Posted by
N2EY on
Jun 11, 2006; 11:31am
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/Fw-static-ground-tp390789p390795.html
In a message dated 6/10/06 11:36:48 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[hidden email] writes:
> As I understand the situation, the power company runs 240V lines to the
> house with a earth ground from the power line transformer and your house to
> make to split the 240V into two 120V circuits. Hopefully, these 120V
> circuits have balanced current flow and there is little current flow in the
> ground, or neutral lead.
Not exactly.
The power co. distribution transformer has a center tapped secondary. That
center tap is the neutral, and it has the same current rating as the two 'hot'
wires.
>
> It appears that the neutral (white) wire and the ground (green) wire
> eventually meet at the ground rod under your meter base.
Sort of. They are supposed to be connected at the 'service entrance'.
Usually, that's the panel with the main breaker.
The neutral is also grounded at the transformer, but that's the power
company's domain.
The *only* place in your house that neutral should be connected to ground is
at the service entrance.
Assuming that the
>
> above is true and that I can verify that the white wire REALLY IS connected
> to neutral at the circuit breaker panel, can the green screw on the duplex
> outlet be corrected directly to the neutral at the socket, to ground both my
>
> anti-static mat and my Weller soldering station?
>
I wouldn't do that.
National Electrical Code specifically states not to do that. The neutral lead
(known colloquially as the 'white wire') is not a grounding conductor. That's
why a third wire (bare or green) is run - the bare wire is the ground wire.
I find it odd that such a new house doesn't have ground wires. Are the boxes
and faceplates metal? If so, there should be some form of grounding.
One way to test is to make a "test light" of a low-wattage 110 volt bulb and
two test leads, and see if the faceplate is grounded by connecting it between
the hot prong and the metal faceplate of the outlet. (BE SURE TO TAKE ALL
NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS!!) If the lamp works, the faceplate is already grounded. A
lamp is used, rather than a meter, to prove that the ground can handle some
current.
73 de Jim, N2EY
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