NO, this is wrong. (bonding neutral to GND at a subpanel in an out= building) 1) If the neutral is riding "several dozens of volts" above= ground, the wire gauge is too small for the load. 2) The very point of= the ground is to provide a safe working surface such as the cabinet. If= you have an exposed shock hazard it is from improper grounding. 3) MOST= important - If the wire gauge was so small that the neutral is riding so= high above ground, then when a large fraction of the normal 'return'= current (what should have been AC neutral) is flowing now through ground= (in the improper installation), the ground potential at the cabinet can= rise too! 4) If the circuits get really corrupted, where what should have= been current in the neutral line, is now flowing into the gnd (earth) spike= at the garage ... it can be flowing back to the house circuit through the= earth between the buildings causing voltage potentials between your earth= points, not good. The point is, NEVER use the ground circuit for normal return currents in= place of the neutral circuit, which is what the improper installation in= effect does. Ground circuits ideally have low impedance to the system= ground, but little to no normal return current flow (what should be= neutral current in single phase power circuit). On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 12:44:42 -0400, M. Adam Davis wrote: >=A0I would bond them together. =A0There will be a ground loop, but if >=A0you don't bond them then neutral will be several or dozens of volts >=A0away from ground - not good. > >=A0The problem gets worse with an intermittent or poor ground. =A0I used >=A0an extension cord to power a computer across a basement once. =A0The >=A0ground was bad somewhere along the line, and the computer case >=A0ended up floating and giving a nasty shock to anyone who touched it. > >=A0If you bond the ground wire, the ground loop stays in wiring and >=A0not in equipment (and people) if you don't bond it then you have a >=A0potential problem since the ground loop may terminate in one of >=A0more pieces of electrical equipment (or they may push ground and >=A0neutral further apart). > >=A0Treat the remote panel like a regular circuit breaker box - ground >=A0rod, bonded neutral. > >=A0I am not a licensed electrician, though, so follow my advice at >=A0your own peril. > >=A0-Adam > >=A0Matt Redmond wrote: > >>=A0Please no flaming about inspectors, etc... that we got off-topic >>=A0on last time (the 'what cable gauge?' discussion)! =A0I have >>=A0another question about wiring my detached garage - this one is >>=A0about grounding. >> >>=A0The way I read things, I have two acceptable choices when it >>=A0comes to grounding in the detached garage. =A0They are: >> >>=A0(a) Run H-H-N-G from main panel to garage. =A0Do NOT bond N-G in >>=A0the remote panel. >> >>=A0(b) Run H-H-N from main panel to garage. =A0DO bond N-G in the >>=A0remote panel. >> >>=A0In either case the garage gets its own earth ground. >> >>=A0Any opinions on which is the 'betterer' approach. =A0Any advantages >>=A0to one over the other? =A0I'm already going to be running 3- >>=A0conductor cable + ground - any reason not to use (a)? >> >>=A0Thanks! >> >>=A0-matt redmond >> >>=A0-- >>=A0http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out >>=A0subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See >>=A0http://www.piclist.com/#topics >> >> >=A0-- >=A0http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out >=A0subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See >=A0http://www.piclist.com/#topics -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics