Why We Bond Metal Boxes? Do Plastic Boxes Need Bonding?

As we are learning to install a quality electrical product during our apprenticeships, we are constantly reminded to bond our metallic boxes. But why do we bond metal boxes, and why DON'T we bond plastic boxes? In a never ending pursuit to answer his followers questions, Dustin once again provides a great explanation to this topic!
01:07 - CODE TIME
01:21 - Article 250 . 4a
07:45 - Why we land a ground
08:20 - Examples of a completed circuit
12:20 - Another Example
14:35 - Merch messages
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So why would we even bother to bond our metallic boxes if we aren’t required to bond our plastic boxes? To find the answer lets dig into our 2020 NEC and see what it has to say about the topic!
Article 250.4 (A)(3) Bonding of Electrical Equipment, of the 2020 NEC tells us that any normally non-current carrying (something that is normally not energized) conductive materials (metal for example) enclosing electrical conductors or equipment (conduit and boxes for example) shall be (must be) connected together (bonded) and to the electrical supply source.
What is an effective ground-fault current path you may ask? Article 100 of our 2020 NEC states that an Effective Ground-Fault Current Path is “An intentionally constructed, low-impedance electrically conductive path designed and intended to carry current under ground-fault conditions from the point of a ground fault on a wiring system to the electrical supply source and that facilitates the operation of the overcurrent protective device or ground-fault detectors”. This definition tells us that an effective ground-fault current path is a purposely constructed path that is meant to carry current under abnormal conditions (one that it isn’t normally supposed to) from the point of the fault to the source (a breaker for example) that lets the overcurrent protective device or ground fault detector to do its job (trip the breaker or blow the fuse).
So, in layman’s terms, we have to bond any metal conduit or boxes surrounding our wires together, so that in the event that something goes wrong, the offending electrical charge can be sent back to its source and allow the device protecting the installation to do its job. There could be any number of items that could cause a fault; terminations could come loose or break, things overheat, conductors burn up or go bad, or a myriad of other potential problems. Keep in mind that problems do not arise in the middle of a perfectly good installation, but rather at the termination or weak points (scuffs in the wire for example or points of corrosion).
Now that we have established that the NEC requires us to bond together our metal parts, let us dig a bit deeper still into things. Wouldn’t the ground be considered a redundant neutral? Absolutely not! The neutral is meant to have current on it returning to the source from the load allowing the circuit to create a full loop and work as it is supposed to. The ground path is an alternative path that still allows the objectionable current to return to its source under other than normal conditions. So, by bonding all of our metal parts together, it places them all on the same equal plane as a return path to the source of power giving the offending electricity a nice, easy, and quick path to return and trip the breaker or blow the fuse.
Thus far, we have established that we must bond our metallic materials together, which works fine for most of our commercial installations, but what about a residential installation or any installation where we don’t use metal (PVC for example)? Well, the code reference we gave earlier, says CONDUCTIVE MATERIALS must be bonded. So plastic (a non-conductive material) isn’t required to be bonded as it doesn’t conduct. Same rules would apply to PVC conduit.
#electrician #electrical #electricity

[@69thebroken]

PETA coming now, you fried the cat 😂😂😂

[@dialecticalmonist3405]

Even on a "simple" or "obvious" video, you do a thorough enough job that I always gain some kind of insight.

[@JoseCruz-op1qv]

The mice who love eating romex insulation at my house would like to have a word with you regarding "problems are never in the middle of the wire"!

[@ottopartz1]

I really appreciate your way of explaining things simply in a way that someone not in the industry can understand. I'm a manager at a warehouse and small production facility. The guy that we had who took care of the maintenance stuff and had dealt with electricians and getting equipment hooked up moved, so these videos have been really helpful in helping me understand the basics of how things work. Knowing what the different plugs are for, how the system works, and what to keep in mind will be very helpful when I have to deal with stuff and hire an electrician to do work.

