If a lot of us complain about their failure to adopt this common sense proposal is there any chance they will reconsider. Some of you know a lot more about the process then I'm willing to try and learn so what do you think of the chance of getting it adopted anyway.
--
Tom Horne
"This alternating current stuff is just a fad. It is much too dangerous for general use." Thomas Alva Edison
Speakin of Grounds n Grounding:
I was an electrician in the USN for 12 yrs, and then got out and went back to NEB, worked construction and then went industrial, and up there, (not sure if it was in the NEC or a local ordinance) on all new installs you weren't allowed to use the "Mechanical" (conduit/pipe etc)as your ground conductor. you had to run a copper ground wire. Now I live in Tx, and the people down here look at me like I'm nuts, I am currently working in a large manufacturing facility, and from the panels/controllers I have opened up there is not one green ground wire in the entire facility. We have just started automating some of the machines, but we are having problems, mostly IMO due to our out dated pwr distribution system.
whats the consensus on this?
I understand by code using EMT as the EGC is permissable, but is IMO a bad design issue. I always, and I mean always, use a seperate EGC. Its just too easy for the EMT to accidentially come apart at a coupling for instance and therefore the bond is no longer present to clear a fault if a fault occurs.
I've had several projects where a ground wire is required to be run.
That's a standard that is enforced at our local international airport (perhaps you've heard of it...O'Hare).
It's a requirement in Health Care occupancies.
I HATE relying on the conduit as the path. I've seen lousy couplings, busted connectors and gaps caused by expansion or evn just getting whacked by a passing forklift truck.
Unfortunately, I don't think there's much chance of a separate wire becoming a Code requirement soon...not with the price of Copper going nuts.
Thanx for the info, it must have been a local requirement. which works for me, I alwayz run a separate ground, It just makes sense to me.