tell me why and what could happen

[csworkman]

I have been an electrician for a while and some one asked me what could happen if the GEC came undone andI didn't have a good answer for them. Let's hear it

 

[cowboyjwc]

I actually said this to someone else in another thread.

I will catch a lot of guff for this answer even though it's not really mine.

If you are talking about a residential application, nothing. You would still technically be grounded to the house next door through the grounded conductor and even through the utility ground.

The same I guess could be said about a commercial application as you would be grounded at the utility transformer.

 

[walkerj]

I agree to a point with that

 

[cowboyjwc]

:grin: That was kind of the concensus at the meeting too.

 

[JohnConnolly]

I have been an electrician for a while and some one asked me what could happen if the GEC came undone andI didn't have a good answer for them. Let's hear it

If the rest of the system is intact, nothing....unless lightning struck.

 

[iwire]

If the rest of the system is intact, nothing....unless lightning struck.

I agree entirely, that sums it up nicely

 

[Rich Elec.]

csworkman,
Do you clearly understand the purpose of the GEC?

 

[macmikeman]

I have been an electrician for a while and some one asked me what could happen if the GEC came undone andI didn't have a good answer for them. Let's hear it

I say if the gec is uninsulated and is in your hand at the time it comes undone, you could possibly become part of the return circuit for the unbalanced load and get shocked. Most gec's have some current running thru them most of the time, as they are a parallel path back to the utility source.
But as the other posters have said, most of the time, nothing will be affected by the gec coming loose or removed unless lightning maybe strikes the building. (maybe)

 

[mattsilkwood]

ok if lightning does strike will the damage be any worse than if it was intact?ive seen old houses with no gec with hardly any damage and new houses with nearly all the wiring fried and vice versa. i think it has to do with the idividual strike.

and im not saying that a gec is a bad thing

 

[tom baker]

Most gec's have some current running thru them most of the time, as they are a parallel path back to the utility source.

Only if the GEC is a metal water line continuous to the street main and other houses, and yes there will be a small percentage of the neutral current.
Most water service lines are not metallic, plastic has been used since the early 1970s.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

I have been an electrician for a while and some one asked me what could happen if the GEC came undone andI didn't have a good answer for them. Let's hear it

Never mind I thought the Op said EGC. duh

 

[suemarkp]

Only if the GEC is a metal water line continuous to the street main and other houses, and yes there will be a small percentage of the neutral current. Most water service lines are not metallic, plastic has been used since the early 1970s.

You would have significant current on pipes like this. But even if you just have rods and plastic pipes, the rods are a return path to the transformer and current will flow on it. Much less current though, because of the high resistance of rods compared to low resistance for solidly connected wires and pipes.

I don't think you'd be shocked by holding a disconnected GEC as long as the service neutral is solidly connected. Yes, current flows through it, but the voltage is low (should be equal to voltage drop in the neutral). Would you be afraid to touch a car jumper cable jaw with hundreds of amps flowing through it? Not enough volts to get your attention, but lots of amps.

 

[macmikeman]

Only if the GEC is a metal water line continuous to the street main and other houses, and yes there will be a small percentage of the neutral current.

5 millamps can lead to heart failure given the right conditions, one of which is entry through the left hand and exit from the right hand. I personaly do not think removing the gec while the power is on to a building to be any major safety hazard, but am trying to point out that it might be if somebody did it who wasn't aware of the possibility.

Most water service lines are not metallic, plastic has been used since the early 1970s.

Maybe where you live, here it is almost exclusively copper all the way to the water tanks up on the hillsides. (I hope the copper rip artists don't visit the forums :smile: )