[@kevindadams]

Nice job using the smart board. I like how it has a slight gray background allowing you to display the white conductors. This was an issue on the white boards in earlier videos. Great way to solve it. Keep up the good work!!!

[@michaelolson7358]

Appreciate you sharing this basic info. As a homeowner with some facilities maintenance experience, you provide great insight into the basics of electrical work. I greatly appreciate your work on these videos as they are helping me to become more confident in working with electrical components.

[@Relay86]

You explained that with more energy and animation than I ever could. 😁 Thanks for the code references.

[@tonycarrelli6432]

Thank you for all the great videos. I think I have a good example for you. I bought a 1940's drill press that did not have a grounded plug. When plugged in, it operated with no issue. I got it home and plugged it into a grounded metal outlet and again it worked with no issue. The problem came when I went to unplug it and touched the grounded outlet box and the metal housing of the press at the same time. Thats when I got zapped. Upon inspection, the insulation on the hot inside the motor was worn making contact with the motor case. This energized the whole press. I replaced the motor and grouded the case so everything is fine now. Thanks again for all your educational videos. I am not an electrician but I appreciate the way you explain your craft in an informative and entertaining way.

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

Hmmm, maybe that's why it was for sale? 😭😂

[@DominickRuocco]

The best channel KZbin channel for Electricians. Keep up the amazing work Dustin. I always look forward to your videos even if I already understand the topic you're discussing.

[@ElectricianU]

Thanks for watching, my friend!

[@rickyperkins232]

@@ElectricianU why do commercial buildings never use plastic boxes?

[@ChrisBundy17]

@@rickyperkins232 Not an electrician but I believe its due to metal stud construction with metal conduit running the wires. In residential environments its wooden studs.

[@rickyperkins232]

@@ChrisBundy17 copy that bro

[@jeremynguyen2346]

@@ElectricianU where is the video made

[@robfontenot7527]

Guys remember here in the USA, there are multiple utilities that have corner grounding that will LIGHT YOU UP!!! Always check voltage to anything metal!! Oil field is the most common! Be safe guys!

[@timmckinley1235]

Rob a very good point in my area we have a lot of comer ground systems. In the Irrigation and farming end of the industry. It is usually on older power systems for us because power companies don’t install corner ground systems because of safety reasons.

[@oldschooljack3479]

Yep, still a lot "corner grounded" delta out there.

[@garrettmccleary]

Great video! Super informative and the drawings helped with that point too! Also, thanks for the tool that I won from your holiday give away Dustin! Looking forward to seeing what you come out with next

[@raymond3722]

Great content as always,your demonstration and illustration are so phenomenal. The graphics you use on the board are so dynamic.

[@mikez4132]

Great job on the channel. Been here from the start. My go to source for real world info on the subject. Great teacher for the new generations (well everyone) especially. Def makes learning the principals fun.

[@ElectricianU]

Thanks for watching, my friend!

[@jakerandall24]

This was a great level of detail for me, just a regular home owner trying to learn slme electrcity basics.... thanks!

[@Huskersnred]

Great way to break it down and show people on how it works . Love the content great job man .

[@Odin029]

When I was a kid back in the 80s, we lived in a house that had been wired in the 1920s, and there was a problem where if you touched the refrigerator and the freezer at the same time you'd get shocked. The whole house got rewired in the late 90s so that's not a problem now, but it was a problem then.

[@Layarion]

So i'ma not even at apprentice level for this field, but ima take a stab at this. obviously, one of them were energized. and that's all i got.

[@raymondgarafano8604]

chances are very likely, the house was wired with knob n' tube and no grounds were used, just a hot and neutral. So the fridge or freezer had a fault and the other was grounded somehow., so not a good situation.

[@Odin029]

@@raymondgarafano8604 Yep, the ceramic pieces are still all over the rafters in the attic

[@matthewschultz7745]

I had a friend that their fridge and stove were that way. If you flipped the fridge plug it went away. They would flip it back on purpose sometimes to mess with their sister. She'd open the fridge and bump her rear into the oven then jump.

