May 24, 2025 • 14 mins
We are excited to introduce to you our latest podcast. The Bond and Ground Podcast dedicated to the Facts, Myths, and Legends of Article 250 of the National Electrical Code. Be sure to subscribe to the following:
https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-bond-and-ground-podcast--6634930
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/master-the-nec-podcast--1083733/support.
https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-bond-and-ground-podcast--6634930
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/master-the-nec-podcast--1083733/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Bond and Ground Podcast, the podcasts where
grounding and bonding aren't just topics, they're the foundation of
electrical safety. Hosted by CMP five member Paul Abernethie, this
show breaks down the National Electrical Code with a focus
on Article two fifty, the article dedicated to proper grounding
(00:25):
and bonding of electrical systems. Whether you're a season electrician
or just decoding the code, you're in the right place.
No resistance, just grounded knowledge. Now sit back and enjoy
the podcast with your host, Paul Abernethie.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
What up, everybody, Welcome to Bond and Ground podcast. This
podcast is This is the first episode of this new
the Bond and Ground Podcast, where we're going to talk
about all things ground and bonding that associate with Article
two fifty of the National Electrical Code. Also Article two
(01:06):
hundred dealing with grounded conductors as well in the National
Electrical Code. And if you're not familiar with who I Am,
or you've never listened to a podcast before, or you
stumbled onto this podcast, you're thinking, well, who the hell
is this guy and what is his authority to be
able to talk about grounding and bonding? Is he just
(01:27):
another Joe Schmoe that's out there and got their license
and say, hey, I'll just start a damn podcast. So
I guess it would be proper to give a little
bit of an introduction, since this is episode one of
the new podcast called the Bond and Ground Podcast. My
name is Paul Abernathy. If you crack open the front
(01:49):
of your codebook, whether it's the twenty seventeen, twenty twenty,
twenty twenty three, whatever, and the new twenty twenty six
that'll be coming out in year, you'll see my name under.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Code panel five.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
In code panel five, as you know, deals with Article
two fifty and also Article two hundred deals with grounded conductors,
again in many cases a neutral conductor.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
And of course we'll talk about all.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Those nuances here on the podcast as we go through
various episodes. But I wanted to give you a little bit,
a little bit of a background. I'm not new to
the industry. I've been doing this nearly forty years. I've
written books on the subject, helped create courses on grounding
and bonding. I helped write books with a gentleman named
(02:38):
Phil Simmons on grounding and bonding. I have co authored
many books as well as wrote articles, blogs podcasts on
the subject and again serving on Code Making Panel five
for the National Electrical Code from multiple cycles and just
getting to know various members of Code Making Panel and
(03:00):
through the years also as the expert to the Southern
Region as a NIMA representative for a few years there
and being that I also serve as a director of
technical services for probably arguably the world's largest manufacturer of
(03:21):
wiring cable, whether it's low voltage, medium voltage, electronic, whether
it's high voltage, those type of things. So I've been
doing that for quite a few years, so I'd like
to think that I'm a bit of an authority on
subjects that deal with the National Electrical Code. Now you
can agree to disagree, but as we go through this podcast,
we're going to be talking about a lot of topics.
(03:43):
And one of the missions that I used to do
years ago was to look for things when it came
to grounding and bonding that were misconceptions. They were kind
of urban legends that people would share and propagate. And
the next thing, you know, we have this advent of
the social media, and so we get these these platforms
(04:06):
like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, all these different types of social
sharing platforms where behind the keyboard or behind the computer,
everybody's an expert.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
I get it, and they share information.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
The problem with that and the problem that spawned me
to do the Let's Ask Paul podcast.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
If you've never heard it before, check it out. It's available.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Just go on any of your favorite social platforms and
look for Let's Ask Paul podcast or Master the NEC podcast.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Those are other podcasts.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
That we've been doing for years on all different topics
involving the National Electrical Code. So I am sure you'll
find something in one of those episodes for your flavor
that we talk about the NEC. But on this podcast,
one of the main focuses that we're going to have
in this series is look looking at all of the
(05:01):
things about grounding and bonding, having discussions on service bonding, UH,
We're going to talk about UH bonding of transformers. We'll
will dig into UH separately derived system applications, generators. We're
gonna look about just about everything through this series that
(05:25):
has to do with grounding and bonding.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
And one of the big things that we're going to.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Look at is this this this thing where folks, you know,
the electrical industry. Electricians have this weird pride I guess
that that they never want to be wrong. And so
when you take somebody like myself who has which I
can't be wrong, don't get don't get me wrong. It's
(05:50):
not I'm not here to say that I am always right,
because we can agree to disagree on many things.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
But when I post something on social or something on
a platform, it's usually well founded in research and the
fact that serving on code panels and having various discussions
on the topic, that I feel the need to share
certain information with the public on our social platforms as
well as in our courses, our blogs, and other things
that we offer. And what we find is that in
(06:19):
many cases there are a situation where other electricians want
to chime in and argue and post their opinion. The
problem with that is usually they never post a code reference,
they never back up anything they say, and they just
(06:41):
put it out there on the ether. And the problem
with that is we have a generation now that is
learning based on what they see on social media, and
it's very easy for somebody to just start a YouTube channel,
start a TikTok channel, and become what we call an influencer,
(07:04):
and so people are very easily molded into watching these
influencers who have never really served on any code panel,
They've never written any books, they've never done anything outside
of maybe achieving licensure themselves, So they don't really have
the foundation. And so when they put information out there,
(07:24):
we have to take it with a grain of salt
because what happens is they could be propagating information is
not accurate. It may be what they believe, but it
doesn't make it accurate, and so we have to be
real careful with that. So we spend a lot of
time making sure that when we post something on our
social or we post something and somebody's always eager to
(07:48):
jump right.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
In and give their opinion.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
But you know, I tell people all the time on
my social platforms, I'm not interested in your opinion.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I need you to state facts.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
And when you state fact, you back it up with
code references, not what you believe, that type of thing.
