Had an unorthodox situation today. The main service disconnect was on the inside of garage wall (at an exterior wall.) The ground wire was ran up from the panel, across the attic, and then down the wall between garage/house. I have no idea where it went after that. There was no reason it couldn’t have been “conventionally” done at the exterior. Question: Is there a max distance from the panel or meter base for the ground wire to connect to ground rod or similar? Does the ground wire have to be up-sized any for a greater distance?
1972 house. 150 amp panel. Approx. #6 braided copper wire.
The NEC code specifies that a solid copper wire used to connect to a ground rod must be at least either #6 or #8 gauge (depending on the size of your electrical service cable). #6 cable cable will always satisfy the sizing requirement, though in some cases larger is desirable. The NEC doesn’t specify a limit as to the maximum length. Of course, shorter is better.
Please don’t call this a ground wire. The proper term is Grounding Electrode Conductor or GEC.
The GEC can be solid or stranded, bare or insulated and is not required to be green. A ground rod GEC or bonding jumper is not required to be larger than #6. You can use a #8 for smaller applications like a 100 amp service but it must be installed in cable armor or a raceway. There is no limit as to its length.
Usually when I seed the braided heading up into the attic it is for bonding the gas line or water lines and not the GEC. Look at your panel pictures again and see if there is a solid conductor in addition to the braided.
The proper term is Grounding Electrode Conductor or GEC.