[@krich106]

No ground or ground was used for hot. Seen plenty of ovens ran with 10/2 with the ground acting as a neutral. So basically what happens is "no ground" you touching it creates a short which makes it want to take a ground, but since is none, you're it. What would worry me if that never traveled back to the breaker, then it'd never break.

[@stevenblack7509]

Great job on the simple breakdown Dustin. Sometimes that's all that's needed.

[@gregchambers6100]

Dude. You kept a straight face during that intro. Your abilities and impulse control skills are top notch. Ground, grounded, grounding, bond, bonded, bonding. They are things. NEMA 4X we always install a ground bar and no we don't mount that bar with 10/32 screws, and we're not supposed to drive screws through the wall of the box, since the box has to maintain it's integrity, so what do you do in that situation? Anyone?

[@roobtuben]

I usually tell the difference between Tip to remember difference from GROUNDED AND GROUNDING CONDUCTORS as the G in the GroundinG as the G for Green for a green ground-screw. And GROUNDED as the Neutral.

[@TheWmiller8]

Thank for sharing. We have found within our 40 year plant the metal tanks and pumps were not grounded properly. So we are now running miles and miles of ground cables and rods

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

FNG here. No possibility of creating ground loops for some items?

[@yeroca]

I'm not a professional, but this question and the great explanation given cleared up a lot of ideas in my head that were a bit fuzzy. It now makes complete sense to me. Thanks!

[@ElectricianU]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lh98]

The “strap” as you called it that’s on the plug receptacle is metal and connects to the green ground screw on the bottom side so when that strap has 2 screws through it holding it to the metal box there are 2 screws and the strap touching the metal of the box which already ground the metal box via the green screw that’s connected to the bare ground wire. Why should you have to also add a grounding wire to the metal box if it’s already grounded that way? I’ve tested with a meter to confirm the plug receptacle “strap” is conductive through the metal box enclosure and to the bare ground wire to see for sure. I understand why it’s done but I also see the “strap” fastened to the metal box thus creating a grounded connection without an additional connection to the box.

[@TomCee53]

I used to think the same thing, but experience has improved my understanding. There is a very small chance that paint, dirt, or just loose screws could prevent the strap from contacting the box.

[@KIMOSABE54]

The animation of the ground fault demonstration…. INCREDIBLE!!!!! Love the content.🤙🏾🤙🏾⚡️⚡️

[@pim7197]

Yours is one of my go-to channels for Electrical-related topics .. You do a FANTASTIC job explaining theory and then illustrating in a practical manner. That being, and for example: The board you used .. Wow. WHAT exactly is that and how would I get one? Thanks in advance & be safe.

[@danielalbertoquinteros43]

Thank you Dustin for your easy way to explain all technical information on your videos. I'm watching you from Argentina. I hope to become an electrician in Canada soon.

[@willjohnsonjohnson]

A few weeks ago one of my receptacles had the hot contact the ground, but there was no grounding wire going back to the main panel. I found out when I touched the back of my pc. It wasn't a strong shock luckily. It's fixed thanks to your videos.

[@deang5622]

Install some GFCI receptacles. No reason for not doing this. They will save your life. But think carefully about where you place them in the circuit as one GFCI receptacle will provide protection for down stream receptacles.

[@maroonfalconwarrior]

Great information and explanation! Keep up the great work buddy!👊🏾

[@wmcomprev]

My first question when I saw the title was "how would you bond a plastic box since it's non conductive?" I haven't watched the video yet, but I'm predicting that that's pretty much going to be the gist of it.

[@jayzonmeztdagh]

The stove in the house I grew up in used to give a shock on occasion. I feel like I understand why now. I also feel lucky to be alive 😂

[@Eddy63]

Excellent vid Dustin 👍👍👍 Like the code book references ... Thx for posting ...

