Our House Construction

[Jake]

Or.....just buy this or its' equivalent:  

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Power-Gear-3-Wire-Receptacle-Tester-50542/206212329?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|G|0|G-VF-PLA-D27E-Electrical|&gclid=CjwKEAjwkq7GBRDun9iu2JjyhmsSJADHCD_HAszwB_wgTo_44XSbTTcIVryuEI_XcHajT5VF6qs8ERoCGizw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[OnMyWay]

38 minutes ago, Jake said:

First, let's do a visual check.  Turn off the circuit breaker to a room, unscrew and pull out the outlet from the wall with wires attached. You should have 3 wires attached to every outlet: hot, neutral and ground. If you don't have any wire attached to the ground connector of the outlet......stop and start cussing.  You home is not wired for earth ground. Check the other outlets and use the P word to cuss some more. 

If you do have a wire attached to ground -- bare copper wire to green screw, then let's continue with the meter.  Color of wires may be different for 220vac application in PI.

 

Set the multimeter to read AC in the range above 220vac, like 300 or 400. The outlet you choose should be located near a metal strap or pipe (within the reach of your test leads, like in the kitchen or CR).  We will assume the metal piping is earth ground.  Turn circuit breaker back on and measure between ground connector of the outlet and metal piping.  You may need another set of hands if you don't have alligator clips.  It should be a steady zero volts reading, indicating a good earth ground.  If it reads even a few volts AC, then you have a floating ground.  Either the piping is not really earth ground or the wiring for ground to any or all outlets needs to be checked for corrosion or loose connection.  Check the main breaker to house and turn it off.  Take resistance reading between ground connection of the box to the grounding rod.  It should read zero ohms.  

By the way, 240VAC is still OK for main input to your home.  It will vary throughout the day but having voltage spikes is undesirable.  Please be careful -- have someone standby at main breaker to shut off the juice.  The 60 hertz dance is not fun at all....he, he.  

Thanks Jake!  That tells me what I need to know.  However, I already know my outlets are not grounded and I guess most of house is not.  I should have been more specific.  I want to test the ground wire that is coming into my instant water heater.  There is one there but I have no idea where it goes.  The 3 wire cable goes into the shower ceiling and the attic above it is very shallow.  I have 3 attics and I don't even think I can fit my not so slim shoulders and hips through the access hole for that area.  I can get a slim Filipino like my yard guy to crawl up there and visually take a look at the wire.

I can't think of a metal pipe in the area that I could ground to, for testing.  How about if I drive a rebar into the garden soil and run a wire from it to the shower?  (for testing!).  I could solder the wire to the rebar.

Sidenote:  The guy I bought the house from said the guy who installed his security system installed the water heater, just by chance.  The security system never worked so that might tell me something about the quality of the water heater installation! 

In a few years I might have everything in the house rewired and grounded.  It is a mess now.  I have 3 circuit breaker boxes in two adjacent rooms, and a few breakers work in each one.  2 of the 3 are very old.  A decent electrician who worked here when we moved in told me it could be done, but best to do it when the house is empty.  We will probably move out to a rental during a major remodel in a few years.

[Jake]

Hey Don, is the shower head metal?  Hopefully it's screwed into metal piping behind the wall.  And if so, you can use that to test for earth ground and verify the heater unit is properly grounded? 

I'm sorry Don, your old electrical heater unit worked all this time without any incident.  But all it takes is the insulation property (even within a new unit) to break down and your bare feet is now the ground path for the 220vac.  Perhaps you can talk to the dealer that sells water heater and ask for their recommendation for proper electrical installation.  

Good luck!

[intrepid]

 

That's the ticket.  Never move into a home without one!

 

[i am bob]

If the water heater wasn't grounded?  Get a good single stand insulated wire that you can use for a ground.  Run it with one end running from a piece of rebar driven into the ground below the CR and the other end to your shower outlet.  If you temporarily remove the outlet box from inside the wall recess, you can drill a hole just large enough to fit your ground wire through.  Don't forget to caulk around the cable after to prevent rain and insects coming into the house here.  Run the cable through the box and then reinstall the box into the wall recess.  Connect the ground wire to the appropriate terminal, reseat the outlet and enjoy your grounded water heater.  It's not necessary but the cable outside is best if clamped securely to the wall.  And a little matching paint will make that darn cable basically invisible..!

[Jake]

42 minutes ago, i am bob said:

If the water heater wasn't grounded?  Get a good single stand insulated wire that you can use for a ground.  

Good ole fashion Canadian jury rig -- works for me!

[Gary D]

A lot of sense being talked here, but sorry you're in the Philippines. The average foreigners kids know more about electrics then most filipino electricians. The wiring will be rudimentary at best and likely to be all the same colour of what was laying around at the time. By the way they don't run live and neutral as we would recognise, it's live and ground.

[intrepid]

1 hour ago, Gary D said:

A lot of sense being talked here, but sorry you're in the Philippines. The average foreigners kids know more about electrics then most filipino electricians. The wiring will be rudimentary at best and likely to be all the same colour of what was laying around at the time. By the way they don't run live and neutral as we would recognise, it's live and ground.

You are correct in most all places in the provinces. Many places in Manila and the metro area have hot, netural, and earth grounds provided. 

[intrepid]

MAY 2017 update

New update on the progress of our house. Five months into the build and the house is now ready for it's roof. The inside is getting finished and many small details are slowly being added. We are still hopeful to be moved in before September because our lease on our rental house ends at the end of August and well cannot get another extension. The bathroom tiles in our daughter's bathroom and the guest bathroom have been installed and look nice. We have been searching for appliances and furniture and have ordered some to be built and located some we like and will be buying soon. We still have some decisions to make as we go along but overall the building experience has not been stressful for us at all.  Just so much wanting to get complete and moved in.

1st photo; The gutters are 12" tall  2nd photo; guest bath. 3rd photo overview showing the roof framing ready for the roof.  4th photo; Electric panel box just installed.  5th photo showing tile work in daughters bath.  Last photo.  My bride standing in the front doorway.  The door has an arched window on top the door and window blocks down each side of the door.

Edited April 30, 2017 by intrepid
pictures not in order. well,...too much work to change now

[stevewool]

51 minutes ago, intrepid said:

MAY 2017 update

New update on the progress of our house. Five months into the build and the house is now ready for it's roof. The inside is getting finished and many small details are slowly being added. We are still hopeful to be moved in before September because our lease on our rental house ends at the end of August and well cannot get another extension. The bathroom tiles in our daughter's bathroom and the guest bathroom have been installed and look nice. We have been searching for appliances and furniture and have ordered some to be built and located some we like and will be buying soon. We still have some decisions to make as we go along but overall the building experience has not been stressful for us at all.  Just so much wanting to get complete and moved in.

1st photo; The gutters are 12" tall  2nd photo; guest bath. 3rd photo overview showing the roof framing ready for the roof.  4th photo; Electric panel box just installed.  5th photo showing tile work in daughters bath.  Last photo.  My bride standing in the front doorway.  The door has an arched window on top the door and window blocks down each side of the door.

How is the budget going, it does look good too.