What would you do with the equipment grounding conductor for a new branch circuit (small appliance circuit) that will originate at a subpanel supplied via a three-wire feed (no grounding conductor)?
The feeder to the subpanel originates in a subpanel (formerly the house main panel) that is itself supplied by a three-wire feeder from the new service panel.
Would you--
1) install a GFCI, not connect the branch ckt ground (EGC), and label the outlet "no equipment ground"?
2) land the branch ckt EGC on the grounded (neutral) bus at the subpanel, after checking the integrity of the neutral back to the service entrance?
3) install an EGC bus and set up the neutral bus as a floating bus in the subpanel from which the new circuit will originate, and run an EGC back to the service entrance?
4) other?
The problem I see with #2 is that if the neutral back to the service entrance were to be disconnected or damaged, the EGC of the new circuit could wind up carrying up to full line voltage.
In contrast, if a service neutral is lost, the grounding electrode system will provide some degree of return for the current. Has anyone ever run across a situation where the service neutral was lost, and the grounding electrode impedance was high, causing a dengerous voltage to be impressed on the equipment grounding conductors?
I see the problem with #3 being the amount of time it would take.
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For the benefit of you British and European ECNers, Cook County is where Chicago is located, and infamous for voting fraud.
Thanks--
Cliff