[@anthonysmith9410]

This was a very informative video. I am a IBEW electrician for 47 years, I hope the young electrician’s watch this and understand the purpose and most important thing the safety aspect of a equipment grounding conductor. You explained this very good. Keep up the good work.

[@xdrnxfg]

Damn man. 47 years. What a life. Wish I had as much knowledge as you. Maybe someday. Thanks for your comment!

[@esl4058]

As a young electrician, we definitely love Dustin's videos. I'm still an apprentice and many times I'll see something in the field and reference his videos to learn more about it in depth. A lot of us young guys don't want to only know how to do the work but why as well.

[@anthonysmith9410]

@@esl4058 ….thats great that you want to know why……. Keep up the positive attitude brother! Study, study, study…..keep learning, look up mike holt……he has so much info…

[@jasonmiller5501]

Thank you. Best explanation I have ever heard on this topic.

[@donaldlee6760]

This was a great, simple explanation. Assuming one is not using armored cable and the box is not exposed interior, Is there anything inherently better about metal boxes over the extra thick plastic boxes? I slightly prefer metal boxes but I don't really know why.

[@Lugenfabrik]

You’re a great teacher, thanks so much, this was very helpful.

[@wirenut003]

Electrolysis is a good reason to bond metal enclosures to conduits. I have seen wires in front of me burn up the insulation because of this, it was # 12 wire solid. But it was pretty shocking to watch it happen with my own eyes in front of me, after replacing some conductors for a boiler in a apartment building .

[@shanechilman2567]

I was recently introduced to this channel by an electrician friend. Definitely a couple of light bulb moments for me in this video.

[@vince6829]

Great explanation. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@F0R3IGN3R]

Ure awesome bro I sometimes use ur videos at work to help me out lol they come thru with the clutch

[@michaelalex5235]

Great job! Your explanations are crystal clear.

[@DocCinn]

Another great video! Do you have a video where you explain the rational for keeping neutral and equipment ground bars separate in a subpanel?

[@susanrustaie2225]

Shout out to you from Canada. I have been watching lots of your vidoe. you are an amazing teacher. you have clarified alot of confused terms to us. I find Canadian electric Code mch less the same as USA.

[@michaelmassetti4068]

A well grounded tutorial... in electronics for devices its refered to chassis ground. As apposed to earth ground. I understand your explanation. Thank you.

[@deang5622]

No it is not. The chassis ground is something completely different. Chassis grounds typically form part of the normal operation of an electrical system. It is just a convenient way to connect electrical devices to each other. Current then flows in that chassis ground under normal operation. A classic example of this are cars where rather than have positive and negative wires running to all electrical appliances in the car, they don't run a separate negative wire to each appliance. They just connect the negative connection of the appliances to the body work or chassis of the car and then connect the body/chassis to the negative terminal of the car's battery. The chassis earth/ground is providing an easy mechanism to connect the negative wires of all the appliances together. In earthing/grounding for electrical installations, the ground wire is not part of normal operation, it only carries current in a fault situation. And the goal is that it doesn't carry the current for a sustained length of time. The goal is to have a low impedance path to cause as much current as possible to flow to cause the circuit breaker to trip and disconnect power to the installation or part thereof, thus rendering it safe. There are a lot of terms relating to grounds and earth's and they mean different things in different situations. And it does become confusing.

[@garychiao9521]

Hi, Dustin. I am an electrician apprentince. I love your program and they are pretty informative. one question I would like ask is that are ground rods or ground plates able to complete the ground fault circuit? I guess not but not sure why, can you explain it? thank you.

[@freddybee4029]

Good video, as you explained the basic concepts, including the code. Maybe telling your audience, that every part of the code was a result of an injury or death, as in (WRITTEN IN BLOOD), might curtail some of the remarks, from the so called DIY, that seem to have an answer for everything.

