Another N-G bonding thread.

[hpeyerl]

Starting a new thread because I created confusion by hijacking this thread: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/n-g-bonding.80429

In that thread I posted photos of my meter set-up: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/n-g-bonding.80429/post-1032841 I apologize for creating confusion.

A few folks responded with questions which I'll try to answer here and hopefully un-hijack that other thread..

@Mattb4
ETA: Incidentally I have never seen it allowed to use bare wire as a Neutral feed like you have from your pole panel. Where I am at I had to run 4 wires with one being the bare ground.

That was how the power-co spec'd it. The cable on the right was existing; and the cable on the left was USEB-90 which the power-company told me to run to my house when I switched from overhead. They upgraded the meter base and did all that wiring in the box.

@B-Mod
Is the bar on the right directly bolted to the enclosure, or is it isolated? Can't tell by picture.

Yes it is. I guess that's the bonding.

@timselectric
And there should be 4 conductors to each building, if done correctly. (L1, L2, N, G)
And no other N/G bonds.

This is the way the power-company directed the install. Maybe this is the part where I mention I'm in Canada but I thought the CEC largely mirrored the NEC. I previously had overhead power from the pole to the house and due to some renos, switched to underground from the pole to the house. The PowerCo said I should trench it myself, drop in some 4/0 USEB-90. They came out when I was done and rebuilt the meter base as you see in the photos. The house has its own ground plate. The other line in the photo was pre-existing 2AWG USEB-90 to the shop. The shop has its own dual rod ground setup.

@wheisenburg
Without knowing your exact setup, it is hard to say for sure. I can tell you that as a general rule, separate buildings will have separate electrical systems. They should only be supplying three wires to each building. Two hots and a neutral. At the entrance to each building you should have ground rods installed and tied into the panel at each building. That is where the ground neutral bond should be established.

So this is the way it is currently configured but I was confused about the conflicting information from various electricians/inspectors. What you describe is what my intuition says is correct.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

The shop has its own dual rod ground setup

On a separate meter and wires I hope?