About Service Drop neutral conductor

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Hello..
Grounding and bonding is allways a complicated topic... i have studied a lot in this, but i have a practical doubt.
As we know The neutral conductor is grounded both in central tap of service transformer and in the first desconecting mean; and neutral conductor may be bare.
....My question is:Why the neutral conductor can be bare in this case? ... What happens if someone touches the bare neutral conductor, for example with a metallic step-ladder?..... It could be dangerous? ... Thanks and regards
 

GoldDigger

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If you make the justifiable assumption that a person is fairly likely to be connected to earth ground much of the time, even if through a high impedance, making a more direct connection to the neutral, which is typically within a few volts of earth ground, does not significantly change the exposure to electrical shock.
And the additional current path which might be created for load current back to the service transformer secondary is not likely to change anything significant either.

That said, electrical workers often use fiberglass or other non-conductive ladders so that in case of accidental contact with a hot/ungrounded conductor there is no ground/neutral path to complete the circuit through their body. Again, the service neutral being uninsulated does not change this risk significantly.
After the service disconnect the neutral needs to be insulated to prevent unwanted paths for normal load current.
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
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Electrical Contractor
....My question is:Why the neutral conductor can be bare in this case? ...
Because that bare neutral IS the ground, so to speak. It is the zero-volts reference. Nothing else in the electrical system is more solidly tied to the earth.

It's similar to the body of your car. Why would the negative wire of a light socket in your car need to be insulated from the very metal it is connected to?
 

Dennis Alwon

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Chapel Hill, NC
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Check out the tri-plex coming overhead from the poco. It has a bare neutral. At the service panel you may have a bare grounding electrode conductor that is exposed. Are you worried about that conductor? It is connected to the neutral also.
 
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