Is there an Electrician in the house?

[budsreef]

I'm not an electrician by trade, however having said that here is how I understand it. We have 3 wires that come into our homes, two hot wires and a ground. The ground is tied to a rod outside literally driven into the ground and to the ground bus in the box. The hot wires coming in are both 120V lines but are out of phase with each other which is why they measure 240V between them. At the box both the white (neutral) and green (ground) are tied together. From the box the three wires, black (hot), white (neutral) and green (ground) go to each outlet. The white is only neutral in that it should not have any voltage difference between it and ground, however it is the return line for the current that is going out the black wire and current is what can shock or harm you.

At the outlet if you measure between the two slots you get 120V. If you measure between the right, smaller one, and ground you will get 120V, and if you measure between the larger left one and ground you should get 0V since they are tied together back at the box. Current flows out the black and back through the white. There should never be any current flowing through the ground. So a two prong device does not have a ground going to it and should be well insulated. A three prong device should never have the third prong cut off since it won't have the same level of insulation and could cause a disaster if something shorted within it.

This is also a good place to put a plug in for always using GFCI outlets or breakers anywhere near our tanks or anything else that gets wet. They monitor the current flowing between the black and white and any deviation it will assume current is flowing elsewhere and that elsewhere may be up your arm. They are very sensitive and very quick to shut down the circuit. Yoiu may still get a shock or a spark but they may keep it from being fatal or starting a fire.

 

[jefft]

Schwaggs;77463 wrote: Jefft, you could not be more wrong and are perpetuating dangerously incorrect information. The large prong in a 110V outlet IS NOT ground, it is indeed the neutral line. The partially round prong of an outlet is ground. Megadeth is correct in stating that a 2 prong plug has no ground. Also, in a pure 220V circuit, both colored wires are HOT and there is no Neutral.

The neutral wire if you follow it back to the circuit breaker box is connected to ground. I wired up a lot of these in my years, you may call it neutral, but it is a ground. The prong is larger so the ground/neutral is always correctly plugged into the receptical correctly with the hot always plugged into the voltage side. Open your circuit breaker box and you will see the white wire and green wires on a 120 volt box are connected to the ground. And not once did I say do anything but get an electrician in your area to check out your circuit. If you are not an electrician don't do it. Your household electrical circuits can draw enough current to kill you and or destroy your house. I have been an Electrician and Industrial Electronic Tech for 35 years and I was suggesting why/how your power could be causing a ballast problem.

 

[budsreef]

Jeff, you are correct about them being tied together at the box so there is no voltage differential between them, however the ground wire does not carry any current and the white wire does.

 

[jefft]

Budsreef;77503 wrote: Jeff, you are correct about them being tied together at the box so there is no voltage differential between them, however the ground wire does not carry any current and the white wire does.

Have you ever put a clamp on amp meter on the white wire. The white wire can be HOT if its loose or broken and it can shock you. If its connected properly its grounded. BUT get an electrician if you aren't trained. It is dangerous.

 

[budsreef]

Yes, but it seems like another lifetime ago.

 

[jefft]

Schwaggs;77463 wrote: Jefft, you could not be more wrong and are perpetuating dangerously incorrect information. The large prong in a 110V outlet IS NOT ground, it is indeed the neutral line. The partially round prong of an outlet is ground. Megadeth is correct in stating that a 2 prong plug has no ground. Also, in a pure 220V circuit, both colored wires are HOT and there is no Neutral.

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/homewiringbreakerbox">http://www.doityourself.com/stry/homewiringbreakerbox</a>

Home Wiring 13 - The Breaker Box

[IMG]http://images.doityourself.com/stry/elvd-25a.jpg alt="" /> Keep in mind how dangerous it is to work at the breaker box if the main switch is not turned off. The amount of electricity being brought into the house can easily kill. If you are unfamiliar with your box, or if you don't know where the main switch is located, have a professional explain how to work with your particular box

Begin by turning off the power at the main circuit breaker switch. Remember, the box is still hot above the main breaker, so don't touch the wires above this disconnect. Again, be absolutely certain that this switch does indeed cut off the power into the circuit breaker box. Bring the neutral and grounding wires into the box and attach them to the "neutral bus bar." Do this by sticking the stripped ends of the wires into any hole in the neutral bus bar and attaching them by tightening down the screw heads.
Note: Some boxes will have two bus bars, one for the ground wire, one for the neutral. Others will have only one bus bar for both neutral and ground. Notice on the pictures the white wires and bare copper (grounds) on the same bus bars. The will mean the white wires and the ground wires will have the same potential.

I didn't do this for 35 years and I was able to retire at 52 year old being dangerous or giving dangerous info. Hire an electrician, thats why they make the big bucks.