<snip lots of stuff I sent directly to Frank>
If your ground is a rebar in your concrete foundation, encased in concrete,
that's NOT a good ground. You should get a real ground rod - a solid piece of
copper or heavily copper-plated steel rod, generally about 5/8" in diameter,
and at least 8 feet long, and pound it into the ground. Into the earth, not
just into a slab of concrete. Electrical supply hopuses sell actual ground
rods, and ground clamps to reliably attach a heavy wire to the ground rod,
which you then lead up to your panel.
You're putting some voltage into your "ground" and it's not really being
grounded. That's why you get a reading between the poor "ground" and neutral,
which is at least close to ground potential.
You don't have an actual ground. This is what happens under those
circumstances. The inspector should have caught that. He's dangerously
incompetent.
<snip more ranting about inspector>
Please make a real ground before using the electricity out in your barn. Then
recheck the voltages.
<snip more stuff>
I believe that with a proper ground you should be OK.
By the way, here's a link to a decent explanation of the bonding issue and
subpanels. http://members.tripod.com/~masterslic/FAQ-2/18.html
If this service has its own service (ie on its own meter, fed from the
electric company, not the house), then you can bond the neutral to ground.
However, do so only if it has its own meter, and only after you install a
proper earth ground rod.
Good luck !
Karl
Hey Karl, here is what I metered today:
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.
At the actual receptacle I meter 28vac between the large slot or
neutral and ground, and the same at the subpanel.
I would think I should see the same voltages between each hot leg and
ground and neutral? Or another words the neutral and ground should be
basically at the same potential? So do I have a bad UFer connection?
Thanks for your time Karl.
Frank V.
rustymetal@sbcglobal.net
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