Confused about wiring my Recent Purchase
Good evening guys and I hope you all can help me. I have gleaned a wealth of knowledge so far but have come here for the advice from people that know RV's. Story .... Moving into an RV for 4 mo...
Forum Discussion
Not an expert on wire, but if colors have anything to do with it, the three feeder wires going into my new box are silver in color. Presuming that is aluminum.
And from my basic understanding I agree with you Enblethan in the fact that bonding creates possible load current to ground especially on the grounding rods I sunk. This would not be a problem in a 4 wire system in a detached building - Simple - No bond - Neutral back to Main Supply - Ground to Detached Sunk Ground Rods - hence no Return load on the Ground wire at all.
However - 3 wire system - Pain in the Ass - Old Skool - Only path back to Main Panel is Neutral - No Conduit / Water / Gas Pipes to use !!
NOW I understand why they did NOT bond the panel as potential shorts could make the panel live AND why they joined the ground to neutral, since any N-G or L-N shorts still had a valid path to the main box, however, considering I found several faults I the wiring I am quite confident that any tool usage failure would have resulted in a considerable jolt.
Well I think we flogged this one to death gentlemen. Thanks for all the input.
In the end, since I'm rewiring the whole damn thing, the only wiring I have to worry about is the RV which I will be testing this coming Saturday on my walkthrough with the dealer, and I'll hit all the receptacles with a tester to ensure RV is 100%. I only have 2 receptacles in the barn to worry about and they have been tested AOK. I'm wiring the TT30 myself so that will be 100%.
Although this whole scenario is a hodge podge of 20 year old wiring I just have to ensure NO shorts or electrical failures. If there are any internal usage failures of equipment, I just have to ensure that it has a valid / least resistance path to follow.
Last question then before I wire the mess up !
In a path of Least Resistance Scenario .... If there was to be a short from Live to "Whatever" ..... and I have a BONDED Panel with Paths to the Main Panel Neutral and 2 Ground Rods .... Which would the current take ?
My Answer (Give or take Resistance based on Soil Moisture / Wire Resistance / Distance / Quality to the Main Panel / The fact that all sockets seem to work in the barn without tingle / tripping) would be ..
The Neutral to the Main Box would still offer the path of least resistance !
Agree / Disagree ?
And after this and any answers I think I'm done lol !
I'll post my final wiring and results once I get settled and sorted.
I have 4 yards of Gravel to rake and compact this weekend. Really looking forward to that lol !
And from my basic understanding I agree with you Enblethan in the fact that bonding creates possible load current to ground especially on the grounding rods I sunk. This would not be a problem in a 4 wire system in a detached building - Simple - No bond - Neutral back to Main Supply - Ground to Detached Sunk Ground Rods - hence no Return load on the Ground wire at all.
However - 3 wire system - Pain in the Ass - Old Skool - Only path back to Main Panel is Neutral - No Conduit / Water / Gas Pipes to use !!
NOW I understand why they did NOT bond the panel as potential shorts could make the panel live AND why they joined the ground to neutral, since any N-G or L-N shorts still had a valid path to the main box, however, considering I found several faults I the wiring I am quite confident that any tool usage failure would have resulted in a considerable jolt.
Well I think we flogged this one to death gentlemen. Thanks for all the input.
In the end, since I'm rewiring the whole damn thing, the only wiring I have to worry about is the RV which I will be testing this coming Saturday on my walkthrough with the dealer, and I'll hit all the receptacles with a tester to ensure RV is 100%. I only have 2 receptacles in the barn to worry about and they have been tested AOK. I'm wiring the TT30 myself so that will be 100%.
Although this whole scenario is a hodge podge of 20 year old wiring I just have to ensure NO shorts or electrical failures. If there are any internal usage failures of equipment, I just have to ensure that it has a valid / least resistance path to follow.
Last question then before I wire the mess up !
In a path of Least Resistance Scenario .... If there was to be a short from Live to "Whatever" ..... and I have a BONDED Panel with Paths to the Main Panel Neutral and 2 Ground Rods .... Which would the current take ?
My Answer (Give or take Resistance based on Soil Moisture / Wire Resistance / Distance / Quality to the Main Panel / The fact that all sockets seem to work in the barn without tingle / tripping) would be ..
The Neutral to the Main Box would still offer the path of least resistance !
Agree / Disagree ?
And after this and any answers I think I'm done lol !
I'll post my final wiring and results once I get settled and sorted.
I have 4 yards of Gravel to rake and compact this weekend. Really looking forward to that lol !
