----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark J. Andy" <marka@telerama.com>
> So if you have a single outlet run from the box to the outlet, what's the
> difference between neutral and safety? Seems like they're both tied to
> the same thing at the box... I.e. why can't you run one wire from box to
> the outlet and make it both neutral & safety, with another wire the hot
> wire?
You want all return current to run just where you want it - in the return
wire. If you have a single wire tied to both return (neutral) and the
case/safety ground then your return path is both through that wire and
through any available ground path between the panel and the load as parallel
circuits (disregarding the possibility of a fully insulated load). So
current will run through both. MOST of the current will return through the
wire, but not all. There will be other circuits such as pipes, concrete,
and people. The last is the one that is best to avoid.
A friend had a short between neutral and ground on the buried run from their
house to garage and pumped just enough current through the backyard to drive
all the worms out of the ground and to get tingly feet while playing
basketball in the driveway.
Mark.
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