Parrothead

Actually, he has to. As of the '05 NEC, conduits are no longer acceptable as equipment grounds. You MUST run a ground wire.

Oh, and I haven't checked in in awhile either.......

speedy petey

You must mean after the 2005 NEC. I can't comment as I do not have a copy of 2008 yet.

glennjanie

Common neutral wires work in a lot of situations but our local electrical inspector wants to check the amps on the commons to be sure they are not overloaded. If your power wires are under the maximum rated load, the common is too. Then, if the common is connected to more than one power wire it can heat up pretty quickly.
Glenn

480sparky

From the 2005 AND 2008 NEC: (there are no changes in 2008 for this section)

250.118. Types of Equipment Grounding Conductors. The equipment grounding conductor run with or enclosing the circuit conductors shall be one or a combination of the following:

(1) A copper, aluminum, or copper-clad aluminum conductor.....
(2) Rigid metal conduit.
(3) Intermediate metal conduit.
(4) Electrical Meallic tubing.
(5) Listed flexible metal conduit......
(6) Listed liquidtight flexable metal conduit....
(7) Flexible metallic tubing......
(8) Armor of Type AC cable......
(9) The copper sheath of mineral-insulated, metal-sheathed cable.
(10) Type MC cable where listed and identified for grounding.....
(11) Cable trays....
(12) Cablebus framework....
(13) Other listed electrically continuous metal raceways and listed auxilliary gutters.
(14) Surface metal raceways listed for grounding.

(portions edited because I didn't want to type all the little details)


So yes, you can still use the raceway as a ground.

speedy petey

Yup. Looks like what I read.

BTW- You typed all that??? Boy, we need to get you a CD!

480sparky

I have the '05 CD, but I typed it from the 2008 before I realized there were no changes from the '05

Hack

Thanks for all the input guys!

So I ended up cutting an 18" X 18" hole in the sidewall of the house from inside the attic (just above the top of the conduit run). I put hinges and a latch on the door so it opens into the attic. Later, I'll probably put an attic fan there, or just a louvered vent. This was much easier and safer than a 40' ladder...

Running the wire was much easier than I thought after that. After pulling the 4 wire romex out of the run, I ran a fish tape UP through the conduit and pulled the wire down the run. I was in the attic and my wife on the ground. She didn't even really have to pull. I just dropped the wires down through the run and the weight of the fish wire and tape pulled them down.

All my electrical and plumbing is now done and inspected (we closed the office for 11 days for X-Mas so I had the time to work on the bathroom).

I've also got drywall up and inspected as well...should be done in a month or two (Now that I'm back at work again...)

__________________
Hack (a.k.a. Jeff)