This is interesting: I just measured a 3 to 4V difference between the
service panel ground wire connected to the pipe, and a nearby fence post.
The yard also has a new water system so all of the metal pipe was replace
with PVC before we moved in. So the pipe will not be as effective as a real
ground stake. As a test I ran a temporary green wire between the ground and
the fence post. This reduced the voltage discrepancy in the outlets also by
around 4V. However the loads in the circuit are constantly changing so I
cannot be certain it was due to this fence post wire test. With some heavy
duty stakes in the ground I'm wondering if that will make up the 10V
discrepancy (and not just 4V). I will have this ground stake re-done for
sure. I wonder if this is it, or something else too.



"Don Young" wrote in message
...

From all your described symptoms, there is no doubt that you have a poor
connection somewhere in the neutral line. It can be anywhere from the
power pole, down thru the meter socket, and into the main and sub panels.
To determine where the problem is, you have to see how far back toward the
pole the problem shows up. Each side of the system should have
approximately the same voltage to the neutral and the neutral to ground
voltage should be near zero. A few volts of difference is not significant
but as much as 5 is not normal.

Don Young

This is a serious problem and if you do not feel competent to solve it you
should seek help from someone with more experience.