Re: main power distribution earth and proprietary grounding
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:38 am
OK - there is nothing that should be confusing here......
Let's just deal with one group here - the rest would be the same - so no reason to get things cloudy because of multiples.
If you are using plastic or fiberglass boxes:
You have 4 outlets sitting one right next to the other - and all 4 are going to be powered from the same circuit breaker.
In order to install "star grounding" for these you will need the following:
From the breaker you will connect the "hot leg" - which you will daisy chain from one outlet to the next.
From the neutral buss on the panel you will connect one neutral leg - which you will daisy chain from one outlet to the next.
Now you will have to bring 4 individual ground wires - one from each outlet - back to tie into the electrical main grounding wire. You connect these to the receptacle ground.
You can bring these to a new box outside of the main panel - where they will tie to a grounding buss - and a single wire from that which will be tied directly to the ground wire between the main panel and the ground rod.
If you are using steel boxes things change a little bit:
You have to begin with Isolated Ground Receptacles. These have 2 separate points to attach ground wires.
The hot leg and neutral are the same as above.
There is a common ground wire that runs form the ground buss in the main panel - which you will daisy chain from one box to the next. You must also attach this to the body ground of the receptacle.
Now you will have to bring another 4 individual ground wires - one from each outlet - back to tie into the electrical main grounding wire.
The grounding in either case is the same.....
SO in the first case (Using non-metallic boxes and standard receptacles) you would have 6 wires required for the install - and in the 2nd (using metallic boxes and isolated ground receptacles) you would require 7 wires for 4 outlets.
Under no circumstance should you ever use a separate ground rod for this system......
I hope this helped simplify things.
Rod Gervais
GIK Acoustics
Director of Education
http://www.gikacoustics.com (USA)
http://www.gikacoustics.co.uk (Europe)
Tel.(US)1.888.986.2789
Tel.(UK)+44(0)20.7558.8976
Let's just deal with one group here - the rest would be the same - so no reason to get things cloudy because of multiples.
If you are using plastic or fiberglass boxes:
You have 4 outlets sitting one right next to the other - and all 4 are going to be powered from the same circuit breaker.
In order to install "star grounding" for these you will need the following:
From the breaker you will connect the "hot leg" - which you will daisy chain from one outlet to the next.
From the neutral buss on the panel you will connect one neutral leg - which you will daisy chain from one outlet to the next.
Now you will have to bring 4 individual ground wires - one from each outlet - back to tie into the electrical main grounding wire. You connect these to the receptacle ground.
You can bring these to a new box outside of the main panel - where they will tie to a grounding buss - and a single wire from that which will be tied directly to the ground wire between the main panel and the ground rod.
If you are using steel boxes things change a little bit:
You have to begin with Isolated Ground Receptacles. These have 2 separate points to attach ground wires.
The hot leg and neutral are the same as above.
There is a common ground wire that runs form the ground buss in the main panel - which you will daisy chain from one box to the next. You must also attach this to the body ground of the receptacle.
Now you will have to bring another 4 individual ground wires - one from each outlet - back to tie into the electrical main grounding wire.
The grounding in either case is the same.....
SO in the first case (Using non-metallic boxes and standard receptacles) you would have 6 wires required for the install - and in the 2nd (using metallic boxes and isolated ground receptacles) you would require 7 wires for 4 outlets.
Under no circumstance should you ever use a separate ground rod for this system......
I hope this helped simplify things.
Rod Gervais
GIK Acoustics
Director of Education
http://www.gikacoustics.com (USA)
http://www.gikacoustics.co.uk (Europe)
Tel.(US)1.888.986.2789
Tel.(UK)+44(0)20.7558.8976