On 3/24/2014 4:24 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2014 15:56:16 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

I understand that a residential service panel requires 2 sources for
grounding. I was looking at a newly installed panel the other day and I'm
not sure that it was installed correctly.

This panel has a neutral bar on both sides of the panel and ground bar on
the right hand side only.

At the electric meter on the side of the house, there are 2 bare copper
wires running down the wall into the earth. These wires were existing prior
to the installation of the new panel. They look like this:

http://www.altfab.com/library/large/...TR-GRND-02.jpg

When the new panel was installed, a new ground wire was run from within 5'
of the water meter to the neutral bar of the panel. The neutral bar is
bonded to the panel with a large green screw next to the incoming service
neutral lug. I believe that this part is OK.

However, this is the part that I'm not too sure about:

Above the panel, there a ground wire clamped to a water pipe. This wire was
there before the new panel was installed. The wire was pulled into the new
panel attached to the ground bar.

Does that wire count as a second grounding point for the panel or is it
essentially the same point as the new ground that was run from the water
meter to the panel?

Shouldn't I be seeing something that directly connects the ground wires at
the electric meter to the panel?

You really only need 2 electrodes if one of them is the water pipe.

The problem is, as far as I can tell, both of them are the same water pipe.


As long as your grounding electrode conductor goes from the neutral
bar to the pipe, within 5 feet of where it comes through the wall and
there is nothing between that and the dirt (meter, filter or whatever"
that is your primary electrode. A water pipe has to be supplemented
with another electrode and it sounds like that is a rod or two
outside. (they usually get installed in pairs)

I think this is what I should see, but I'm not sure that I do:

http://www.justanswer.com/uploads/El...g_of_panel.JPG

What I don't see is a connection from the ground rod(s) to the panel.
Please see the images below.


I can't see it but it sounds right.



See he

The first image is of the meter and the ground wires going into the earth:

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psb64ede78.jpg

This second image is of the panel. It shows the old bare copper wire
that is attached to the water pipe right above the panel. That is the
wire that is attached to the grounding bus.

It also shows the new black, insulated ground wire that runs back all
the way across the basement to the water meter.

I don't understand how the ground wires at the meter/rods are connected
to the panel as shown in the web image above.

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps7cef4247.jpg