I went into a electric room and saw this cord, I know what it is for as each of this customers locations has one of these cords.

This cord is used to power a temporary refrigerated trailer, each loading dock has an outlet to plug these into. When the trailer arrives the cord gets hardwired to the refrigeration unit.

Someone apparently decided that this trailer needed a ground rod.

So some questions.

Do you think this application requires a ground rod?

Do you think this ground rod is acceptable?

I already have my own opinion I am hoping to cause some discussion of the various code articles that may or may not apply.



Bob

Bob,
In a previous life did it used to be a lightning air terminal?
No need for the rod at the trailer.

As Don (resqcapt19) has astutely pointed out in posts at E-C.net, a very [perhaps the most] critical part of “grounding” is bonding to limit potential difference between equipment enclosures/components. This is only achieved through low-impedance interconnections, where relying on ground electrodes to establish any sort of return path for <600V systems is nothing short of treacherous. Applied to portable equipment, driven rods can give a false sense of security that local electrical things are “safe,” sometimes to the point of little concern for properly installed, low-impedance bonding routed with circuit conductors.

Some info I should have provided.

This is a 208 or 230 volt (depends if buck boosts have been installed) straight 3 phase feed with ground.

The outlet / plug combo is rated as a disconnecting means.

The breaker inside is a standard 3 pole 50 amp.

Another question, does the white need to be re-identified as it is used as an ungrounded conductor?

Bob

Bob, I hope the maintenance dude that did this did not tap into the Meltric connector. What kind of ground resistance is a foot long rod going to provide?

I would say that the white cannot be use as a hot phase leg. Not sure if it is legal with flexible cord to re-identify it though. Might have to use 5 wire SO cable.

You say that it is fed from a 50A breaker. That doesn't look like #6 to me and is the plug/receptacle rated at 50A?

That cut off ground rod is a joke. A ground rod is not needed anyway.

-Hal

White wire in cable assy. ok to be used as ungrounded conductor if permanently reidentified. 200.7(C)(1) Never have seen any provisions for a 1' supplemental electrode though.

Here is what I think is interesting.

200.7(C)(1) refers to cable Assemblies, that would be NM, MC, BX, SE etc. I am not sure that flexible cords and cables fall under that category.

Notice a separate section in 200.7(C).

200.7(C)(3)Where a flexible cord,.....

They made a separate section for cords and no mention of re-identifying the white when used as an ungrounded conductor.

What is up with the separate section if flexible cords are 'cables'?

Confused.

Article 400 calls some cord and others cable, what determines a cable from a cord?


Bob

225.30 tells us that a multiwire branch circuit can be considered as 'a' branch circuit, and a disconnect is not required.

Structure- That which is built or constructed.


250.32(A) says that at each building or structure (trailer) that one or more feeders or branch circuits requires us to follow part III of 250. (paraphrased to shorten this post)

550.4(A)Mobile Homes Not Intended as a Dwelling Unit.
-for example, contractor's on-site offices,...
...shall meet all other applicable requirementsof this article if provided with an electrical installation intended to be energized from a 120v or 120/240v ac power supply system.

I can see that your in your post this is a refridgerated trailer, but I am interested in 'job' trailers as well

After reading all of these articles, it would seem they contridict each other.
Bottom line, I am still confused.

would a 'job' trailer with a 'single' branch circuit (whether from 3phase or single phase) require a ground rod?

I do understand the principle behind the reason for the installation of ground rods.

Pierre

Iwire

I was told that the term cable is applied to factory assembled cables such as NM, MC, etc. as well as single insulated conductors made of standard stranding. I was also informed through proposal process that the NEC does not define standard terms. It appears that a dictonary will define a cable (electricaly) as heavey strands, and it will also define cords as small or thin strands and being fitted with a plug or plugs.

Still not concise but it moves in a direction

charlie

[This message has been edited by cpal (edited 08-22-2004).]

Pierre, job trailers do require ground rods. RI wants two rods, but put iwire's trailer on the same site with your job trailer in RI. No rod needed for iwire, you will need 2 rods makes no sense.

Here's my 2 pennies.

"...this application requires a ground rod?" No, I see the refer box, assuming it is a shipping container or the like, as equipment. Not a structure, or intended to be used as a shelter of any kind. Grounded yes, rod/electrode no.

"...this ground rod is acceptable?" Heh, Heh... No! If it were the sole ground, it would be useless. ( I have seen rods this short used in antenna applications. 3-6 in a pattern around it. No idea what purpose they serve in that way, but...)

"...does the white need to be re-identified as it is used as an ungrounded conductor?" No. 200.7C(3)as mentioned earlier.

Want to laugh?
I received a call today from a contractor who has to install wiring to 12 trailers on a jobsite. 1 bathroom trailer, and the rest are classrooms. It is a school, where the classrooms will not be finished for September - a high school where the kids come from all over the world - and is $40,000.00 per year!!!
The trailers will be finished next week, just in time for me to inspect them when I come back from VACATION!
No services to them, all feeders.

Pierre

e57, the system for antennas is to form a ground plane. For a broadcast tower to be tuned properly, you need a dependable ground plane for a certain distance around the tower. I was involved in a new tower for an AM station and they had to trench #12 bare copper in a radial pattern out from the base a couple of hundred feet.

The only time I ever saw rods that size was military "antenna farms", I figured that was the purpose, but not sure. I guess since they're pumping all that voltage out to deep space, a difference in potential is pretty big as far as signal strength goes.

Thanks for the answer, it's always made me wonder...