Do you splice all your EGCs together?

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Do you splice all your EGCs together?

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iwire

iwire

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Another thread had me curious about this.

When you have multiple circuits in a box or enclosure do you join all the EGS together or keep them separate?


Please vote in the poll and feel free to comment.
 
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Dennis Alwon

Dennis Alwon

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Chapel Hill, NC
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I take art 250.148 to mean they all must be spliced together however I have seen threads where others see it differently
 
Jon456

Jon456

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Colorado
Dennis Alwon said:
I take art 250.148 to mean they all must be spliced together however I have seen threads where others see it differently
Click to expand...
For those who see it differently, how do they handle multiple circuit EGCs within a metal box or enclosure? Do they bond just one circuit's EGCs to the box? If the box interior is unpainted and the EGCs are bare wire, how do they keep their other circuits' EGCs isolated?
 
iwire

iwire

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Jon456 said:
For those who see it differently, how do they handle multiple circuit EGCs within a metal box or enclosure? Do they bond just one circuit's EGCs to the box? If the box interior is unpainted and the EGCs are bare wire, how do they keep their other circuits' EGCs isolated?
Click to expand...

If I recall their point was the code does not require all to be joined together, not that they purposely try to keep them seperate. They understood it is unavoidable with metal boxes but things change with plastic boxes and NM.
 
jaylectricity

jaylectricity

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licensed journeyman electrician
Aside from isolated (which I never install), I tie them all together. The whole point is to have as many redundant bonds as possible without adding extraneous wires.
 
ActionDave

ActionDave

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I voted no, because there were only two choices. More accurate would be to say that I don't group them altogether if they are different size wires from different circuits.

So if a 20A circuit and 50A circuit happen to splice in the same box I splice the EGCs only to their respective circuits. All the conductors associated with each circuit are spliced according to code IMO. Rare I know, but it has come up.

If all the EGCs are the same size I splice them all together. No sense wasting time and valuable mental energy sorting them out.
 
iwire

iwire

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ActionDave said:
I voted no, because there were only two choices. More accurate would be to say that I don't group them altogether if they are different size wires from different circuits.
Click to expand...

Did not consider that combination but it is clearly a no in my poll.


So if a 20A circuit and 50A circuit happen to splice in the same box I splice the EGCs only to their respective circuits. All the conductors associated with each circuit are spliced according to code IMO. Rare I know, but it has come up.
Click to expand...

This one baffles me, I don't understand why the size changes things. :)

In that combination we are talking 10s with with 12s, that fits under a wirenut.
 
PetrosA

PetrosA

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Location
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
I voted yes although I have on occasion not tied them together - usually if the wire sizes are dramatically different. The one concern I have about always tying all the grounds together is that if the circuits take different paths to reach the box where you tie the grounds together, you are creating a ground loop which could, theoretically, induce current. I don't know the math, but I suspect if you have a building that's square or rectangular with the panel in one corner, and two circuits running in opposite directions to the far side of the building and you bond those grounds together, you would have a pretty large one-turn loop that will induce some amount of current if the building is near power lines, or even from sources within the building. I'd love to read results of testing on this situation, but have never come across anything.
 
DBoone

DBoone

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Mississippi
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General Contractor
I'll preface by saying I'm the reason this poll got started because of my topic "EGCs" and you can read a lot of my view points over there.

Now, I voted no because up to this point in my career I have been keeping each circuit separate. I have done this for a few reasons:

1) I have read 250.148 many many times and always come away with the interpretation that it's acceptable to splice the EGCs associated with their respective circuit. That part "associated with" always gets me.

2) it's easier for me because I smaller bundles to splice

3) my mindset has always been that the circuits dont know they're sharing a box and if they were in single gang boxes side by side you couldn't splice ALL EGCs and it would be totally acceptable and no one wouldn't question the safety of it.

It is my opinion also that keeping them separate does not create anymore of a hazard than all of the other circuits that have only one return path for fault current.

Ive never thought twice about keeping them seperate in the past but for some reason it got on my mind and I couldn't shake it so I wanted to bring it here and kick it around a little.

I believe I'll get off the forum for the night and let it marinate awhile but I'll be back tomorrow.
 
G

Galt

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Location
Wis.
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master electrician and refrigeration service tech.
I think all together provides better lightning protection.
 
F

fmtjfw

Senior Member
Location
Fairmont, WV, USA
I connect them all together because I believe the grounding conductor (and other paths like conduit and building steel) are the most important items in the wiring job. The system can function without them, but it can not be as safe as possible without them. Having as many redundant paths is a good thing and, I believe, the intent of 250.148. I read 250.148 as requiring all to be connected together because the exception to it allows isolated grounds not to be interconnected. If 250.148 did not require that all grounding conductors,box and devices be interconnected then the exception would not be required.

When I teach wiring I have the following rules:

1) Work from the load back to the source. [makes it really hard to accidentally energize the circuit until it is all but completed.]
2) Connect all the grounding together wires first. ["They are the most important wires", and go to the back of the box.]
3) Connect the grounding wire to each device that needs one.
4) Connect the grounded wires next.
5) Connect the hot wires last.
 
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