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Can I use #8 bare aluminum wire for a ground with 3 insulated #8awg wires in PVC pipe? I have this wire just lying around. Or should I use all insulated wires?

Machavity
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David Noonkester
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    Is the "PVC Pipe" (it had better be actual electrical conduit) outside? If so, it's defined as a wet location. If it's entirely inside a building it (should) be dry. – Ecnerwal Oct 03 '23 at 13:11
  • Indoors or outdoors? You know #8 neutral needs to be natively white wire, not re-marked, right? – Harper - Reinstate Monica Oct 03 '23 at 16:54
  • Where's the NEC verbiage about mystery meat in conduit? https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/243586/properly-grounding-junction-box-for-conduit-transition – Mazura Oct 04 '23 at 01:08
  • Anytime I've done this in PVC it was SE cable. And if it's EMT... then it isn't. - Can I use a bare conductor for a ground in conduit? - 'Aluminum' comes later. – Mazura Oct 04 '23 at 01:10
  • (exception 1 to 310.4) : "Outer coverings shall not be required where listed without a covering." https://up.codes/s/conductor-constructions-and-applications - IDK what "1" is referring to, nor what "listed without a covering" means. – Mazura Oct 04 '23 at 13:18
  • "NEC Section 318-3(b)(1) Exception No. 2 states that insulated, covered or bare single conductors that are #4 AWG or larger may be used as EGCs cables in cable trays." https://www.cabletrays.org/equipment-grounding-conductors-cable-tray-systems/ – Mazura Oct 04 '23 at 13:22

1 Answers1

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Assuming you are in the US, the National Electric Code (NEC) allows bare aluminum equipment grounds and grounding electrode conductors.

For equipment grounding the relevant section is NEC 250.120, which prescribes corrosion protection for bare, covered, or insulated aluminum or copper-clad aluminum:

NEC 250.120(B)

For grounding electrode conductors, NEC 250.62 explicitly allows bare aluminum grounding electrode conductors:

NEC 250.62

with NEC 250.64 prescribing corrosion protection that doesn't differentiate insulated ground wire from uninsulated ground wire:

NEC 250.64

popham
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    Please include text quotes here. It makes everyone's lives easier - not everyone can read text in an image. – FreeMan Oct 03 '23 at 15:28
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    I don't think GEC rules apply to an 8 gauge circuit. – Robert Chapin Oct 03 '23 at 15:35
  • in conduit? Can't put 'mystery meat' in conduit. But it's the ground.... uh – Mazura Oct 04 '23 at 01:05
  • @Mazura, the OP's question was about PVC conduit. – popham Oct 04 '23 at 01:14
  • This is all about grounds and material types, nothing about conduit. I've never seen a bare wire in conduit. But then again I don't ever see many ground wires at all; I'm in EMT land. – Mazura Oct 04 '23 at 01:16
  • Stack Exchange requires images to have attribution links posted along side unless the images are the work of the poster or owned by the poster. Making images of text written specifications is no exception. – Michael Karas Oct 04 '23 at 04:21
  • @Michael Karas, I'm so used to that sort of thing triggering a spam filter that I've learned to exclude it. The code is behind a registered users login. Should I assume that other users have an existing session on the host website? Or should I link to a (subjectively) better page? – popham Oct 04 '23 at 05:10
  • Why are you posting pictures of text? Put the actual text in your post. There is no good reason to be posting pictures of this text here. – nobody Oct 04 '23 at 13:16
  • Well I guess it doesn't say you can't, and it does say "There are some places where it is required. A few I am aware of are in 517.13, 550.33, 680.25." https://forums.mikeholt.com/threads/insulated-vs-bare-ground-wire-application.143220/ - and here's somewhere to c&p 250.118 : https://up.codes/s/types-of-equipment-grounding-conductors – Mazura Oct 04 '23 at 23:35
  • @popham -- quoting the NEC will not set off the spam filter here, thank gosh :) – ThreePhaseEel Oct 05 '23 at 01:39