Grounding Wire Requirements
Grounding Wire Requirements
(OP)
What is the code requirement when running grounding wire from industrial equipment that is located outside. Does the ground wire need to be ran through PVC conduit or can it be ran as an exposed wire?





RE: Grounding Wire Requirements
RE: Grounding Wire Requirements
One of many instances is the grounding of cable trays. The trays are mounted on and connected to grounded steel structures and would be considered adequately grounded under the CEC. API requires a ground conductor to be run in a single tray and in one of multiple tray runs. The multiple trays must be grounded by jumpers to the running ground cable at regular intervals.
First determine what codes apply to your installation.
The only bare copper that I see is ground grids. Above ground ground cables are insulated to avoid galvanic corrosion from contact with steel and aluminum.
Bill
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"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter
RE: Grounding Wire Requirements
Aside from code requirements, you may wish to consider running all copper grounding conductors in thick steel conduit as a means of deterring theft; our utility has an ongoing problem with grounding conductor being stolen.
Despite laser-etching of the grounding conductor itself, use of concealed cameras and proximity detectors and numerous other approaches, loss of grounding conductor continues to be 'issuematic' [a word I coined - grin], and considerable labour cost is being incurred to have it all replaced, along with having to take equipment outages, etc., etc.
CR
RE: Grounding Wire Requirements
Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter
RE: Grounding Wire Requirements
I take your point; and I didn't mean to suggest that this be done without applying the necessary corrections to compensate for any electrical effects that encasing in steel conduit might have.
Still: the problem of copper theft remains...so the question becomes whether 'tis better to have to address the altered performance of the ground conductor encased in steel versus that nasty difference of potential that arises between a piece of equipment and earth if a fault occurs when there is no grounding present at all, without even getting too far into the effect this has on the operation of protective schemes...
And not all of the ground conductor needs to be encased, only that part that runs from the point of attachment to a foot [30 cm] or so below grade, since thieves tend to be lazy and won't generally excavate just for copper; they also tend to hate getting caught, and having to do spadework increases their loiter time significantly.
CR
RE: Grounding Wire Requirements
However, the code [NEC] recommends to run the grounding cable close to the service feeder live conductors [that means in the same conduit or raceway, I think]
RE: Grounding Wire Requirements
Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter
RE: Grounding Wire Requirements
The OP mentioned grounding industrial equipment out of doors; I related our utility's experience with the grounding of medium- and high-voltage electrical equipment in switchyards, which may not have been apropos.
Mmmm, mighty tasty crow...
CR
RE: Grounding Wire Requirements
RE: Grounding Wire Requirements
Conductor theft is a problem here too. They tie the conductor to the junkie (utility vehicle) and drive in the direction that the conductor comes from. When they have run out of time, they cut it off with bolt cutters and continue to drive to a quite location where it is rolled up for disposal. Now some people throw concrete into the trench before they cover up.
RE: Grounding Wire Requirements
I highly recommend the GE paper linked below written by R.H. Kaufmann. Nothing has changed in the last 50 years.
http://www.powercet.com/uploads/files/GE-More_Spec...