Electrical Terminology & Safety Tips

[PoolDoc]

Just wanted to jump in here, because this is a critical subject, and some of the answers may not stand out to people.

1. Bonding and GFCI's protect people,
not equipment.

2. Breakers and fuses protect equipment.
People not so much, except indirectly by preventing fires.

3. Licensed electricians are better than unlicensed ones . . . usually,
but in my experience, many licensed electricians, and some inspectors, are clueless around pools.

4. To fully protect people, you should BOND every fixed piece of metal a wet swimmer could touch.
(Codes may require more or less than this. You should obey electrical codes, too. At least, most of the time. Or if you are going to be inspected. )

5. Codes sometimes allow discontinuous bonding via the rebar mat. This is NOT a good idea.
Sometimes what was a continuous electrical connection in the mat becomes discontinuous. Use a full length bare copper wire, from start to finish.

6. Codes sometimes allow conduit grounding. This is another bad idea, around pools.
Conduits get disconnected: been there, got the shock, cussed out the electrician. Fortunately, did not die! Use a continuous wire ground around pools.

7. All bonding mats are "grounded" intrinsically.
But, if you ground to the box, you can get currents going. I don't like unplanned currents around pools. So, if you 'ground' your bond wires to the box, use a BIG wire for the bond and a SMALLER one for the ground-to-the-box connection. There are obscure electrical reasons for doing this. By the way, if your pump is correctly wired AND bonded, your bonding system will ALWAYS be connected to your ground system. (Unless you are using conduit grounding -- see below.)

8. Grounding your 'bond' system to your box or panel can prevent weird corrosion issues.
Again, not gonna explain this. But it's much better to prevent these sorts of issues than figure them out.

9. Make FRICKING sure that you have a CONTINUOUS wire ground from your local wire panel back to your main distribution panel.
Code may not require this, but you should. Again, got the shocks on this one. No, I do NOT like conduit grounds. Ever. Except maybe in the dry desert. Not near pools. Not in wet restaurant kitchens (where I got fried, while working as a plumber.) Maybe where nothing but camels and horny toads live. Or, maybe not even there.

10. Shocks and wet people who want to keep living don't go together.
Electricity can usually find an easier path to follow, than through a dry person with shoes on. Electricity can usually NOT find an easier path to follow than a wet nearly naked person. You have to work specially hard around pools to make sure that the easiest path is not through you, your family or friends!

11. Think about the drips!
And, I don't mean the jerks who become your close friend right about the time your pool is being finished. I've seen a lifeguard get a bad shock because they 'dripped' into a GFCI protected receptacle that was mounted horizontally, rather than vertically.

12. Speaking of GFCI's, they fail around pools. A lot.
Sometimes they fail 'safe' tripping every time you look at them. Sometimes, they fail 'DANGEROUS', and won't trip when you try to weld your extension cord to your pool ladder. (Or, when a lifeguard drips into the receptacle!) Check yours today, and several times each season. There's a GOOD reason for that little red or yellow button on your GFCI.

13. Do not bring electricity into the pool area from outside the pool area.
OK, I confess. I'm the idiot who did this, with an extension cord. All those electrical safeties in your pool area don't mean squat if you drag electricity in from elsewhere. Not one of my brighter moments. Pay for a 20A receptacle off the pool panel, when you do the pool.

14. Electrical boxes should not be closer than 12" to the dirt. Ever. No matter what the code allows. When you put electrical boxes in the dirt, or even that close to the dirt, they WILL get wet and dirty. Probably not while there is still a warranty on the work, but soon after. Every SINGLE 'sealed' commercial pool light junction box I've ever opened was full of water. In fact, "sealed" electrical boxes seem to be much better at keeping water in, than at keeping it out.

Hm-m-mh, that's all that comes to mind, right now.

Ben
"PoolDoc"