Jimbo662 Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 I ordered a solenoid and power cord. As I was putting it together I realized the cord has a ground wire but the solenoid only has two connectors. Will this work and if so what do I do with the ground wire...just wrap it up and not use it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 How much voltage is going through this? I'd be extremely apprehensive if this has full 120 going through this end of the solenoid without additional shielding and making sure this is enclosed so that someone doesn't inadvertently kill themselves accidentally on it. But really, a grounding wire is only needed when you're dealing with metal housed equipment. The ground would be attached to the case to make sure the GFCI or breaker trips if something is shorted to the case. This protects humans as well as has prevented an uncountable number of fires. The hot and neutral are the only wires that electricity flows through during normal operation, so the ground basically doesn't have any other purpose when the circuit and equipment is properly wired. I say properly wired because someone could conceivably have an open neutral with the ground acting as the second lead, definitely not something you would want to do on purpose, would be both a fire and safety hazard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted December 21, 2016 Author Share Posted December 21, 2016 It shows volts 120/60. I'd planned to wrap the connections with electrical tape to cover it all. It'll be out of the way behind the tank so no one will have access to it. Would it work to hook the ground under the bolt in this pic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 It shows volts 120/60. I'd planned to wrap the connections with electrical tape to cover it all. It'll be out of the way behind the tank so no one will have access to it. Would it work to hook the ground under the bolt in this pic? IMG_1322.JPG It should work, although I'm not sure if it's necessary since the only metal on this piece is that metal bracket. Is that bracket just on the outside of the solenoid? I'm assuming it doesn't have any functional purpose. I would use silicon tape as well as electrical tape, you can get it at home depot, it only sticks to itself, extremely versatile stuff, about a million times better than electrical tape and if done correctly, it's basically waterproof. This is the stuff I use, but there is clear and a few other brands of it: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Super-Glue-1-in-x-10-ft-Black-E-Z-Fuse-Silicone-Tape-15408-6/204237144 I'm completely addicted to it. I originally found it when I was wrapping bar tape on my road bike and the tape I used came with this same stuff to secure the last wrap of bar tape. I've found so many uses for it since then. It might be worth getting a plastic project box to mount the electrical internals inside as well. This is all preferential, but I personally don't like to have anything running line voltage to have even the possibility of coming in contact with a person, and tape just isn't enough insulation IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted December 21, 2016 Author Share Posted December 21, 2016 It shows volts 120/60. I'd planned to wrap the connections with electrical tape to cover it all. It'll be out of the way behind the tank so no one will have access to it. Would it work to hook the ground under the bolt in this pic? IMG_1322.JPG It should work, although I'm not sure if it's necessary since the only metal on this piece is that metal bracket. Is that bracket just on the outside of the solenoid? I'm assuming it doesn't have any functional purpose. I would use silicon tape as well as electrical tape, you can get it at home depot, it only sticks to itself, extremely versatile stuff, about a million times better than electrical tape and if done correctly, it's basically waterproof. This is the stuff I use, but there is clear and a few other brands of it: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Super-Glue-1-in-x-10-ft-Black-E-Z-Fuse-Silicone-Tape-15408-6/204237144 I'm completely addicted to it. I originally found it when I was wrapping bar tape on my road bike and the tape I used came with this same stuff to secure the last wrap of bar tape. I've found so many uses for it since then. It might be worth getting a plastic project box to mount the electrical internals inside as well. This is all preferential, but I personally don't like to have anything running line voltage to have even the possibility of coming in contact with a person, and tape just isn't enough insulation IMO. Wow...thanks for all that info! Yes, it appears to just be a bracket on the outside. I'll stop by HD tomorrow to pick up some of the silicone tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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