[@thomasseabrook1041]

Our plastic boxes in Canada have a metal band between recepticals mounting holes around back of the box that we have to bond. Keeps all screws and devices frames bonded, if our switches down press tight against it we have to actually bond them as they usually have metal in the construction.

[@billeakin5442]

I like your drawing board. Makes understanding what your saying easier!!

[@curmudgeoniii9762]

Seeing you are very competent and knowledgable do you ever talk to the people who write the manuals and ask why they do not do a better job with 'this grounding' subject and make it clearer and easier to understand?

[@nelsonmontenegro9691]

Great explanation I have a better understanding now!!

[@Rollie396]

I always say that I’m paid to melt metal with electricity,so you don’t want me messing around with any electrical wiring. In the rare case that I have to though vids like this help increase my chances of success without any of those pesky things like fire or death. Thanks for this one. Very clear and easy to understand.

[@ryanthepianoman27]

Pesky pesky pesky

[@BeefStew4242]

Great video and use of smart board 👌 I would love to see a video on AC frequency and learn more about what that is, is it standardized, how is it measured, do different appliances convert to different frequencies, can you convert to different frequencies, is the frequency set by the power plant or does it change at different steps like in high voltage wires, etc? Keep up the good work 👍

[@ecospider5]

If you use a hydroelectric plant as an example, in the US the turbine is spinning at 60hz which is what creates the 60hz on the power lines to your house. If that turbine is designed to supply up to 1000amps of current then they need to stay below that. But if another turbine that is suppling that grid fails then more load is applied to the 1000 amp capable turbine. If we end up with a load of 1050 amps the turbine actually starts to slow down which is really bad because it starts producing 59 hz electrical frequency. At this point they will turn of the power to a couple thousand homes to reduce the load on the working turbines so they can maintain the 60 hz. There is actually automatic disconnects in some power grids that get triggered by a low frequency on the grid, like 58hz, and it will just disconnect power from those homes to save the rest of the grid.

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

@@ecospider5 Great explanation. The opposite also happens every day just before lunchtime when all these new solar plants start injecting lots of power into the grid. That makes the frequency go over spec to 61hz and beyond, and the thermal and hydro plants have to try to throttle back really fast. Most of them are not designed to do that. That's why we have been building natural gas peaker plants and need more electrical storage capacity.

[@earthenergyhex]

Great info, very good instructor

[@salcosta1156]

Your videos are Awesome! I do have a question: Do the Neutral and Ground wires always need to have separate bus bars in a main circuit panel or can they use the same bus bar?

[@arthendrickson4860]

And that’s why a double insulated device (e.g., corded electric drill) indicated by a square box within a square box on the device’s nameplate does not have a grounding conductor (i.e., two conductor cord and plug).

[@Patrick_AUBRY]

Great explaination but for us computer geeks could you explain what, why and how to use orange sockets, those with two ground path. I use one path for ground casing of the socket and the other directly two its own rod in the ground to avoid noise for telecommunications equipments hook to computers.

[@MrTacticaljellybean]

On a standard duplex in a metal box where the ground screw is part of the metal frame do you also have to run a pigtail jumper to the metal box or since it's technically grounded through the strap in the screws of the outlet

[@tommycho9068]

Great education video. Thank you.

[@bluearcherx]

DIY here that cares about doing things right. 1939 house, has a lot of MC/BX running all over. Frequently into plastic junction boxes (or even receptacle boxes) where it connects to NM cable without accounting for the grounding conductor. I hate it but I want to tear up as little as possible to fix it. When this happens in a plastic receptacle or switch box, is there an approved way to attach a grounding bushing to the BX so I can utilize the grounding lug and attach the grounding conductor from the NM to it? It seems the grounding bushings I see are all designed for circular knockouts which I don't have in most cases.

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

Next video, can you delve into why groundING conductors are often smaller than the groundED neutrals that the go with? Thanks for the hard work you put into your channel!

