[TowerTalk] Challenging Grounding/Bonding Situation ?

[Gary Schafer]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of
> Jim Brown
> Sent: Friday, September 12, 2014 9:07 PM
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Challenging Grounding/Bonding Situation ?
> 
> On Fri,9/12/2014 6:50 PM, Gary Schafer wrote:
> > If you have only a 3 wire feed system from your house to garage then
> you
> > have to have that feed neutral wire bonded to the panel at both the
> house
> > and at the garage. If you do not have it bonded to the panel at the
> garage
> > then there is no path for a breaker to trip if there should be a fault
> of
> > hot to ground on any appliance like Bill described.
> 
> How many times must I say it? Neutral MUST BE bonded in both buildings
> if ground is not carried. They are treated as separate premises.
> 
> 73, Jim K9YC

Yes Jim I believe that you said that in your first post. But in subsequent
post you seemed to argue that there was no ground running between buildings
and made it sound as though the neutral was not bonded in the garage panel. 

I contend that while you have no separate ground wire running between
buildings that there is still a bonded ground path that is common to the
neutral wire. 
Just as the service from the power company's power pole neutral wire is
bonded to their pole grounding network makes their neutral and ground
common.
Claiming that ground and neutral are separate doesn't make the path go away
when both are connected to the same conductor.

As far as lightning goes, 30' between house and garage is not that far that
the inductance of the wire between them can cause you to ignore the path.

The discussion was whether a 3 wire feed or 4 wire feed would be better so
as not to have building grounds tied together. 
You still have the same ground path connection with either system as far as
lightning is concerned so you do not want to ignore the other building
(house).

73
Gary  K4FMX