"NN" schreef in bericht
oups.com...

petrus bitbyter wrote:
"NN" schreef in bericht
ups.com...
I live in a old house but I get the three power lines coming into
breaker box (110x2, ground). I don,t know if he is pulling my leg, but
I was told in a note that something is wrong with my electrical, and
they had measured 70 volts between the box and the ground. My
electric bill is not outrageous but I can only guess it is costing
money and maybe some safety issues to. Is this possible or its a joke?


Buy a (cheap $10) meter and check for yourself. Between both 110 lines
you'd find 220Vac. Between each hot and neutral 110Vac. The voltage
between
neutral and ground may vary. If the neutral is grounded in the breaker
box
it should be very low. One maybe two volts. Otherwise the voltage can
easily
rise to some tens of volts caused by unbalance in the load.

petrus bitbyter
With my meter set at ac, I put one probe to the third (ground wire that
comes in and the other probe to the grounding wire going to the ground
poll? ( With safety in mind ) Would that situation of 70volts cost
money in wasted electricity?


Highly unlikely. It *may* at most cost your life as it *may* indicate a
severe safety problem.

FAIK these 110x2 is made by a centre tapped 220V transformer winding. The
tap is considered neutral and grounded either near the transformer or in
your breaker box. If the neutral is grounded near your breaker box *and* you
find 70V between ground and neutral, most likely ground or neutral has been
interrupted, bringing in a life threatening situation. If the neutral is
grounded near the transformer, some tens of volts are not uncommon and can
be caused by unbalance of the load like I wrote before. Even then 70V is
high, too high to be normal I suppose. You you find that high a voltage
you'd better look for a local expert.

petrus bitbyter