Bonding issue (posted by Bill Sims)

[ASKNACHI]This question was posted on AskNACHI.org by Bill Sims (from Valley, Al). [/ASKNACHI] House has a utility meter with ground rod common to neutral. 3 wire service ran to main disconnect panel on other side of house. A separate EG ground rod with #4 Bare running from rod to EG Bar. Neutral is not bonded.
Should neutral and EG be bonded in this panel since there are 2 separate ground rods.

Yes,

The neutral and ground should be bonded in the panel that has the first point of disconnect.

The ground rod at the meter is all that is needed. The other one is installed incorrectly.

You know…I have been doing this MANY years and I totally can’t understand what was just asked…lol…and I do this for a living.

If the meter has a Grounding Electrode Conductor coming out of it to the ground rods…then that portion of the grounding electrode system is complete. Now, what is confusing is you said a main disconnect was all the way on the other side of the house…

So is their a disconnect at the meter or did they just run the service cable all the way around the house( hopefully not under to through the house in violation of 230.70(A)(1)…)

Anyway…Yes you bond the grounded and grounding at the main service disconnect…At a remote distribution panel you do not…the grounded conductor is insulated from the enclosure.

Well Paul for not understanding it, you explained it pretty well. :wink: I think…lol

He simply said that the other panel is a sub-panel. (old terminology)

I think the question related to at what point is it not a sub-panel.

I know that a garage or seperate structure gets it’s own ground, but at what point is it ever needed in the same structure?

Sorry…I did not get the SIMPLY part of the format of the question…but then again what do I know…lol