"Leonard Martin" wrote in message
...

| Yes, it would be nice if someone would undertake to answer your question
| by explaining. a little about electrical wiring conventions in general
| and grounding in particular. I know something about electronics, but
| I've never found a good (short) explanation of even the basics of house
| wiring and grounding.

See the previously mentioned http://www.eso.qld.gov.au/publicat/men/men1.pdf

Here are a couple of cases I know of:

1) The city replaces the wires to the house, but accidentally connects the
hot to the neutral and the neutral to the hot. Now all of your 'grounded'
appliances have 120 volts on each metal surface. I know the people this
happened to. They put an old fashioned metal bucket in the kitchen sink and
dropped the metal handle across the hot and cold taps. It promptly welded
itself to them.

2) A 15,000 volt overhead wire breaks and drops on the 120 volt wires
feeding your house. You still want to take your chances? This also happened.

The MEN system is the safest we have been able to come up with, but the
rules must be followed.

N