30A circuit

Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0

18 events

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Mar 22, 2022 at 6:46	history	edited	MarcoD	CC BY-SA 4.0	Included the final result
Mar 22, 2022 at 5:30	comment	added	MarcoD		@FreeMan, yes that is exactly the point. Among all the connection methods, soldering is the one that depends on the highest degree on the maker's skills. When done properly it gives the best result, when done poorly it can become a ticking time bomb
Mar 21, 2022 at 15:37	comment	added	pmont		Yes I would only recommend soldering if you have experience and the right equipment. A high power soldering iron is needed for 10AWG, plenty of flux, pre-tin the extension to minimize overheating the existing stub. If you don't have experience with that, avoid DIY. If you can access enough of the ground stub to crimp something onto it, that's an easier job. I don't recommend Wago connectors, they can work loose. Get a butt connector and crimp down hard for a solid connection.
Mar 21, 2022 at 13:33	comment	added	FreeMan		I'm not sure if soldered connections are explicitly forbidden by US code, @pmont, but I've seen a lot of recommendations against doing so here at Home Improvement. Mostly for the reason the OP mentions in his comment, above - poor soldering skills leaves a questionable connection which can start arcing, producing heat which can melt the solder at a minimum and start a fire at worst.
Mar 21, 2022 at 5:36	history	edited	MarcoD	CC BY-SA 4.0	added 522 characters in body
Mar 21, 2022 at 4:43	comment	added	MarcoD		Thanks pmont. I ideally see your point but then the reality that I would have to face is the horribly botched soldering job that my skills in that craft all but ensure. In that location especially with all that isolation ready to be melted, I would get the father of all shorts. Why do you think a Wago connector would be unstable? That wire would barely ever get any solicitation to move
Mar 20, 2022 at 21:21	comment	added	pmont		Best way to extend the short ground that was clipped off is to solder an extension. Not the easiest, but the most solid connection. There's not enough length on that ground stub to crimp onto. Yeah that was a sad sack who cut it so short.
Mar 20, 2022 at 18:26	comment	added	FreeMan		Gotcha, @Harper-ReinstateMonica, it's just that sometimes, the table shows a smaller size for the ground than for the current carrying wires. Makes sense, I was looking at it the wrong way. Original comment deleted to avoid confusion.
Mar 20, 2022 at 13:30	history	edited	MarcoD	CC BY-SA 4.0	Added newly gained knowledge
Mar 19, 2022 at 12:51	comment	added	MarcoD		ThreePhaseEEl and crip659, wiring back to the panel is a work of a larger scale than I was planning to do, going through walls and ceilings. Reading the formulation of NEC 250.130(C)(4), in which origination from same box is the only constraint and wire gauge matching is not even mentioned, made me wonder whether NEC allowed for the limited scope of grounding an existing ungrounded circuit, to borrow a smaller ground wire from another existing circuit. My rationale was that doing that would only improve the safety of the code-compliant grandfathered 3-prong dryer circuit
Mar 18, 2022 at 20:01	answer	added	Harper - Reinstate Monica		timeline score: 6
Mar 18, 2022 at 14:33	comment	added	crip659		Are you sure you don't have a ground wire or ground path? Most cables have a ground wire(maybe not used) or wires in metal conduit where the conduit is ground path.
Mar 18, 2022 at 11:43	comment	added	ThreePhaseEel		Can you run a separate 10AWG grounding wire back to the panel, or to the grounding electrode conductor, by any path at all?
Mar 18, 2022 at 11:34	comment	added	crip659		A ground for 30 amps needs to be 10 gauge, so 14 gauge will not pass inspection.
Mar 18, 2022 at 5:16	history	edited	MarcoD	CC BY-SA 4.0	added 69 characters in body
Mar 18, 2022 at 4:58	comment	added	MarcoD		I guess my difficulty is from not knowing how AFCI breakers work. Are they able to determine which circuit is responsible for the detected ground current or do they shut off all circuits? I doubt is the latter which may create a lot of issues
S Mar 18, 2022 at 4:42	review	First questions
Mar 18, 2022 at 11:34
S Mar 18, 2022 at 4:42	history	asked	MarcoD	CC BY-SA 4.0

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