Photo: Green, green with a yellow stripe, and bare copper wires can only be used for grounding purposes.Ī ground wire can never be used as a neutral, even though it connects to the same bus at the main panel-that’s a huge safety violation that can cause electrical shock, serious injury, or death. That’s allowed by code as long as the wire is marked with red or orange tape or paint to alert future service people, electricians, or knowledgeable do-it-yourselfers that the wire is not a neutral but rather a current-carrying conductor. Since those appliances don’t require a neutral but use two current-carrying conductors and a ground wire, an electrician may repurpose the white to carry the secondary phase (also called a “secondary leg”) of the 220-voltage. However, when sized appropriately for the load, two-wire armored cables can also be used to provide power to 220-volt appliances like a water heater or well pump, which is where things get tricky. The hot or “live” conductor sheathed in black typically carries power to a 110-volt light or receptacle, while a neutral conductor would carry energy away and a bare copper ground wire can conduct any excess energy that might otherwise be a shock or fire hazard. In this case, your water heater is probably wired with two-wire flexible armor-clad “BX” or “MC” cable-that’s a factory-made cable with a metal jacket protecting a black, white, and bare copper wire. A: You’re right, white sheathing does generally indicate a neutral wire, but it’s not always so simple to decipher.
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