"Commonly accepted grounds, such as water pipes, should be checked to be sure they do not have PVC connections or feeds. Gas piping should not be used as a ground. Not only is it a violation of the National Electrical Code (NEC), but sparks during maintenance could be a considerable hazard."

However, the gas piping now needs to be bonded to the service:
This link is too long!!!

"250.104 (B) – This section reaffirms that gas piping that is installed in or attached to a building or structure must be bonded to the service at any of the specified locations. The bonding jumper is to be sized per 250.122."

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

There is an old house in my home town of Manitowoc, Wisconsin when I was a punk kid in the early 50's. That particular old house had some "legends."

I heard recently that the old house still stands, and it still has a "reputation." Last year, I heard that the inside floor plan did not match the foot print of the house.

I remember my parents telling me not to go near that house when I was about 10 or 11 years old. It was only a couple of blocks away when I lived on 13th street.

Yet, after 52 years or so since I was aware of it, nobody apparently had the balls to find out what is between the inside floor plan and the house shell.

Spooky, huh? Maybe it was the home of the "Boogie Man."
*******************************************************
The Boogie Man by Barry M. Caceres

Dark... shadows dance around the closet door.
I pull the sheets up hight.
I must find a place to hide.
Dread... a cold draft drifts along the floor.
I know that he's inside.
I can't let out a cry.

Cold... the creature closes in; I can feel his claws.
I feel chills climb up my spine.
I fear that I will die.
Creep... he crawls beneath my bed, through cracks in the walls.
I try to hide my eyes.
I pray the fear subsides.

Sleep... the Sandman silences my inner screams.
I try to clear my sight.
I can't put up a fight.
Sigh... my pounding heart's subdued as I drift into dreams.
I fly inside my mind.
I will survive the night.

Bruce and Randy: Don't let the Boogie Man getcha!

Barry: Unless it's changed in recent years I think the typical large 240V appliance (range, clothes dryer) doesn't have a ground separate from neutral. The hard wired installation you had simply duplicated what a plug-pigtail & receptacle would have. Those were 3 prongs with 2 hots and a neutral.

Lets not get too carried away with grounding. At most outlets around the house it will not be used at all. Nice to have flexibility in where to plug in computers etc. that will make use of a ground but if there is difficulty and expense involved I'd rewire just where it's needed.

Sometimes things border on the ridiculous such as little AC-adaptor power supplies with polarized plugs (what for?) or devices with grounded 3-prong plugs where there is a plastic housing and nothing there to ground.

It's mainly in the kitchen when Melanie starts plugging in the microwave, Kitchen Aid mixer, toaster oven, coffee pot and what have you that things will get hairy.

I already told her to add up all the wattages of every appliance she's plugging in to the same circuit and divide by 100. If the answer is greater than 15 then I told her that she has to unplug something first. Yeah, I know the real divisor is 120 but it's a little white lie I told to provide a safety factor. When I get the chance to put in the correct wiring we'll make sure the circuits are split up enough to spread the current out. That way she can plug in all her gadgets and not have to worry.

She asked me what to do if she does pop a breaker. I told her to unplug everything, go down and flip the breaker back on and start plugging things in one by one... not plugging in that last thing before the breaker popped. Maybe, if she gets tired of having to do that all the time she'll be more likely to let me tear up her kitchen for a couple of days while I make things right.

We are all single phase, 240V. Even in days gone by when we had round pin plugs and sockets, those were three pin and so carried an earth and were polarized. Most domestic appliances are connected on a ring circuit, with each outlet rated at 13A. Bigger stuff, like cookers and showers will have it's own radial circuit, rated according to the needs of the appliance. Nowadays cable used is generally 'T&E' (twin and earth), in the past single cores were run in steel conduit buried in the walls, with the conduit being used as the earth conductor.

The only two pin outlets I've ever seen here are non-polarized, usually in bathrooms or bedrooms, fed via an isolating transformer for electric razors. It's illegal to have any other kind of outlet in a bathroom.

Paul;
Just found my first creaky, old house ghost.
I was upstairs fixing the bathroom drain when heard a thumping noise coming from downstairs. I swore it was somebody coming in the back door. Went down to see what it was and found nothing. The back door was locked. I double checked.

I've been in plenty of dark theatres late at night but sometimes your imagination has a way of running away with you. After a freaked-out 1/2 hour of wandering around the house I heard it coming from the basement.

So, are you ready to find out what it was?
It was the water heater boiling up. The temperature was turned all the way up.

The only two things on the list that need attention are a couple of spots on the bathroom floors where the floor boards got water logged. They will need to be cut out and replaced. Then there are the bushes growing around the outside of the house. They are overgrown and will start to buckle the basement walls if not pulled out. My brother-in-law is a heavy equipment operator. We can call him to bring a tractor over and rip 'em out. He will only charge us for the hours on the meter plus some "beer money", if you knowwhatimean.

When that's done we will also have the yard graded to make sure the land slopes away from the house for better drainage. Mike (the B.I.L.) can do that all at the same time as he pulls the bushes. Shouldn't cost more than $100-$200 unless there's anything unforseen. <cross fingers>

I have been often told that a house with an electric dishwasher should be run at 140-145 degrees F. Seems that this helps the detergent dissolve better.

No kids in this house. We got the dishwasher. 140 it is.

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