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About PASCACK VALLEY ELECTRIC Bob Mossman
Expertise
Licensed Master Electrician (29 years) 6165B Contractor in Closter New Jersey with 38 years total experience in Residential - Commercial - Industrial work. Emergency Service - General trouble shooting and repair work - Paddle fans - Kitchen & Bath exhaust fans - AC lines - Smoke detectors - Telephone lines - Cable TV lines - Computer network cabling - Exterior lighting - Recessed lighting - Security lighting - (200 - 150 - 100 amp service up grades) - Electric Heat - New circuits - New appliance hook ups - Back up generators - and more ! FREE ESTIMATES 201-358-1552 www.pascackvalleyelectric.com
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Licensed contractor in Closter New Jersey.
Education/Credentials
"The Frank Williams School of Electrical Construction". My dear old boss is 96 and still going God Bless him. I started working for "Tenafly Electric" right out of high school at 19. He was tough but I learned more working for him in 8 and half years than most guys. We did mostly industrial work while doing some commercial and residential so I was fortunate to be exposed to all 3 areas of electrical construction. The guys I worked with were all good guys and I stay in touch with some of them still. Most of us went into our own buisness's which says something about the caliber of the guys I worked with. We had some interesting clients : Wella Corp. of shampoo fame, Farah Fawcett etc, I didn't buy shampoo for 10 years, it was a great place to work. Pan Am the X airline just before they went under, another great place to work, nice clean environment. C&C Metals, the largest button manufacturer in the US, a not so clean environment but a very interesting place to work, lots of machine's cranking out buttons of all kinds but you had to be on your toes, it was a potentially dangerous place to be . All kinds of action going on around you.
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You are here: Experts > Home/Garden > Home Improvement/Repair > Electrical Wiring in the Home > Grounding
Expert: PASCACK VALLEY ELECTRIC Bob Mossman - 11/6/2009
Question
A few years ago we upgraded the service to our house. We put an eight foot copper rod into the ground and hooked it up to the new panel on the meter side. As I recall, the inspector said everything looked good, but in order to be up to code, it should also be hooked to the cold water pipe coming into the house, because that is actually the primary ground and the rod is secondary. Well, I got busy and never did it. My question: Do I need to run a seperate wire from the panel to the cold water pipe, or can I run a wire from the cold water pipe to the rod, since it is currently hooked to the panel? As long as they're all hooked together is that all that matters? If i have to hook them up separately then I'll need to call the power company to come unlock the meter side of the panel. Are there usually two lugs or more in order to hook them both up? Thanks so much for your help.
Answer
Paul,
What the inspector said is correct. You do need to run a separate wire from the water meter to the panel as long as the cold water pipe is not plastic in which case you would not need to do anything but if it is indeed copper you must do it and the size of the wire is determined by the size of the service, if you have 200 amp serice the wire must be #4 copper, if its 100 or 150 it can be #6. You can make the connection to the main panels neutral block (terminal) (white wires) so there is no need to call the utility.
You must also install a "jumper" around the water meter the same size as the wire you run. You must also put a jumper (same size) from the "hot" water pipe on your hot water heater to the "cold" water pipe on the hot water heater.
Bob
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