Ground wire cost

[John Connor]

THERE'S NO CONDUIT! It's standard grade Romex? aluminum wiring.

Still waiting for a proper answer on whether my surge protector and/or UPS needs a ground or not.

 

[NetWareHead]

The conduit isn't' "the wire", nor is it made "pre-strung", so to speak. It's just a flexible metal "sheath" through which wires or a cable are run inside the walls, which happens to be metal, so can be used as a ground, even if it can't safely withstand the full current the circuit in question can carry for long. As a functional matter, though not necessarily a legal/code one, there's no reason it wouldn't be used with aluminum wire as well as copper. And you also wouldn't necessarily see it when doing simple things like replacing outlets or switches inside the boxes since it (usually) terminates on the outside of them (which is how it can create a "ground" at the box, even if there is no actual ground wire.) On the other hand, since the aluminum wire was presumably used to cut costs, that would tend to argue against the original contractor using conduit, too, unless for some reason it was actually required at the time, and I have no idea what they rules about using it (pro or con) ever were, under the NEC or any other relevant code...

You would see if you have armored cable vs nms (aka romex) when you look inside the box and see what sort of connector is used to secure the cable to the box. Additionally, romex will usually have some of the outer plastic sheath and the brown kraft paper protruding past the clamp inside the box and armored cable will have a visible anti-short bushing to further distinguish it. Additionally, if using armored cable, the spec calls for a metal junction box only whereas romex can be used with either plastic or metal boxes.

 

[stormkroe]

THERE'S NO CONDUIT! It's standard grade Romex? aluminum wiring.

Still waiting for a proper answer on whether my surge protector and/or UPS needs a ground or not.

Give us the model numbers then, not all function the same. The 'surge protector' doesn't need the ground to protect against surges. Want your equipment to be grounded when plugged in to it? Then it does need a ground.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Surge suppression won't work without a ground, a UPS (the backup function) will work. Would still be good to run a ground, but for safety purposes a GFCI will work without a ground. It will detect that less current is going through it's neutral and will trip. So basically if you get a shock some of the current will travel through an alternate path and not go back to the outlet. That said in theory if you're standing on an insulated surface and put two paper clips in the plug it might not trip.

You could probably run your own ground using some #14 wire and just tie it to water lines or something. Not really the proper way but it should work. Just measure it to ensure whatever you tie it to actually is grounded.

 

[Mike64]

THERE'S NO CONDUIT! It's standard grade Romex? aluminum wiring.

Still waiting for a proper answer on whether my surge protector and/or UPS needs a ground or not.

Fine, but I don't see why you're yelling, I read your response, but it didn't, you know, actually address the issue you seemed to think I was ignoring...