Home Ground Question

[thistlebrew]

I am in the process of switching over to electric and moving the brew works into my basement. I recently had a friend help out with running the 220 line to a 50a spa panel (with a 30a breaker in the box). In the process he discovered there were only 3 wires total running to the house (2lines and a neutral/ground). They are joined in the service panel.

I also recently had a conversation with another pal who brought up a frightening prospect. It was suggested that there may be no ground rod buried outside our home (I've never seen any evidence of one in 5years here, and that would match the 3-wires into the house situation). In that case it was suggested that there may be a ground at the pole where the service line from the utility company splits off to run to the house. But that assuming the power company had a solid ground at the pole was taking n considerable risk re. the function of the GFCI circuit for the whole rig (or anywhere else in the house for that matter).

Most of the research I've found re. switching to electric brewing is very clear about the necessity of GFCI and safely grounding all the equipment. But I haven't seen much regarding potential ground issues with the entire house...

So I thought I would pose the question to the forum: Is there an easy way to test this situation and be sure the GFCI is actuall working the way it should be? Or should I just bite the bullet and bury dedicated ground rods to my whole-house supply?

 

[tooldudetool]

They make little gfci testers for standard 110v outlets, you plug it in and there are indicator lights that tell you if there is a hot/neutral reversal, bad ground etc.. there is also a button that will trip the gfci if its working. I'm not sure if they make a 220v version or not, but I'd be surprised if they didn't. Seems like you could also just install a proper ground rod.. its literally just pounding a long rod into the ground and connecting it with a wire to your neutral bus bar in your panel

 

[grandequeso]

"Grounded conductor, grounding conductor, Grounding electrode / grounding electrode conductor. Learn the difference / understand the difference between these. Will help you tons before too lost

 

[bsperr]

You should just have three lines running to your house from the utility provider for single phase service. The builder/electrician who installed your electrical service would be responsible for installing a grounding conductor. I'd be surprised if you don't have a grounding conductor. When was your house built? If you pull the cover off of your're breaker/circuit panel, you should see a grounding bus bar connected to a bare copper wire (which is the grounding conductor). The grounding conductor may not run to ground rods outside your home. You could have another type of ground, like an ufer, and the grounding conductor could connect to that ground someplace that's not visible, like in a wall somewhere.

 

[processhead]

You should just have three lines running to your house from the utility provider for single phase service. The builder/electrician who installed your electrical service would be responsible for installing a grounding conductor. I'd be surprised if you don't have a grounding conductor. When was your house built? If you pull the cover off of your're breaker/circuit panel, you should see a grounding bus bar connected to a bare copper wire (which is the grounding conductor). The grounding conductor may not run to ground rods outside your home. You could have another type of ground, like an ufer, and the grounding conductor could connect to that ground someplace that's not visible, like in a wall somewhere.

At one time, electrical panels were sometimes grounded to the cold water piping. This was back when houses were plumbed with copper or galvanized steel piping.

Modern day electrical codes all call out for a buried ground rod for grounding the electrical panel.

 

[Craw3773]

The ground could have been installed prior to pouring the foundation. It should have been inspected prior to laying concrete over it.

When was your house constructed and what location?

 

[thistlebrew]

Thanks for the replys guys! The house is pretty old. All the plumbing has been redone with PVC. No copper or galvanized.

Popular opinion is that the ground is originating at the service pole (in the alley behind the house). No evidence of a rod or anything else outside.

We did have a home inspection done when we bought it (6 years ago). But the revive panel work to run the 220 to the brewery was a DIY project with help from a buddy. We replaced the entire panel bc the old one was physically too small (no more slots for circuits).

At this point I believe the setup is safe to use. But grounding it with a dedicated rod close to the house would make it safer still.




Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[JustLooking]

But the revive panel work to run the 220 to the brewery was a DIY project with help from a buddy. We replaced the entire pane .....

Permit?