On Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:15:28 -0700 (PDT), spamtrap1888
> wrote:

>On Oct 16, 11:19*am, Lou Decruss > wrote:

>> So where did that 4th wire come from? *Magic?
>
>Ground.
>
>Coming from your breaker box should be four wires: Neutral (AKA the
>grounDED conductor), Ground (AKA the GrounDING conductor), and two 120
>VAC hot leads (split phase)
>
>In the olden days, ranges, dryers, etc. were supplied with the two
>120VAC hot leads (which produced 240VAC between them) and the neutral,
>which was connected to the appliance frame to serve as a pseudo-
>ground. But in the words of Click and Clack that was Bo-o-o-o-gus,
>because when the load is imbalanced you can get current on the
>neutral, raising the frame potential above ground. This was a real
>problem in offices when personal computers with their primitive switch
>mode power supplies became popular, because neutral wires had never
>been sized to carry current and fires started as a result.
>
>So nowadays, the code mandates they run ground to the frame.

I know this but unless her friend pulled another wire to the panel
it's probably not wired right. I'm assuming he just used the ground
as a neutral and either didn't ground it or doubled it up. If the
neutral is used for the 120 V. controls there's a load on it and
shouldn't also be used as a ground. Without seeing it it's hard to
tell. Just because something works doesn't mean it's right. You're
saying basically the same thing I am. Grounding is a fussy subject and
for safety it's important to do it right.

Lou