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Ground to Neutral?
Intro: I rehab homes for a living and tent to get older homes that I don't always gut down to the frame therefor I don't always have the option to update the old 2 wire (without ground wire) electrical system to a 3 wire (with ground wire). My problem is I want these homes to have 3 prong outlets so that the people that buy them can plug in there computer and like items.
Now if the neutral is grounded at the panel then why is it wrong to take a short ground wire from the ground on a outlet to the neutral wire on the outlet. My thought is if the neutral is grounded then what is the need to have one wire dedicated to ground for each circuit and one for neutral if they are both the grounded. |
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Where are you working? I do similar work and the permits frequently force me to upgrade all electrical including the panels, maybe I am mising a loophole. You can install GFCI receptacle and this would allow 3 prong plugs, still not grounded but now GFCI. BTW, I am also required to upgarde bedrooms to Arc faults too
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I work in Ohio, but I am not pulling permits for small things like this. I am worried about it causing problems down the road for the new home owner. I know a home inspectors outlet tester will show that the plug is grounded if I wire it like I stated above but I don't know if there is a reason not to wire it like that.
Note: I do pull permits for whole house rewiring or breaker panel updates. ( do not use lienced electricians because I pull the permits) |
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The fact that they connect to the same place in the panel makes no difference whatsoever.
The ground is supposed to carry only fault current. The neutral carries circuit current. If the ground and neutral are connected outside the main panel, and there is a problem on the neutral of the circuit, the ground and all bare metal associated with the circuit can and will be live with voltage. Your logic is an old and weary one. This argument/question comes up all the time. Just take it as fact that jumping out the ground to neutral (called a bootleg ground) is a bad and potentially dangerous thing. Sometimes "small" things like this might not be so small. |
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