Hello all. I have this 220v circuit in my house that needs to be
repaired. The circuit consists of a 4 prong plug, romex(?) cable, a
disconnect and a connection to the breaker box.

Before I repair this I want to make sure it is correct in the first
place. My question is in the connection to the panel box. It's #10/3
cable so it has four conductors, two hots, a neutral and a ground.
In the panel box, one hot goes to one lug of a 10 amp double breaker.
The other hot goes to the other lug of that same double breaker. The
neutral and the ground go to the same ground bar. This means that they
are electrically connected. Is that correct?

My other question involves the disconnect. This is the part that needs
to be replaced. This disconnect
has two switched poles. It is connected as such:
As mentioned, it is 4 conductor wire. One hot goes to one switched
pole and the other hot goes to the other pole of the disconnect.

The disconnect has a short ground bar attached and electrically
connected to it's standard metal disconnect casing. Both the neutral
and the ground wires of this circuit are connected to this ground bar.
Is this correct?

I really appreciate you reading this.
Thanks,

The neutral and ground are not allowed to be connected together (with
few exceptions) other than at the service. The neutral connection to the
ground bar at the disconnect is a code violation.

I agree it is a code violation, but why?
Normally it is prevent grounds from being energized unnecessariy; when they
are connected to the neutral there is a potential to get a shock off the
ground.
But in this case the wires (or so I presume) go directly from the disconnect
to the breaker box. There is no chance for anything unfortunate to happen;
so why is it a code violation (except that it is...)

coustanis wrote:
Hello all. I have this 220v circuit in my house that needs to be
repaired. The circuit consists of a 4 prong plug, romex(?) cable, a
disconnect and a connection to the breaker box.

Before I repair this I want to make sure it is correct in the first
place. My question is in the connection to the panel box. It's #10/3
cable so it has four conductors, two hots, a neutral and a ground.
In the panel box, one hot goes to one lug of a 10 amp double breaker.
The other hot goes to the other lug of that same double breaker. The
neutral and the ground go to the same ground bar. This means that they
are electrically connected. Is that correct?


The neutral and ground are connected together at the service. Usually
the neutral bar is insulated from the panel and there is a green screw
that connects it to the panel box, or a jumper. This is a code required
connection (although it could be in the meter box instead). Your
connection is OK.
The 2 pole breaker is probably 30A

My other question involves the disconnect. This is the part that needs
to be replaced. This disconnect
has two switched poles. It is connected as such:
As mentioned, it is 4 conductor wire. One hot goes to one switched
pole and the other hot goes to the other pole of the disconnect.

The disconnect has a short ground bar attached and electrically
connected to it's standard metal disconnect casing. Both the neutral
and the ground wires of this circuit are connected to this ground bar.
Is this correct?


The neutral and ground are not allowed to be connected together (with
few exceptions) other than at the service. The neutral connection to the
ground bar at the disconnect is a code violation.

bud--

While others can discuss the safety effect of not allowing grounds to be
connected again at any location other than the service box, one other
problem is created by forming ground loops. You will find electronic
equipment does not like ground loops, which often form electrical currents
running in and around the loop which the electronic equipment will detect
and have interference in its ability to do its job. Sometimes it cause
instability, sometimes noise in a signal.

"Toller" wrote in message
...

The neutral and ground are not allowed to be connected together (with
few exceptions) other than at the service. The neutral connection to the
ground bar at the disconnect is a code violation.

I agree it is a code violation, but why?
Normally it is prevent grounds from being energized unnecessariy; when
they are connected to the neutral there is a potential to get a shock off
the ground.
But in this case the wires (or so I presume) go directly from the
disconnect to the breaker box. There is no chance for anything
unfortunate to happen; so why is it a code violation (except that it
is...)

But in this case the wires (or so I presume) go directly from the disconnect
to the breaker box. There is no chance for anything unfortunate to happen;

0 - Because it gains you absolutely nothing. The separate ground wire
is specifically for this purpose. So use it, and not the neutral, for
grounding purposes.
1 - Because "I presume" isn't good enough. What if they do not go right
to the breaker box, but instead have some other devices on them that
you didn't notice.
2 - Because your idea of "no chance for anything unfortunate to happen"
is mistaken. One of those wires could break, or a connection could
become corroded or loose, etc., all of which would result in live
current in your grounding system (i.e., unfortunate stuff hapenning)
3 - Because if done correctly and to code, it would later be safe to
add a device inbetween the disconnect and the panel without worrying
that somebody has done something stupid downcircuit (like connecting
the neutral and ground wires).

Connecting the netural and ground at the disconnect (or basically
anywhere other than the panel) gains you nothing at all, is risky, and
could be made even worse unintentially by someone who doesn't realize
the circuit was done wrong.
Tying the neutral to the ground gives you no advantage at all in the
case that there are no failures (broken wires, broken connections,
etc.). And in the case of failures, it can make things worse than they
otherwise would be.

kevin wrote:

snip


Connecting the netural and ground at the disconnect (or basically
anywhere other than the panel) gains you nothing at all, is risky, and
could be made even worse unintentially by someone who doesn't realize
the circuit was done wrong.
Tying the neutral to the ground gives you no advantage at all in the
case that there are no failures (broken wires, broken connections,
etc.). And in the case of failures, it can make things worse than they
otherwise would be.

All.

I will make sure the disconnect, when replaced, has the neutral running
straight through - using a wirenut - and does not connect to the
ground. I will connect the ground to the ground bar in the disconnect.

Thank you.