Kactus, Irregular, Hube and others....

[mrcaptainbob]

Thanks for all your help on all the things we ask. There's something that's been scratchin' at the back of my brain for some time. Maybe there's two 'items' here. The first is: why is there a common 'bar' for both the ground and the neutral in the main panel? Can't wrap the brain around that. The second: what is the difference between grounding and bonding? Can you sight an example of each? Thanks again for all you do.

[kactuskid]

Here's a bunch of links that you can read that should answer all your questions. Hope this helps.

http://members.tripod.com/~masterslic/FAQ-2/17.html

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/groundloop/neutral_ground_separate.html

http://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/GB-HTML/HTML/WhyIsGroundingDifficultToUnderstand~20020612.htm

http://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/GB-HTML/HTML/Grounding-Bonding-Poster~20030914.htm

http://www.lightningmaster.com/bonding-grounding-2.htm

http://www.iaei.org/magazine/04_a/04_a_johnston.htm

[mrcaptainbob]

Thanks for those sites, Kactus. Will peruse.

[volts]

Here's a capsule explanation of grounding vs bonding: Bonding is placing the metallic structures and surfaces of devices such as switches, outlets, etc. at ground potential. For example, a switchbox is connected to the supply ground via the bare wire of a Romex cable. The bare wire or (green) wire is not intended for continuous current carrying. That is bonding. Any metal device mechanically attached into the box is bonded, hence also grounded. The actual ground is made at the service entrance via buried pipe, etc, which provides for some static discharge protection. A Neutral conductor, even though it's at ground potential, must be used and sized to carry the currents energizing the household. It would be unsafe and impracticable to use a simple ground return as used in an automoble because of the high currents circulating, particularly for ovens, dryers, etc.