But only above ground and not outside the home in the weather.
Better lightening protection for a well pump?
- Thread starter The_Eric
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I have always worked with and use #6 and #4 for grounding and bonding (required by the NEC). I prefer #4 solid copper.
I have never seen stranded Romex in #12 or #14?
Agreed, real life always beats a theoretical ideal.
An intact solid conductor is way better than a broken stranded or braided one.
Commonly used around here, available at Home Depot:
Cerrowire 15 ft. 6-Gauge Solid SD Bare Copper Grounding Wire 050-2200A3 - The Home Depot
Cerro's solid, bare copper grounding wire is soft-tempered for flexibility. This wire is for use in overhead transmission and distribution applications, as well as grounding applications. This wire is
www.homedepot.com
Yes, I regularly report broken (typically stolen for the value of the copper) ground wires at wooden poles.
These ground wires typically comprise several strands of solid copper.
They are typically terminated to a ground rod at the base of the pole, with the connection being above ground.
There's always the trade-off between theoretical best conduction of fault or lightning energy vs. real-life durability.
That's interesting--what they seem to in the USA is to coil the ground wire up at the base of the pole, attached/stapled to the bottom of the pole. They don't use a ground rod. This way seems better--no separate ground rod, no connection needs to be made, they just need to staple the ground wire in place before setting the pole.
EDIT: It's always solid wire, too. I have never seen stranded ground wire used on a pole.
We needed a grounding cable for use at fibre-optic cable splice vaults, to run from the metallic sheaths (two per cable) of the two fibre cables out to a pair of ground rods (via an above-ground test station). Therefore, we needed a ground cable with four conductors.
It was essential that water not enter a fibre-optic splice case (FOSC), as water will in time degrade the optical fibres (glass).
In the early years we repurposed grease-filled 25-pair #19-AWG copper communications cable, with the techs prepping the cable to create four groups of six strands each.
This proved to be too labour-intensive, so had to come up with a better solution. Ideally we would have used four finely stranded jacketed conductors, but if the cable's outer jacket and one of the stranded conductors jackets were compromised, that would have allowed water into the FOSC. Water finds a way.
No cable manufacturer would (or could) build a cable containing flooded (grease-filled) stranded conductors. (The interstices between the jacketed subcables could be grease-filled, but the interstices between the fine strands could not be grease-filled.)
Therefore, we were left with only the choice of solid jacketed subcables within a grease-filled sheath.
What size of conductor?
#14 - easy to work with, not enough current-carrying capability
#6 - too hard to work with, but better current capability.
Ultimately.we compromised on #10.
These cables have been in use for 20 years now, and have served well.
It's always a trade-off between theoretical ideals and real life.
That's clever - I wonder whether that's been tried here?
It is a grundfos, not sure of the series, powered by a Franklin mono drive
Now you've got me thinking... Not sure I've ever seen a ground rod around my pole or house.
Is it acceptable or reasonable to bury a 4ga bare wire from the pole to the house for that purpose?
Different. Grundfos SQE puts the VFD in the pump--the controller in the basement uses powerline communication to control the VFD in the pump.
They are often installed so that no part of the ground rod is sticking out, the only thing you see coming out of the ground is the ground wire. Either that or the final grade ends up covering it.
We had a new well dug 3 or 4 years ago to replace the 3" iron casing that had rusted through - we were getting sand in our water so we knew we were in trouble... New pvc 4" casing inside a 6" housing, so hopefully we're set for a long time!
Smaller number. Larger wire. My bad.I have always worked with and use #6 and #4 for grounding and bonding (required by the NEC). I prefer #4 solid copper.
I have never seen stranded Romex in #12 or #14?
Not enough coffee.
While I don't have much to really add, but I did learn that there are well pump systems controlled with a variable drive. Neat. Being an industrial technician I work with those every day. Would make sense on a well pump too as it will slowly ramp up and down the Hertz, instead of just on/off.
Just an old 40/60 pressure switch on mine. My co-worker also has a well, but due to being a double wide the pressure tank is in a concrete bunker in the ground. They lost power the other day and used water. Power came back on and they still didn't have water. Come to find out they have an old pressure switch that has a manual prime. They had to climb down in there to reset it. Nothing like guiding someone who is not mechanically inclined through that... Told them to upgrade that switch ASAP.
Just an old 40/60 pressure switch on mine. My co-worker also has a well, but due to being a double wide the pressure tank is in a concrete bunker in the ground. They lost power the other day and used water. Power came back on and they still didn't have water. Come to find out they have an old pressure switch that has a manual prime. They had to climb down in there to reset it. Nothing like guiding someone who is not mechanically inclined through that... Told them to upgrade that switch ASAP.
