x (1 Viewer)

[Lil'John]

x

 

[Hack]

Not a Master Electrician, so take this FWIW.

First question: can the ground rods be in the crawl space? My crawl space has standing room in it and is 44' long.

My two ground rods, that were install during an electrical 'upgrade', are outside. Upgrade was done by a Master Electrician. I went from 150 amp service to 200 amp service, and added a 100 amp sub panel in my garage. The copper ground rods are probably 4' - 5' long. Might be a bit difficult pounding them in if space is limited.

Second question: does the ground wire need to be one continuous length from box to ground rod 1 to ground rod 2? Or can it be two pieces: one piece from box to ground rod 1 then one piece from ground rod 1 to ground rod 2?

Mine uses one continuous stranded copper wire. The wire is un-insulated (bare), attached to the rods with clamps, and I would guess it's 2ga. When my house was built in the 1970's, it did not have the ground rods. Not code at the time. During the upgrade they were added to comply.

If you have the room inside for a sub panel, you probably have the room to move the entire panel inside. I'd highly recommend getting a qualified electrician to do the work. You can save some money by doing any prep work ahead of time.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

First question: can the ground rods be in the crawl space? My crawl space has standing room in it and is 44' long

Sure, drive them in at a 45* angle. Or drive them outside and bury them 6" deep once they are inspected.

Second question: does the ground wire need to be one continuous length from box to ground rod 1 to ground rod 2? Or can it be two pieces: one piece from box to ground rod 1 then one piece from ground rod 1 to ground rod 2?

250.64(C) grounding electrode conductors shall be installed in one continuous length without a splice or joint.
There are some exceptions but not in your circumstances.

My understanding is I will need two ground rods separated by at least 6'

This is correct, but your local codes may differ.

the ground wire needs to be 6 gauge

250.66(A) grounding electrode conductor to a rod shall not be required to be larger than #6AWG as long as it does not extend to other types of grounding electrodes.

and the neutral shouldn't be bonded to the case.

This is where it gets tricky, yes, no, no ,yes, there are other considerations. Where is it currently bonded to the ground at? Where is your main breaker going? Are you going to create a parallel path for fault current between the grounding system and the grounded conductor(nuetral)?

What I'm doing really doesn't require a licensed electrician.

I disagree. If you're asking how to do basic grounding you're already in over your head.

Just my opinion, as a licensed Master Electrician.