls ceiling etc), i am stuck using just the meter box outside.

Thanks Again! This is a great resource!

$J0

The only problem is that meter pans are not grounded, unless you live in florida or it has a main breaker in it

chris75

Not sure I understand, Every Meter Pan I've ever wired the neutral is bonded to the case.... what does florida or a main breaker have to do with it?

chris75

Here is what you can use.

buletbob

I would ground the each separately, this way if one comes loose the other is still grounded.
here is something that happened to me a few years back, replacing windows and installing siding on a house. I was using my skill worm saw #77 which draws 12amps. when I stared the saw it turned over slow, thought it was because the grease was thick from the cold. Then it started to turn faster so I thought nothing of it until the home owner starts screaming that her T.V. was on fire and was smoking. Well as it turns out the neutral leg on the pole had a bad connection, and to top it off the bonding wire to the water meter from the panel was rotted off. so everything went back through the T.V. and cable wire to the pole. The T.V. was toast. Luckily I was not kneeling on the ground because the saw had a all metal casing and I would of been the ground.
Something to think about.

chris75

All the ground rods in the world would not stop what you are describing from happening... What happens is when you lose a neutral the service becomes a 240v series circuit.

ground rods are for limiting the voltage imposed by lighting, line surges or unintentional contact with higher-voltage lines.

buletbob

[quote=chris75;136015]All the ground rods in the world would not stop what you are describing from happening... What happens is when you lose a neutral the service becomes a 240v series circuit.quote]

I'm somewhat confused??? If the saw was plug into one leg of a 110volt circuit and the neutral was broken how does this become a 240v series circuit. when the saw is started. please explain. Thanks

chris75

[quote=buletbob;136144]
It only happens with a multiwire circuit, which every residential service is.

You said the house lost the service neutral, this means that instead of the returning current flowing back on the neutral, it flows back on the other hot leg, creating a 240v series circuit.

JohnJ0906

Thanks for the pic, Chris.

Just a reminder to anyone reading this thread - you cannot ground TV or telephones separately, they must be bonded to the grounding electrode system of the house.

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chris75

Good point to add, so if you drive new ground rod for your communication equipment, then that ground rod must be bonded to the grounding electrode of the electrical system with #6 AWG.

buletbob

Thanks CHRIS75 for clarifying my original post. what I was trying to state, when I said to ground them separately was NOT! to put them BOTH! under the same locking lug on the SAME grounding device. yes put then on the same rod but not under the same locking nut. So if one comes lose the other will not be affected. I hope this explains what i was originally trying to state. thanks again FOR YOUR CLAIFCATION