[@kenbrown2808]

the grounded conductor has to carry the entire circuit current indefinitely. the grounding conductor only has to carry the current long enough to operate the overcurrent protection in the event of a fault. therefore heat buildup isn't a factor.

[@kendogg1173]

This is completely off subject, but I was wondering what your thoughts are on using afci obc outlets instead of breakers? Are they any good?

[@gavin9873]

Great video thanks.i just need to know something i bought surface mount plastic box and it has an earth screw in it so before i install it i need to know if i need to add an extra earth thanks

[@tommycho9068]

Great education video all the time. Thank you.

[@frankpaya690]

On an old system, without a ground at the service and fuses without Breakers at the main service and subpanel, would I still Bond the ground, using a jumper wire from the box and/ or conduit and into the neutral busbar at the Main Service? And with fuses instead of Breakers would that still work in a short, where it would blow the fuse, like it opens a breaker if a wire where to contact metal? In other words can the current flow through a fuse and the fuse would blow, like a breaker would trip?

[@mathman0101]

The washing machine and dryer example you use is sadly is a very apt one. It was one of the reason why in the NEC 2020 GFCIs were required for those circuits because small children have died playing around these types of equipment when there was a ground fault.

[@joenavarro9317]

Can you make a video on what you can do with a residential wireman’s license. As far as can we advertise ourselves on our vehicles 🚗 how can we find jobs for ourselves etc etc thanks love the info and videos been here for about 3 years now

[@thomasf4697]

This old house (built in 1947) is wired with cloth (some wiring is plastic) covered 12/2 Romex with no ground and have mixed metal and plastic boxes. Can I just run a 12 ga solid wire between boxes and then to the ground bus of my service panel or do I have to replace all the wiring with new Romex? Thanks.

[@yatessnyder1490]

Thanks, what is the point of the main service grounding rod then if the point is to complete the circuit? Not sure what having a rod in the ground is really doing

[@kevindadams]

LOVE THE CAT CARTOON !!! Nice work

[@mikejohnson3873]

Good stuff! Here’s an interesting topic I come across that no one can seem to answer the same. And that is how the current flows in systems using the literal earth as the return path such as a SWER (single wire earth return) system. Some say it literally flows in the ground from electrode to electrode. And others say electrons are simply pushed and pulled at both electrodes due to earth being an “infinite sink for electrons.” What is your professional take on this? How does the current actually flow?

[@stargazer2504]

Also- the NM cable that supplied our water heater went under a NM cable staple and turned 90+ degrees (along the flat side of the cable) and eventually it shaved through the insulation. Fortunately, it was exposed where the water heater was located and we could see it, but it really was a fault in the middle of the NM cable- and it was stapled to a stud. It CAN happen, unfortunately. We were VERY lucky to discover this before the house burnt down. We only knew about this because the water heater stopped working. No CB trip. But the wood stud was darkened. In this house, later I also found other NM cables that were seriously stretched between the staples and had rubbed through the first layer of insulation- this we found when we renovated and removed the ceiling.... FML!

[@vim_usr2753]

We had an ADU built two years ago in our backyard. It passed all inspections and overall appears to have been built extremely well. There was only one minor thing I noticed recently (which may be nothing at all, but I figured I'd ask because I like learning new things). When moving some things around in a cabinet in the kitchen I noticed MC coming out of a metal junction box that continues on and lands in a blue plastic box feeding a receptacle on the outside of the cabinet. I understand that the MC was used to protect the wiring in the cabinet area from possible damage, but I would have thought an electrician would normally land the MC in a metal box? Are you allowed to have MC land in a plastic box? Just curious. Thank you.

[@renecamacho3545]

For a dedicated circuit (20amp receptacle) to connect my computer and other sensitive electronics, do I need to use an isolated ground receptacle to minimize any noise? If so, what cable would I use 12/3? Or is an isolated receptacle even needed? I only have one breaker box

[@gravisan]

In canada when you buy plastic boxes there is a grounding strap to it - do you know what to do here? I've been tying the grounds to there. Also can you please comment on whether if you ground the box (say metal for e.g.) - is it necessary to rely on the yoke to box mechanical connection?

