How to Attach Ground Wire to Building Ground?

Thread Starter

Zero Potential

Joined Mar 25, 2015
84
I have an outbuilding that houses my pool and sprinkler pumps. There is a rod outside the building, driven into the earth. At the top, I found what appears to be a 10-gauge wire, disconnected. I guess someone knocked it loose, or it corroded. I assume the rod is the ground for the building. My feeling is that it should be connected, in order to prevent things like death.

What's the correct way to attach the wire to the rod?
 

profbuxton

Joined Feb 21, 2014
421
WE use a brass plated clamp which fits snugly around the earth rod and holds the earth wire. You should be able to obtain a suitable earthing clamp from your local electrical supplier.
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
There are specific codes for how this should be done and whether or not the ground should run back to the main circuit breaker at the original feed-in at the meter. Usually, there is only one ground wire to earth rod and that is near the meter. all other grounding cables run back to that point and attach to the main panel near the meter and the ground buss bar at the main breaker panel is grounded to earth.

Your secondary ground rod may have been disconnected because it violates code. the rod should have been removed as well so no well-intentioned person reconnects it without knowing the code.

There have been a few pool-related electrocutions in the last month. be careful.
 

Thread Starter

Zero Potential

Joined Mar 25, 2015
84
Well, that's confusing. The outbuilding is 75 feet from the house, and there is no giant ground wire connecting the two structures. I wonder how the outbuilding stuff is supposed to connect to ground. There is probably no provision for it other than the rod by the pool shed.

Tradesmen are really bad here in South Florida, so it may well be that the whole job is completely wrong. Maybe I need to call an electrician, but based on the horrible work they've done here in the past, there's a good chance they'll screw it up worse. I suppose I could get around that by insisting on an inspection.
 

BR-549

Joined Sep 22, 2013
4,928
If there is an electrical incident, in the future, at the pool....the first thing they do is an electrical inspection.

If you can afford running a pool, you can afford a licensed electrician to inspect and repair the pool area.

Keep the work-order.
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,619
The outbuilding is 75 feet from the house, and there is no giant ground wire connecting the two structures. I wonder how the outbuilding stuff is supposed to connect to ground. There is probably no provision for it other than the rod by the pool shed.
.
In the absence of any ground wire feeding the outbuilding there should be some earth ground reference, typically at least one ground rod and usually two about 6ft apart.
The pool and other equipment would normally have GFCI breakers also.
Max.
 

tranzz4md

Joined Apr 10, 2015
310
Youre right about residential and rural electricians in FL. You need good equipment grounding, and it sounds like something is amiss. 75' is not particularly far, but a #10 ground to a local earth electrode and no EGC to the panel at the utility service point is wrong. You need an electrician, but obviously a good one this time. Call your county or state building code enforcement department, speak with an electrical inspector, and if the inspector wont give you the names of 3 or more licensed contractors, try contacting a local IBEW union office that covers "inside wiremen".
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,619
A small excerpt from Soares book printed by the "International Assc. of Electrical Inspectors'" and used by NEC & NFPA79.
From the section for feeding a remote building.
Max.
 

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