We make grounding: simple and fast
Many, perhaps, are familiar with the situation: when taking a shower or simply washing hands, a slight tingling current is suddenly felt. Especially noticeable in places of small scratches and other wounds on the body. There are two ways out: find a breakdown and fix it, as well as make high-quality grounding. It is about the second way out of the situation - how to make grounding in a private house yourself - today's article will be.
Grounding: a little theory
"For the land" - these words formed the term. It would be more correct to "to the ground", but apparently the term "landing" sounds somehow ridiculous. Jokes are jokes, but the role of grounding is huge. Since we are talking specifically about the protective form, thanks to him, cases of electric shock are not as frequent as they could be without grounding.
During the operation of various household appliances, the phase wire may touch the case. There are many examples: either the heating element body has broken the tightness and water directly enters the phase conductor, then during assembly after self-repair, the phase wire “for some reason” began to touch the walls of the case. And this list can be continued almost indefinitely. It turns out that no matter what example we give, the electric current in any of them will amaze us. And here it’s already unpleasant: it’s just unpleasant for someone, and someone can fall dead from defeat after 0.1 seconds.
Grounding allows the current to "leave" along the path of less resistance to the ground and thereby save a person's life. With a well-made grounding, we will not feel the current during a breakdown on the case. If the grounding is insufficient, but still there, then we are threatened by the already mentioned tingling.
How to do it better
Before you make grounding in a private house yourself, we strongly advise you to make sure that you are competent. After all, we repeat, your life and the lives of everyone who lives in the house are at stake. Yes, what is there to hide - you and your guests are at risk. Therefore, think: you will do everything with your own hands or invite a master. We do not want to offend anyone, we are just talking about a serious matter.
To make grounding in a private house simply because of the availability of free space and a small number of floors. Even if your mansion consists of 3 floors, then there is nothing frightening here. The main thing for you is to extend the grounding to the first floor, and then to carry out the wiring.
The first thing you have to do is prepare the material. A steel corner, profile, rod or pipe is suitable as a vertical ground electrode. But the main thing is that these materials must be cleaned of rust or paint. Remember: nothing should prevent direct contact of the soil with the metal! If you have used steel elements, then a metal brush or angle grinder with a certain nozzle and go ahead - until the shine starts to blind your eyes. The choice of vertical grounding conductors is a serious matter. It is important to understand here that in addition to the quality of the surface, the area plays an exceptional role. To give an example, sports bike tires are made wide to prevent them from falling or sliding when cornering. It is the same here: the larger the area of the ground electrode that will be in contact with the ground, the more likely it is that the grounding will turn out to be of really high quality.
You will also need horizontal ground electrodes. Their role is to connect the vertical ones to each other. You can get by with one vertical ground electrode, but the chances that the structure will not fail during the entire period of operation are minimal. Usually three vertical ones are used and the material for their horizontal connection to each other.
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Some Tips
- You can also dig in a grounding conductor - you won't do worse. On the contrary, it will be even better in terms of current conductivity.
- The copper wire must be solid and with a cross section of at least 4 mm 2.
- This scheme can be supplemented with natural ground electrodes. It can be any metal objects that are in the ground. For example, a sewer pipeline or a metal casing pipe for your well.
- The transition point from the steel ground conductor to the copper cable must be protected against corrosion. It’s easy to do it yourself: now there are ready-made plastic boxes on sale or you can bring a conductor inside the house.
- Upon completion of all installation work, we strongly recommend that you invite an electrician you know to measure the resistance of your ground loop.
- It is better not to use the armature as a grounding element. The structure of steel reinforcement is such that there were even cases of fracture during severe frosts and simultaneous movement of the soil.
- Before driving, the steel material can be sharpened with an angle grinder.
Instead of a conclusion
Still, you yourself will have to make grounding in a private house if it is not there. Living without it is like smoking on a powder keg. And if we take into account the abundance of electrical appliances in our time, then there can be no conversation here. Pumps, refrigerators, boilers, instantaneous water heaters, air conditioners, microwave ovens and washing machines - these units are at risk and their use without grounding is a risky business. Yes, and the question is not about millions - the work is trifling, but the benefits from it are enormous. So go ahead, now you know exactly the answer to the question of how to make grounding in a private house yourself and at the same time be sure of its functionality.