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Re: [Shop-talk] 110vac outlet question (update)

To: "'Shop Talk'" <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] 110vac outlet question (update)
From: "Randall" <tr3driver@ca.rr.com>
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:38:09 -0800
> At the subpanel in my barn, where the dilema exists,  the 
> neutral and ground bars are not attached to one another. 
> Between the two hot legs I get 234vac.
> The ground is a UFer, a piece of rebar in my foundation.  I 
> meter 148vac between ground and one of the hots and 88vac 
> between ground and the other hot leg.  I meter 119vac between 
> each hot leg and neutral.

Have you checked that the neutral is tied to earth ground somewhere after it
comes off the pole?  As Pat says, that would normally be at the main power
entrance.  If it is missing entirely, then you need to add it.

If it's there, then for some reason the foundation of your barn is at a
different voltage than the ground that the neutral is bonded to.  That
probably means that you have an unnoticed fault current somewhere.

Friend of mine had exactly this problem, and eventually traced it to a nail
head that had been crimped into a wire in the barn.  What he noticed first
was that his power meter was still moving, even with everything turned off.
No telling how many kWH he had put into heating the ground, before he got
around to chasing high electricity bills !

Randall

PS, I'm ashamed to admit that very likely, I drove that nail causing the
short.  But it definitely taught me a lesson !

R
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