Grounding Electrode Conductors (US NEC)

[Wayne Whitney]

Hello,

As I understand it, in residential construction the neutral/ground bar of the main service panel is the sole interconnection point between the grounding electrodes, the equipment grounding conductors, and the service neutral. Does this mean that the grounding electrodes must be connected to the panel in a star topology, or is it OK to daisy chain two grounding electrodes? If daisy chaining is OK, must the grounding electrode conductor in question be continuous from the farthest electrode to the panel, or just continuous between electrodes?

Thanks, Wayne

[RBM]

You connect ground wire from one rod to the second rod then to the panel. If you have a metal water pipe and meter, you connect a ground wire to the street side, jumper around the meter, connect to the house side, then on to the panel

[SQLit]

Grounding electrode conductor must be continuous from termination/panel to the ground point/rod. If your using 2 ground rods then I would get a special ground rod connector that would not require me to slide the acorn nut down the wire to from the end to the first ground rod.

You will not find them at the borg stores.

[Michael Keefe]

My inspector required a continuous loop (no cuts) from panel, to rod 1, to rod 2, to the steel well, back to the panel.. His thinking was that if there was ever a break anywhere, you're still grounded..

[Tom Horne, Electrician]

Your inspector was enforcing his own version of best practice rather than the US NEC then.

[Dave]

solution. Since we're on the topic I thought I'd show the ground expansion I added recently to my old box...

[hallerb]

solution. Since we're on the topic I thought I'd show the ground expansion I added recently to my old box...

I did much the same adding extra grounding strip because so many of the screws in the original grounding blocks were galded or welded stuck in place:( A buddy didnt believe me, and he tried... all he accomplished was ripping the heads of some of the screws...

my next panel will get all the screws removed and anti seaze added to the threads....

[Tekkie®]

Dave posted for all of us... I don't top post - see either inline or at bottom.

Where is the new ground bar supported? Looks like by the jumpers bzzzzt wrong. Also not connected to box.

The ground that is hanging over the third slot in the big bus bar does not seem to be connected.

Box looks like water damage has occurred.

[Dave]

Yeah for now it's floating in mid-air. I'll eventually add a standoff support on either end. The strap to the box is on the 8th position. Box is 35 years old and has a little rust at the bottom. The third wire loops back and up and should have been repositioned behind the new strip.