jumping common to ground

[HowieGuate]

I live in Guatemala. Proper grounding is almost unheard of. Common practice is to use a jumper from the ground screw on an outlet to the common. I know this is dangerous but I can't get people to stop doing it. Can you give me one or two scenarios where this practice could be harmful? I need the ammunition.

Thanks

 

[Buck Parrish]

I live in Guatemala. Proper grounding is almost unheard of. Common practice is to use a jumper from the ground screw on an outlet to the common. I know this is dangerous but I can't get people to stop doing it. Can you give me one or two scenarios where this practice could be harmful? I need the ammunition.

Thanks

It sounds like what you are useing is a two wire system. Thus you would be jumping from the grounded conductor to the equpment ground.

Although it's dangerous for adults. This is esspecially bad in damp locations with children around. They can't kick loose of the electric flowing through their body as an adult might.

Ammunition - When holding or touching the equipment if you are a better path to ground. (then the common or what we call grounded conductor) Then the electricity will use your body instead of the longer way.
This can happen if the grounded conductor ( what your calling common) has a bad connection.

Repeat -
This is esspecially bad in damp locations with children around. They can't kick loose of the electric flowing through their body as an adult might.




You would be better off not attaching any thing to the green ( equipment grounding screw)

If no eqipment ground is available, your best option would be gfci protection.

 

[medalcraft]

If you have any fluorescent lighting, the common will carry quite a bit of energy back from the ballast.

 

[augie47]

Layman's terms. Let's look at the current "flow". Take a receptacle with the neutral and ground terminals "jumped". Plug in a refrigerator which has a three wire cord. With the refrigerator running, disconnect the neutral at the panel (as if it was broken"). The phase voltage will feed thru the refrigerator equipment in an attempt to flow back to the source. That feed thru voltage is now present on the neutral and, since there is a jumper, present on the ground also.

 

[RICK NAPIER]

You can also draw an arc between appliances in some cases such as a washer and dryer next to each other. The washer neutral has opened and now it tries to draw power from the frame of the dryer to the frame of the washer.

I was in Guatemala 9 years ago for a few days when I adopted my son. He has been a joy ever since.

 

[HowieGuate]

OK, so

If the hot feed should somehow contact the metal frame of a dryer, and the common was jumped to the ground screw, the power would travel back to the panel along the common (white) not so bad?
But, if the common becomes broken then the power will return to the dryer frame via the jumper making the frame hot..???
Don't give up on me, this jumper stuff is happening in a classroom situation.

 

[cncsnw]

Augie47's explanation simplified further into a scenario for laymen:

Suppose there is a loose wire nut joining neutral conductors somewhere upstream of the outlet (on the way back to the panel).

You plug your toaster oven or other metal-cased appliance into this outlet using a grounded (3-prong) cord.

You turn on the appliance. Power tries to flow from the hot, through the load, to the neutral. Your jumper in the outlet connects the neutral back to the appliance case. The case is now energized.

You touch the case. You get shocked, possibly killed.

If you are standing barefoot in a puddle, you could probably get nailed even without the loose neutral connection: you wouldn't carry all of the current in that case, but you would still get some of it.

 

[hunt4679]

I remember my grandparents basement from when I was a kid "if the floor is wet dont touch the refrigerator" 20 years later when I rewired the basement and kitchen I found every outlet with the ground jumped to neutral. By the way when you did touch the frig you did get knocked on your a$$

 

[SG-1]

Here is a link from the Grounding vs Bonding Forum: The Big Picture Post. It is the best I have seen so far. I attended an 8 hour grounding seminar a few years ago that did not even come close to this. I thank George Stolz for finding & sharing this gem.

You need Power Point to view.

http://www.tirebiter.net/downloads/ludecke.html

 

[SG-1]

In Mike Holts Grounding vs Bonding Video an man was killed by the neutral terminal & ground terminal being bonded at the receptical. He was using an old three wire metal case drill and was laying on his back on the ground under the house. The metal case became energized when he squeezed the trigger.

In this instance as in the other examples something else must go wrong with the wiring or equipment before it becomes a hazard.

If you watch the link in my other post just substitute a metal cased appliance or tool for the load.

 

[LarryFine]

I haven't taken a corded tool under a house in many, many years. That's probably the worst place to be if something major happens, especially if you're alone.