Hey everyone I am new here and I figured I would sign up to learn some more about electrical work as I am pursuing an interest in getting an electrical license. First off let me start by saying I do have familiarity with electrical panels and HVAC work and have done several different jobs handling live circuits. I am very safe about it and my questions are only to help me grasp a firm understanding of how things work instead of trying to do my own project currently with a possible hazard. Basically I would like to know some more about grounding the meter box and main panels. I am going to spell out what I think is correct and if someone could just tell me if I am right or wrong or any other helpful advice that is correct and by code only.
From what I understand when you install say a 200 amp service in a home you must ground the entire system with 2 ground rods spaced 6 feet apart and must be 8 feet long with a maximum of 6" showing out of the ground. When the power company runs the service cable into the meter from a typical overhead service there is 2 hot wires and a neutral. The 2 neutral lugs in the meter are attached to the box itself for grounding purposes, is this correct? To correctly ground this meter it is my understanding that you will have a lug inside the meter for a ground connection which you will put a #6 solid copper wire unspliced from that lug in the meter down to a ground rod and from there to another ground rod with correct clamps being used. I know depending upon manufacturers I have found all kinds of panels that didnt have all the essential grounding kits with it and some must be bought separately. Does this apply for meters also? I dont really have much time spent inside a meter box and the last time was several years ago so I cant remember if there are lugs for grounding or not. I read on some forum of a guy suggesting hooking the #6 with the neutral on the load side on the same lug, is that ever done because that doesnt seem right to me at all. So if you do not ground at the meter and ground at the main panel how would you go about doing this? I am a little confused to which cable to run from the meter to the main panel in certain circumstances whether it be SEU or SER, how do you know what to run and also where would you hook the #6 copper in the main panel to ground efficiently? Sorry for so many questions but the NEC is very direct but can be hard to interpret and navigate at times so I wanted to get some professional opinions with someone I can talk to. Thanks for any response, I am sure i'll have some more questions later on but I really want to understanding these grounding principles first.
From what I understand when you install say a 200 amp service in a home you must ground the entire system with 2 ground rods spaced 6 feet apart and must be 8 feet long with a maximum of 6" showing out of the ground. When the power company runs the service cable into the meter from a typical overhead service there is 2 hot wires and a neutral. The 2 neutral lugs in the meter are attached to the box itself for grounding purposes, is this correct? To correctly ground this meter it is my understanding that you will have a lug inside the meter for a ground connection which you will put a #6 solid copper wire unspliced from that lug in the meter down to a ground rod and from there to another ground rod with correct clamps being used. I know depending upon manufacturers I have found all kinds of panels that didnt have all the essential grounding kits with it and some must be bought separately. Does this apply for meters also? I dont really have much time spent inside a meter box and the last time was several years ago so I cant remember if there are lugs for grounding or not. I read on some forum of a guy suggesting hooking the #6 with the neutral on the load side on the same lug, is that ever done because that doesnt seem right to me at all. So if you do not ground at the meter and ground at the main panel how would you go about doing this? I am a little confused to which cable to run from the meter to the main panel in certain circumstances whether it be SEU or SER, how do you know what to run and also where would you hook the #6 copper in the main panel to ground efficiently? Sorry for so many questions but the NEC is very direct but can be hard to interpret and navigate at times so I wanted to get some professional opinions with someone I can talk to. Thanks for any response, I am sure i'll have some more questions later on but I really want to understanding these grounding principles first.