Laral wrote:There a journeyman must go through a rigorous apprenticeship before getting a license. Here, correct me if I'm wrong, it is much easier to get a license.
AND read this snippet from the 2008 NEC article on Motors, Motor Circuits, and Controllers:
Now granted the neutral is not grounded here but I think in a broad interpretation this would still apply in this case to the NEUTRAL. Again why risk a lawsuit? This covers all grounds.
That snippet of the NEC (and snippets of the NEC and NFP out of context can get you into really serious issues) refers to motors, yeah, but only those motor situations depicted in the illustration marked 430.1. It ain't talking about your sissified single-phase 900W kitchen appliance, lil bro! ; >
While the NEC is a great resource, you must remember that it also covers large manufacturing floor machinery, mining equipment, stage and screen, *and* the theatres that they're in, hotels, construction sites, shipyards, and airport runway lighting.
This particular snippet is referring to the five wire disconnects. It is a lockout that prevents the neutral from being removed while the hots are still connected by idiots who have absolutely no business messing with electricity big enough to vaporize human body parts in timespans measured in milliseconds. I stood next to one of those disconnects last night, although (since the NEC isn't code, but strong suggestions) stage electricians *tend* to be smart enough to know it, and the disco was clearly labeled with the applicable portion of the NEC covering indoor temporary electrical service disconnects, including to "connect the grounding conductor (green) and then the grounded conductor (white) before connecting the a, b, or c phase connectors."
And from my (admittedly not the most recent, but they're costly) version of the NEC Definitions in Article 100, Chapter One:
Grounded Conductor. A system or circuit conductor
that is intentionally grounded.
Grounding Conductor. A conductor used to connect
equipment or the grounded circuit of a wiring system to a
grounding electrode or electrodes.
Grounding Conductor, Equipment. The conductor
used to connect the noncurrent-carrying metal parts of equipment,
raceways, and other enclosures to the system grounded
conductor, the grounding electrode conductor, or both, at the
service equipment or at the source of a separately derived
system.
(Italics mine)
While the NEC is popular, their reference throughout to 'Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) is a nod to the fact that there are really no teeth in the document, only the aggregate knowledge of professionals and experts. Some jurisdictions adopt the NEC as bible, some as reference, and some not at all. In any case, I barely understand the distinctions in the above quote, and I already know what they are talking about.
I used both descriptors in that some folk are used to one set of terminology, and another are used to a different lexicon altogether.
My original subject line included a bit of an invitation to EE's, and Dan discouraged it to garner more general interest. It worked!
It's always good to crack open the books once in a while, keeps me on my toes. You'll never believe how long it took me to get to the applicable parts of the NEC this time, constantly being distracted by interesting bits. I was as frisky as a pointer in Squirrel Park!