Full Size EGC

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mbrooke said:
True, though IMO a wire EGC is more reliable. IMO
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electrofelon said:
Interesting. I feel that the raceway is more reliable.
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Either way, I am not too obsessed with the EGC path. I feel it's importance is overemphasized to the point where no one looks at or thinks about any other aspects of the electrical system which are just as important if not more important. Think about it:. for a serious event to happen, all the following would have to happen:
1. A fault would have to happen in the first place
2. The fault would have to not clear.
3. Someone would have to actually be injured, or a fire would actually have to start.

I'm just not too worried about it.
 
electrofelon said:
Either way, I am not too obsessed with the EGC path. I feel it's importance is overemphasized to the point where no one looks at or thinks about any other aspects of the electrical system which are just as important if not more important. Think about it:. for a serious event to happen, all the following would have to happen:
1. A fault would have to happen in the first place
2. The fault would have to not clear.
3. Someone would have to actually be injured, or a fire would actually have to start.

I'm just not too worried about it.
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I agree. We've reached a point where all you have to do is insist on pulling a green wire to everything and you are now the best electrician in town.
 
electrofelon said:
Either way, I am not too obsessed with the EGC path. I feel it's importance is overemphasized to the point where no one looks at or thinks about any other aspects of the electrical system which are just as important if not more important. Think about it:. for a serious event to happen, all the following would have to happen:
1. A fault would have to happen in the first place
2. The fault would have to not clear.
3. Someone would have to actually be injured, or a fire would actually have to start.

I'm just not too worried about it.
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I agree, the impedance of the hot conductor is just as important.
 
LarryFine said:
Same here. I make sure I have one, solidly connected and reliable.

"I do one thing, I do it very well, then I move on!" ~ Charles Emerson Winchester III
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Its good that you know the impedance of your EGC, not many do 👍


electrofelon said:
Good thing the wire egc can't become disconnected......you never see bad wire nut connections 😆
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It can happen to, just don't anticipate it as much.
 
mbrooke said:
Its good that you know the impedance of your EGC, not many do 👍
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I don't think you're being sarcastic, but I'm not sure. :unsure:

I may not "know" it, but I pay attention to every connection, electrical or mechanical, that I make.

I say to myself, "This joint will not be the one that fails" with every step I do.
 
LarryFine said:
I don't think you're being sarcastic, but I'm not sure. :unsure:

I may not "know" it, but I pay attention to every connection, electrical or mechanical, that I make.

I say to myself, "This joint will not be the one that fails" with every step I do.
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That is deeply admirable regarding your splices and terminations, but you also need to watch your length and size. Z matters.
 
mbrooke said:
We'll have to agree to disagree :)
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No we don't. I would estimate that at least two thirds of my experience has been service work and remodels and like I said I have seen way too many EGCs not connected to consider them at all reliable.

Meanwhile a metal conduit strapped in place with metal supports in a building framed with steel that is bonded to the electrical service is about as reliable as you can get. A more difficult problem to solve would be trying to isolate a piece of metal conduit. And just for fun let's consider an isolated piece of metal conduit. Let's pull an un-energized hot, a neutral, and a green into that piece of conduit and let's strip all the insulation off the hot conductor as we pull it in. Then let's go energize the hot. Is that green wire doing anything?
 
mbrooke said:
That is deeply admirable regarding your splices and terminations, but you also need to watch your length and size. Z matters.
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Okay, got it now.

From what I've seen and heard, a properly-assembled metal conduit system, even EMT, has a lower impedance than a conductor the size of a wire-type EGC that would otherwise accompany the enclosed conductors.
 
ActionDave said:
No we don't. I would estimate that at least two thirds of my experience has been service work and remodels and like I said I have seen way too many EGCs not connected to consider them at all reliable.

Meanwhile a metal conduit strapped in place with metal supports in a building framed with steel that is bonded to the electrical service is about as reliable as you can get. A more difficult problem to solve would be trying to isolate a piece of metal conduit. And just for fun let's consider an isolated piece of metal conduit. Let's pull an un-energized hot, a neutral, and a green into that piece of conduit and let's strip all the insulation off the hot conductor as we pull it in. Then let's go energize the hot. Is that green wire doing anything?
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That would be workmanship. People who don't care about their splices.

Even the best conduit on the other hand gets wrecked when the other trades go into drop ceilings and inadvertently break apart everything.


If you have a metal casing, it should be capable of clearing for a shorting hot. Thats why I think all MC cable needs a bond strip.
 
LarryFine said:
Okay, got it now.

From what I've seen and heard, a properly-assembled metal conduit system, even EMT, has a lower impedance than a conductor the size of a wire-type EGC that would otherwise accompany the enclosed conductors.
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Right. But beyond a circuit length the impedance still adds up, particularly on the hot.
 
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