Timeline for Can I connect ground to neutral in a 3 wire outlet?
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| Mar 19, 2016 at 16:32 | comment | added | Craig Tullis | @CarlMeyer No, unfortunately. Remember that the "neutral" (the grounded conductor) is absolutely a conductor and carries exactly as much current as the "hot" wire. If you bootleg your ground, then you're energizing all the parts of any plugged-in appliance that are meant to be grounded. It might the metal housing of a toaster, it might be screws in a hair dryer--who knows. But you're energizing those parts and creating a shock hazard. | |
| Nov 4, 2011 at 19:59 | comment | added | Carl Meyer | Unless I'm missing something, I think the "better than no grounding" point here is key. Many people faced with a two-prong outlet will use an adapter that leaves them with an open ground. If an appliance plugged in there has a hot-ground short, the appliance exterior will become hot rather than tripping the breaker. If you wire ground to neutral such a faulty appliance will at least trip the breaker. Given that faulty appliances seem to me to be likely more common than a break in the neutral wire in the wall, it seems like ground-to-neutral is at least an improvement over open ground. | |
| Oct 3, 2011 at 11:09 | comment | added | BMitch | +1, great point. I believe if you swap the hot in this configuration, a standard outlet tester will indicate the error. | |
| Oct 3, 2011 at 7:38 | history | answered | sharptooth | CC BY-SA 3.0 |