Ground wire... (1 Viewer)

[Don Harris]

OK, check this out. The receptacle I plug my system into dope not have a ground. I use a Monster Cable line conditioner and it has a little ground light that comes on when there is a good ground. This light only comes on when I hook up my cable from my SAT. Is there an easy inexpensive way to ground the outlet box? How do I accomplish this?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Don,
First, welcome to the Forum!
If you get the ground light when the satellite feed is connected, it is coming through the RF signal feed, which is grounded before it enters the house. I presume your satellite receiver has a grounded outlet? The F-connector on the sat receiver is common with the chassis, as is the ground lug on the power plug. Therefore when you plug the satellite receiver into the Monster, it “thinks” it has a good ground, but it really doesn’t.
Unfortunately, adding a ground will require running a new circuit from the service panel. The ground wire there should be clamped to a copper stake driven 8ft. into the ground, according to National Electric Code standards. Some people try to short-cut a ground by running a wire to a water pipe, but they are not deep enough in the ground to qualify as an approved ground.
The only cheap and easy way to do this would be if your house has the outlets in steel conduit. If this is the case, you can drive the copper stake at the service panel and connect it with an 8ga. wire to the conduit. Then you could install standard grounded outlets in your box, and the outlet would ground through the conduit.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
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[Don Harris]

Thank you for such a great reply... This should help tremendously...
[Edited last by Don Harris on August 25, 2001 at 02:04 PM]

 

[Gene Severn]

Don,
You did not say what type of wiring you currently have in your house. You do not necessarily need to install a new circuit. Having one is best if you can afford it. A licensed electrician might charge several hundred dollars depending on the complexity of the installation. You have other options:
If you have BX cable (metal spiral outer jacket) you can have the receptacle replaced with a three prong grounding type, and run a green jumper from the green screw on the receptacle to a ground screw on the box to which the receptacle is mounted. This is in accordance with the National Electrical Code.
If you have knob and tube wiring (found in really old homes) which have two discrete wires without an outer jacket, you need to run a new circuit.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

…and run a green jumper from the green screw on the receptacle to a ground screw on the box to which the receptacle is mounted.

This is unnecessary. If you put a ohmmeter across the outlet’s ground lug and mounting brackets, you will see they have continuity. In other words, the outlet is grounded when it is screwed into a metal outlet box. Check any non-IG outlets in any modern commercial building and you will see there is no wire between the outlet and the electrical box.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
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[Gene Severn]

Wayne,
The latest version of the National Electrical Code (NEC) mandates the green ground wire between switches and receptacles and their mounting boxes. Often the screw cannot be relied upon for a good mechanical ground. Some of the higher quality receptacles have spring clips on the ears of the switch or receptacle. The $.99 Home Depot variety, among others, does not.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Well, that explains it. I haven’t been in any buildings built since what, last year?
I’ll bet a lot of electricians are going to intentionally “oops!” and skip it!
Yeah, the HD cheapies only have that little paper washer, or something similar. Fortunately, those are usually used in residential applications, where the ground is attached directly to the outlet.
Thanks for the info, Gene!
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
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