Grounds for Amusement

To: mail11:;-at-msd26.enet.dec-dot-com (-at-teslatech)
Subject: Grounds for Amusement
From: "I am the NRA." <pierson-at-msd26.enet.dec-dot-com>
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 95 14:16:15 EDT
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>From richard.quick-at-slug-dot-org Fri Sep  1 01:13 MDT 1995

>Quoting Esondrmn-at-aol-dot-com (Ed Sonderman)

> ES> I was talking to someone today about my breakers that would  
> ES> not trip. He told me they will not work properly without     
> ES> using the ground - which we are not.  Does this make sense   
> ES> to you?

>None at all. It is more like a wives tale.
	ABSOTUTELY.  (with minor exception below....)

> ES> I bought a fuse box today and will wire it into the garage   
> ES> with the new power wiring.  I will use 40 amp time delay     
> ES> fuses.

>Didn't the guy tell you that no matter how much current you pump
>through a fuse it will not blow unless you use the ground? 

>I am sorry, I had to do it. ROTFL

	yeah.

Possible source of old wives tale:
	One of the reasons the neutral/cold wire of AC is tied back at the
	breaker panel to ground is so that a fault to ground will trip the
	breaker.  (It is possible, tho a violation of code to run with both
	sides floating.  In this case "ground" can inadvertently become hot.)
	(This is a short version of what should be two paras.  Vacation coming,
	work to do....)

Exeception:
	GFI (ground fault interupter) style breakers are required in some
	circuits.  (I would NOT use them on a tesla-type circuit....).  These
	trip on SMALL overloads, if the amount of current in the hot and
	neutral is not equal, or if current shows up in the ground.  I would
	NOT use these in tesla-type circuits as the circuitry to detect
	the small differences in current between hot and neutral can get
	confused by stray RF.  Might trip at the wrong time.  Might NOT_TRIP
	when needded.

	regards
	dwp