[RE-wrenches] Braided grounding wire

[jay peltz]

One issue that has been troubling me is the 1 size fits all.

We live and work in many really different environments.

Because of this, what works here might not work there, but just  
because it doesn't work there, does not mean
that I shouldn't be able to use it here.

Lets look at the the desert regions vs Hawaii.  In the desert rust/ 
corrosion just isn't a problem so braided wire isn't going to be a  
problem.
Vs hawaii where maybe only solid wire, let alone stranded is the only  
choice.

So I think that our industry is getting really far down the 1 size  
fits all path and i see that being ineffective, expensive, and throws  
creativity out the window.

Just my 2 cents.

jay

peltz power

On Aug 22, 2008, at 1:26 PM, Sky Sims wrote:

> Braided wire works great for grounding and lasts a long time. I've  
> seen
> it sit in a puddle of water for over 20 years. I will say that the  
> green
> oxide coating occurs pretty soon after installation usually in the  
> first
> 6 months to 1 year whether its solid wire or braided. Its caused by  
> the
> interaction of the copper with oxygen. It's a non issue as long as  
> your
> contact points are good. You can ohm it out to verify the contacts are
> good. 5 ohms or less is a good ground. Want to do more testing? then
> it's time to break out the arc welder.
>
> Sky Sims
> Ecological Systems
> http://www.ecologicalsystems.biz
> 220 County Road 522
> Manalapan, NJ 07726
> 732-462-3858  toll free)866-759-7652  fax)732-462-3962
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
> [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of R.
> Walters
> Sent: Friday, August 22, 2008 2:01 PM
> To: RE-wrenches
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Braided grounding wire
>
>>
> We don't use braided for direct burial. We use it to bond to the
> array, run with the PV wires, and switch to regular copper as soon as
> we go into conduit at the first J box.  We zip tie it together in a
> bundle with all the MC cables.
>
> ray at solarray.com
>
>> Braid tends to "wick" water, and we have seen it corrode into a
>> crumbly green mass of copper oxide in a matter of 2-3 years in wet/
>> damp locations. Probably OK for indoor use, but we prefer to avoid
>> it completely.
>>
>> ..................................................................... 
>> .
>
>> ............................
>> Northern Arizona Wind & Sun - Electricity From The Sun
>> ..................................................................... 
>> .
>
>> ............................
>>
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