Always skipped testing ground bonds until a 3-story house shocked me

I used to think bonding tests were just paperwork fluff. Last month I skipped a ground bond check on a new install in a split-level house in Denver. Customer called back two days later saying their microwave gave them a tingle. Went back, tested the ground bond and it was reading 12 ohms. Fixed the bond clamps and now I test every single one before I leave. Anyone else ever gotten bit by a bad bond?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancythomas6d ago

12 ohms on a bond is no joke, and @alice89's raccoon story made me laugh way harder than it should've.

veraj536d ago

So you're telling me that one bad bond on a microwave makes you test every single one now? Sounds like overkill to me. I get that 12 ohms is high, but lets be real here, how often does that actually happen? Most modern gear has built-in protections that would trip before a bad bond even becomes a problem. I've been doing this for twenty years and maybe had two bond issues tops, and those were on old corroded stuff that was already failing anyway. You're telling me you never had a tingle from a microwave before this? Its probably just normal static build-up or a dodgy outlet, not a ground bond problem. Maybe the customer was just being dramatic.

alice896d ago

Reminds me of the time I replaced a floor and found a whole family of raccoons living under the house.