Voltage Between Grounded Ladder and Roof

[Hedges]

If you get a direct lightning strike, all is lost regardless of grounding.

If that is a possibility, consider a lightning rod higher than the things you want to protect, with wire to its own ground rod.
Maybe rods at four corners, with a wire looped between them.

 

[Hedges]

Our weird split phase neutral grounded system looks worse the older it gets but we have backed ourselves into a corner with it and will have to make do.

Do you feel the same way about 3-phase?

Three-phase electric power - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Quattrohead]

Do you feel the same way about 3-phase?

Three-phase electric power - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

No because it's only used in industrial locations where it's more likely to be dealt with by professionals not an amateur DIYer watching a couple of YouTube videos LOL
"Hey look it looks and I can plug 30 heaters into it"

 

[TurbineTester]

Well i spoek to soon about this solving the voltage fluctuations on 2P2 inverter. It's back all over the place. But, we did solve the tingly roof. Thanks folks!

 

[timselectric]

No because it's only used in industrial locations where it's more likely to be dealt with by professionals not an amateur DIYer watching a couple of YouTube videos LOL
"Hey look it looks and I can plug 30 heaters into it"

I've made too many repairs behind plant maintenance electricians, to agree with this statement. lol

 

[Shimmy]

OK, i've rigged some temporary wires and connected the main roof (and thus PV frames) to the main ground rod and the garage roof to a fence post and that has solved the "tingly roof" problem.

Just be careful that you don't have a pinched neutral somewhere that is energizing the gutters. In your particular case I doubt that is the issue, but from a troubleshooting perspecive that is always the first thing you should check. A nail that goes through Romex for a soffit light would be an example. You check by putting a clamp ammeter around each branch circuit and confirming no net current between phase and neutral.

No because it's only used in industrial locations where it's more likely to be dealt with by professionals not an amateur DIYer watching a couple of YouTube videos LOL
"Hey look it looks and I can plug 30 heaters into it"

It is a common residential service in many countries, UK and Sweden come to mind.

 

[Quattrohead]

It is a common residential service in many countries, UK

To the street and then each house gets a single phase, every 3rd house is on the same phase.

 

[timselectric]

A neutral is a neutral, is a neutral.
No matter what type of system you have.
It's bonded to ground and reacts the same to all situations.

 

[Hedges]

My point was the split-phase L1/L2/N isn't much different in configuration from 3-phase L1/L2/L3/N which works quite well.

A neutral is a neutral, is a neutral.
No matter what type of system you have.
It's bonded to ground and reacts the same to all situations.

Although with 3-phase, a bit easier to get an inductive load on one phase and a capacitive load on another such that phase of current starts to increase current in neutral. With enough installed, a "degenerate" case will pop up somewhere.

To the street and then each house gets a single phase, every 3rd house is on the same phase.

Then what is this product for?

https://files.sma.de/downloads/STPxx-3SE-40-DS-en-11.pdf

 

[Zeppelin]

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why PV frames must be grounded. Back to chassis ground of PV equipment, to electrical boxes, to ground rod.

Even if there is no DC leakage, there is capacitive coupling of AC from PV to frame, and some inverters are transformerless and an AC signal rides on DC as common mode. Another guy here finally figured out why his poor dog didn't like to climb steps into his RV; when wired to ground mount PV array a similar thing happened.

Neutral/Ground bonding should also be done correctly. But biggest issue sounds like isolated frame of PV.

I have a few temp ground mount panels. My dog loved getting water sprayed in his face. When rinsing the panels, he attempted to take a lick of the water running off the panels and got a shock. I tested the panels and got 65 VAC from the panels connected to 6500EX. Needless to say, he will not drink from the hose anymore.

 

[timselectric]

I have a few temp ground mount panels. My dog loved getting water sprayed in his face. When rinsing the panels, he attempted to take a lick of the water running off the panels and got a shock. I tested the panels and got 65 VAC from the panels connected to 6500EX. Needless to say, he will not drink from the hose anymore.

This is why,
Even temporary installations should be grounded.

 

[Hedges]

In a prior life, Zeppelin was Edison

Edison Publicly Tortured Animals To Discredit AC Power - KnowledgeNuts

In an effort to showcase the dangers of alternating current (AC) and discredit Nicola Tesla, Thomas Edison held public demonstrations in which he electrocuted animals -- dogs, cats, horses, and even an elephant -- in front of an audience.

knowledgenuts.com

This is why,
Even temporary installations should be grounded.

I'm being careful about this. Especially for HV DC from PV, and for 480V.

When I unroll a cord across the living room floor to bring PV DC from combiner box to workshop, I connect ground at both ends. I think I'll put in conduit and run this more permanently, with MC3, MC4, Banana jacks in the workshop.

As I test transformers, using extension cord to them from inverters, I'm making sure to have ground somewhere.
I have a bunch of 4-wire 120/240V twist-lock cords. When I connect two isolated windings, which requires four wires, I'm using the extension cord ground wire as a current carrying conductor. So I plug in another extension cord to wall outlet, have a plug with ground coming out.

The cords I've got also have 4-pin trailer type connector for generator controls. I need to get more of the mating plugs, but I was able to use this as ground in one setup.

How to wire a house with an extension cord guts?

That is a REALLY close neighbor. The 5' pigtail is just to adapt between species. I've also done the same from 4-pin dryer plug so I can use twist-lock extension cord if desired. I picked up 5 pieces of 25' generator extension cord from Home Depo. That should reach from my garage to his. If...

diysolarforum.com

 

[timselectric]