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Rewiring older home Alex 04-15-2007
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Posted by mc on April 16, 2007, 6:03 pm



> By the way, I discovered that those plug-in
> "grounding tester" thingies don't always test that
> an outlet is wired correctly.
>
> I found an outlet where the ground pin and the "neutral"
> pin were both wired to the bare copper wire (the
> white wire was capped off, because it was really the
> other hot leg of a 240 V circuit.)
>
> The plug-in thingie said it was just fine.

Right. It only knows there is not much voltage difference between ground
and neutral. It can't tell you where they are tied together.



Posted by Rookie_Remodeler on April 21, 2007, 12:58 pm


>
>
> > By the way, I discovered that those plug-in
> > "grounding tester" thingies don't always test that
> > an outlet is wired correctly.
>
> > I found an outlet where the ground pin and the "neutral"
> > pin were both wired to the bare copper wire (the
> > white wire was capped off, because it was really the
> > other hot leg of a 240 V circuit.)
>
> > The plug-in thingie said it was just fine.
>
> Right. It only knows there is not much voltage difference between ground
> and neutral. It can't tell you where they are tied together.


Since the neutral and the ground wires are bonded at the ground bar in
the panel is it supposed to be a voltage differential between ground
and neutral in the outlet? If I measure a voltage difference in the
outlet isn't it something wrong there? Or is there a maximum allowed
value?




Posted by mc on April 21, 2007, 4:05 pm



> Since the neutral and the ground wires are bonded at the ground bar in
> the panel is it supposed to be a voltage differential between ground
> and neutral in the outlet? If I measure a voltage difference in the
> outlet isn't it something wrong there? Or is there a maximum allowed
> value?

Actually, if the circuit is in use, a slight voltage differential is a good
sign. (Like 1 or 2 volts.) Zero voltage differential might mean they're
tied together too close to you.



Posted by Rookie_Remodeler on April 21, 2007, 12:59 pm


>
>
> > By the way, I discovered that those plug-in
> > "grounding tester" thingies don't always test that
> > an outlet is wired correctly.
>
> > I found an outlet where the ground pin and the "neutral"
> > pin were both wired to the bare copper wire (the
> > white wire was capped off, because it was really the
> > other hot leg of a 240 V circuit.)
>
> > The plug-in thingie said it was just fine.
>
> Right. It only knows there is not much voltage difference between ground
> and neutral. It can't tell you where they are tied together.


Since the neutral and the ground wires are bonded at the ground bar in
the panel is it supposed to be a voltage differential between ground
and neutral in the outlet? If I measure a voltage difference in the
outlet isn't it something wrong there? Or is there a maximum allowed
value?



Posted by sylvan butler on April 21, 2007, 3:49 pm


> Since the neutral and the ground wires are bonded at the ground bar in
> the panel is it supposed to be a voltage differential between ground
> and neutral in the outlet? If I measure a voltage difference in the

The voltage difference is one reason for having seperate neutral and
ground wires. The current flowing in the neutral line will cause a
voltage drop over the length of the wire. That drop is the voltage
difference you are measuring between ground and neutral. The amount of
the drop depends on the size (diameter) and length of the wire and the
current (amperage) flowing at the time of measurement.

It is almost never a problem if the electrical is code-compliant.

sdb

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