CelebrateWood
New member
- Location
- Nashville, TN, USA
I am working on a 120 year old house that had the last electrical inspection for the main panel upgrade in 1980. Most of the wiring has been updated since then but I would like to know from the experts what the current code says about how it should be grounded and bonded.
The meter where the feed comes in has a ground rod and although the meter is locked by the county so I can't verify, I would assume the neutral and ground are bonded.
Then directly next to it is an exterior main shutoff because the main panel is not within code specified distance. There are only the two hot legs and the neutral and no ground wire fed from the meter. There is no grounding rod or other type of ground on the shutoff.
Then inside the basement is the main panel. There are only the two hot legs and a neutral and no ground wire from the main shutoff to the main panel. There is no ground rod for the main panel. There is a connection to the ground bus from a nearby copper water pipe but it is nowhere near where it enters the building which is at least 60 feet away. The main panel neutral is bonded to the panel.
My questions:
1) Should the main shutoff outside have a ground rod?
2) Should the main panel have a ground rod?
3) Should the connection to the water supply be moved to where it comes from underground and enters the building?
4) My understanding is that a main panel with a separate outside shutoff should be treated as a subpanel. Therefore, should the bond between the neutral and ground be separated on this panel? Or do other factors in this configuration mean it should still be bonded?
Thank you,
Scott
The meter where the feed comes in has a ground rod and although the meter is locked by the county so I can't verify, I would assume the neutral and ground are bonded.
Then directly next to it is an exterior main shutoff because the main panel is not within code specified distance. There are only the two hot legs and the neutral and no ground wire fed from the meter. There is no grounding rod or other type of ground on the shutoff.
Then inside the basement is the main panel. There are only the two hot legs and a neutral and no ground wire from the main shutoff to the main panel. There is no ground rod for the main panel. There is a connection to the ground bus from a nearby copper water pipe but it is nowhere near where it enters the building which is at least 60 feet away. The main panel neutral is bonded to the panel.
My questions:
1) Should the main shutoff outside have a ground rod?
2) Should the main panel have a ground rod?
3) Should the connection to the water supply be moved to where it comes from underground and enters the building?
4) My understanding is that a main panel with a separate outside shutoff should be treated as a subpanel. Therefore, should the bond between the neutral and ground be separated on this panel? Or do other factors in this configuration mean it should still be bonded?
Thank you,
Scott