[@lordgarth1]

Wait someone wanted to know why you don’t bond an insulator?

[@frankpaya690]

It's not uncommon to run across people in one type of trade or another that are pretty much strictly doing what they've always been told to do and never really understanding a cause-and-effect from point A B to C,D so if they encounter something at Point X or Z to be able to think back and apply it. In other words they're parts Changers more so than mechanics.

[@kevinespares7006]

I still dont get something… Why not just use plastic everywhere? Why use metal boxes if they can electrocute? (Plastic or any non-insulating case)

[@icevariable9600]

Plastic box isn’t an insulator.”, as you mentioned. It’s simply non-conductive. The question goes beyond connecting a ground to a plastic box; the question applies to not connecting a ground to devices like a smoke detector.

[@BigmoRivera]

Great Job ⚡️👍🏽

[@bradlinden3262]

Can you do a video on troubleshooting hid lighting circuits and ballasts?

[@user-gu1jw5ml6z]

How about bonding a metal box using the sound wire in a 12/2 NM cable where the white (and black) is run to the hot on the breaker? In this case is it correct to bond th box using th bare ground? Same for a circuit where the appliance is pulling 230V?

[@peterkhuoc5845]

Just a question if I connect 2 hot and ground single phase how does current return back to panel and if I connect 3 hot and ground 3 phase how does current return to panel, thanks

[@randybarnhart6976]

What should you do with the ground wire in the plastic work box? Do you simply attach a wire nut to it and fall into the back of the box?

[@jacobplank]

Good video and good topic too! Question, Ive got into before, where a sub panel ( especially in another building or something) there's only a 3 wire run to the sub panel but has no ground wire with it, does putting down a ground rod do any good? And then I come across it a lot where the ground wire is terminated in the metal box only and not on the device, I assume that's not to code anymore doing it that way.

[@daneyvantoualeudjieukam6084]

definitely not by the code.... mostly for the last case you mentioned; in case of a fault, the current might flow through the user who connected a charger to it

[@Ruinedmovie]

When I worked in a commercial kitchen, we had a walk in cooler in a short hallway that also housed an electrical oven used for roasting directly across from the cooler's door. Additionally, this area was on a ramp thus the need to hold the carts we moved into the cooler. One day I pushed a metal rack against the oven and opened the door, the cart connected to the oven's outside frame and I completed the circuit opening the walk in door. As it turns out, the maintenance crew changed the plug to fit the appliance and didn't connect the ground. Eventually, the wire wore through the shielding, and energized the frame of the oven and the cart it was on. Not a fun day for me...

[@erich1380]

I'm sure the video is very informative and high quality but that is the silliest question ever in the title lol.

[@robertmoore203]

Nice work man!!

[@izzycamaro]

Great video, Thanks a lot.

[@paulyt1993]

Thank you sir. You explain this very well.

[@milesrobinson1793]

So I have a video idea that I think is basic and kind of confusing. In New braunfels we have normal pancake boxes in a few places. We failed a inspection because the pancake boxes are 6cu" they said we need to use bigger boxes because there's not enough space for the wires. We looked it up in a mike holt foum and 12/2 wire takes up 6.75cu" the new fan rated box is 8cu".... Can you explain sire size and box fill, pipe fill, and junction box fill. The guy I work with sais they all have diff rules for what your working with... thank you

[@celia222]

What about those old-work plastic boxes that get attached to the stud with metal screws (Arlington f102). And I know some people use the blue boxes with zinc screws. Is electrical tape the answer?

