December 18, 2011 By Dave Rongey ©2007-2012Author - Licensed Electrical Contractor Filed under Splicing 220 Volt

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Splicing 220 Volt Wiring

Splicing 220 Volt Wiring 3-Wire and 4-Wire

• Should I join the new neutral white and ground with the old neutral white?

This electrical question came from: Michael, a Electrician from Ooltewah, Tennessee.
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Dave’s Reply:
Thanks for your electrical question Michael.

Splicing Electrical Wiring

• Michael, if the original 8/3 cable is fed from the main electrical panel and the neutral wire of the original cable is insulated (it should be), then yes you can bond both the new cables neutral and the ground wires together with the old cable’s insulated neutral wire.
• If the original 8/3 cable does not have an insulated neutral wire then you should only bond the ground wire of the new cable to the uninsulated wire from the original cable and the neutral wire of the new cable should be  caped off with a wire connector at both ends and not used.
• The issue here is that newer equipment such as a range may require a separate insulated neutral wire, which is in reality a current carrying wire or conductor which requires it to be insulated. If the new equipment states that it’s ground and neutral wires may be bonded together with the circuit ground wire at the attachment point of the equipment the that may be done.
• A ground wire is not considered a current carrying conductor so it is not required to be insulated. The function of the ground wire is to bond the equipment to the main ground source which is at the main panel, so that in the event of an equipment failure the fault current will go directly to ground and will cause the circuit to trip off.

The Following links will assist you with your electrical question:

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Electrical Wire for the Home
Complete listing of electrical wire types and parts used for home projects with electrical code information serves as selection guidelines.

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