Long time lurker, first time poster here.

Doug, I've watched you give out crappy electrical advice for quite some
time, and I think it's time I give you a little schoolin'.

First of all, TomH's post was pretty much spot on. So your bit about
"not correct in any respect" is horse hockey.

You haven't done much wiring, have you? In a perfect world, the three
wires are black, red, and g/b. How often do you think that happens?
All the time? Most of the time? SOME of the time?

I've run into situations contstantly where you get black, red, and
white. Hell, I just bought some 12/3 that had black, white, and green.
Only a fool relies on wire colors to tell him what that load that wire
carries or doesn't carry.

White gets used for ground all the freakin' time...especially in the
situation TomH describes. Granted, in the electrical codes, white
SHOULD be neutral, and G/B SHOULD be ground. But if you got a
red/black/white, would you suggest hooking a different color to the
ground? Honestly...would you?

The bottom line is that you can get a multi-meter for $14 at a hardware
store. If you know how to use it, do so. If you don't, get a damn
electrician to hook you up.


Doug Miller wrote:
In article , "Tom H" wrote:
If you have only three wires (Black, Red & White) you should use the Black &
Red for your Hot leads (interchangeable) and the white as the ground.

Not correct in any respect. First off, if he has only three wires, they will
almost certainly be black, white, and bare -- not black, red, and white. If he
has black, red, and white, he also has a fourth conductor, which will be bare
or green.

Second, white is NEVER to be used for ground. White is neutral, and bare/green
is ground.

Running a 220v piece of equipment without grounding it is dangerous. I
recommend using green tape or colored marker to change the end of the white
wire green so in the future others will know it is a ground.

Better to use the bare (or greeen) wire which is already there.

If you have a 200v machine that has a 110v light or other 110v accessory,
you will need a 4th wire (black, red, white & green or bare). The white and
one of the hot leads is for the 110v load and the green/bare is to ground
the machine.

As noted above, if he has black, white, and red, he already has the 4th
conductor as well.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.