[@lancerudy9934]

Very well said. Nice video

[@darrineckler6602]

Mr. Stelzer hello I am a big fan, thanks for putting out excellent content. Can you please make a video explaining Why the secondary breaker Box (the one in my garage)in the house is not bonded between the neutral and the ground. It is feed by a double 50 amp breaker in my 200 amp service and the bondingoccursthere. My IBEW buddy swears I did it incorrectly. But I got my understanding from something on one of your vedios

[@eddied4969]

Excuse the dumb question but does the ground have to be the same size as your other wires? For example if you run 3 X 6 gauge wires for your circuit, do you also need a 6 gauge wire for ground? I was looking for 6 gauge pig tails and could not find one. Is it ok to use a smaller wire for ground? Please and thanks.

[@rodolfovesga979]

Great video I actually had to fix something that none of the 1900 hundred boxes were grounded in commercial building not fun fixing it lol

[@tablettablet7469]

So you don’t have to bond the ground to the box for the blue box? What about in Canada?

[@raymondgarafano8604]

commercial kitchens 3 phase motors like Hobart mixers 4 wire receps. 3 hots and a ground. mobile homes mostly have a sid-connect by meter, from there to the load center which is now a sub-panel, must have a 4 wire feeder, 2 ungroundeds 1 neutral and a ground and the neutral bus MUST be isolated from the cabinet.

[@motor2of7]

The receptacle provides a bond through the tab under the mounting screw. The electrical code is a compilation of margin on top of margin, and it’s getting worse with all of the required dedicated circuits.

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

It's written by EE's and manufacturers, and approved by lawyers. Not easy to use to prevent problems, but very handy in a lawsuit.

[@r6f09]

Wondering if you can speak of two hots on one white, example one neutral being used by two 20amp breakers or one 20amp and a 15amp breaker. Thank you for your videos.

[@icevariable9600]

Google or KZbin “multiwire branch circuit”. That should explain it for you.

[@sethsummers5888]

could you do a video on wiring for a residential hvac system

[@TubeTime123]

I want to see you do a video on how to bond plastic boxes.

[@twothreebravo]

I was hoping you would get into why we isolate neutral and ground in a subpanel (but that can be for another video) that confuses a lot of people - including me when I started out. Reminds me of the first time I had someone (a young job site helper trying to get in the trades) ask me why there's a ground AND neutral conductor and I used this scenario of a loose conductor in a piece of equipment to explain their specific purposes and I saw the light bulb moment when he seemed to grasp the concept. He kept coming back and asking questions that day I think he realized he maybe could learn this electrical stuff, I never saw him after that but I hope he did!

[@carultch]

The reason that we isolate the ground and neutral in every panel that is load-side of the service disconnect, is that the neutral is meant to carry current under normal circumstances, and the equipment grounding conductor isn't. When there is an unbalanced load in the subpanel, the neutral carries the imbalance of current back to the source. If you bond neutral and ground in unnecessary locations, you create parallel paths with objectionable current on the EGC, the metal equipment housings, the building steel, the conduit, etc. You want the green wire and all the electrically dormant metal, to remain electrically dormant, unless there is a fault. Any intended current that has to flow on a zero-volt wire, should flow on the neutral. If not required by the NEC, do not bond neutral and ground. Keep these systems isolated, except where the NEC requires you to bring them together, which is at the main service disconnect.

[@deang5622]

​@@carultch Error in this post. "current carries the imbalance back to the source." This should be "the neutral carries the imbalance back to the source."

[@carultch]

@@deang5622 Yes, that is what I meant to write. I've corrected my original post.

[@MrRogsmart]

Good explanation.

[@matthewbowman8305]

If your device strap is connected to the ground and you screw device to metal box doesn’t that create a bond? I get it as a redundancy thing but it’s all connected no matter what, also why do we only bond ground and neutral at first panel and not sub panels ?

[@echenduconfidence4998]

Pls my question is if the neutral and Earth are bonded together and there is a current leakage on the metal book if someone touch the box at the moment, won't there be a shock?