And so we see an awful lot of that on
social media. So I began this little test again, as
y'all know, I do this from time to time, where
I went to Facebook and I started posting some grounding
and bonding pictures and some of the comments that you get,
(08:21):
which I expected this, some of the comments that we
get are really out there. I mean, they're not founded
in anything but somebody's opinion, and they really aren't the
authority to be able to propagate this type of stuff
through social media. They're just giving their opinion, and when
you're quick to correct them, they'll say, well, it should
(08:44):
have been obvious or you know, it's like you know,
like if it's a service application and there's a bonding
jumper application, they might say, well, I said it was
a bonding bushing, but they didn't remember that.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
The general rule that.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
We're talking about is about a bonding jumper, not just
the bonding bushing, because that could be applicable to more
things than where the code requires a bonding jumper, like
in two fifty ninety two B when you're dealing with
service in raceways. It contains service conductors and the little
extra bonding that you have to do at all points
(09:19):
where the raceway, for example, will terminate into an enclosure.
And then the quick to say bonding bushings need it.
But the real focus is a bonding jumper, and they
may understand it.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
And in their mind. They do, but it's how they
convey it.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
And one of the problems with social media is and
unless you point blank be very descriptive and make it
very much detailed, the problem with that is that somebody
will see something and assume it and they don't know that.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
A bonding jumper, for example, is required.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
They may think it's okay just to do a bonding
bushing and when you post and go, well I figured
it was obvious, it's not obvious.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
And so that's the.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Problem with social media is that they only give partial stuff.
It's never substantiated. It's very lax detail. And what I've
determined over the last I guess probably about five years
or so and where the social media has really grown up,
is that I start looking at these posts and they
(10:26):
start analyzing it and Instagram is awful. Probably not as
bad as TikTok, but Instagram is terrible. Facebook's awful, of course,
that's you know, Facebook's also interlocked with with Instagram. But
it's the the armchair experts who really have not, you know,
(10:46):
put in their time.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
I'm okay with being told I'm wrong.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
If you can substantiate it, you just tell me I'm wrong.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
That's not going to do you any good.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
That's the you know, I've served too many years on
code panels and too many books and articles, and I
am one of those those that believe that Augusta Sores is.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
Accurate, and he is right. He was right that type
of thing.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
So at the end of the day, that's what this
podcast is going to make an effort to do. This
is episode one, just trying and give you a little
introduction to me. And my hope is that you will subscribe,
that you will follow as we dig into various topics
with the article two fifty and I will make a
(11:33):
promise to you that I will try since it is
a podcast, and folks know I love podcasts, and this
has been in the works for a while, as I
haven't done any you know, podcasts in the last couple
of weeks on let's ask Paul or Master the NEC podcast.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Because we were working on this.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Podcast that we want to do here that that focus
is on grounding and bonding. That that's that's kind of
the reason, and so it's called the Bond and Ground Podcast.
Hopefully you will listen to it. We will as slowly
it will make its way on all of your popular
listening platforms. We hope that it will and we'll be
(12:16):
able to you know, you know, share information out there
about grounding and bonding, which if you go on social media,
a vast majority of people just don't understand grounding and bonding.
They don't understand it, and so we want to make
an effort to explain it to people and give them
(12:38):
some insight because again, safety, safety, safety, safety, that that's
what we're focusing on. Okay, So anyway, I just want
to let you know this is an introduction. Make sure
you bookmarket share with other people. We're excited about the
Bond and Ground Podcast. Hopefully you will join us as
we'll get into various episodes, votes and talk about all
(13:01):
types of topics that goes with grounding and bonding and
all those great things in Article two fifty and spread
the love.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
All right, folks, take care, God bless.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Thanks for listening to the Bond and Ground Podcast. The
podcasts where grounding and bonding aren't just topics, they're the
foundation of electrical safety. Hosted by CMP five member Paul Abernethy,
this show breaks down the National Electrical Code with a
focus on Article two fifty. Like No One else can.
(13:36):
Whether you're a season electrician or just decoding the code,
you're in the right place. No resistance, just grounded knowledge.
Thanks for listening to the Bond and Ground podcast. Stay bonded,
stay grounded, and as always, trust the real code professionals,
not social influencers.
Welcome to the Bond and Ground Podcast, the podcasts where
grounding and bonding aren't just topics, they're the foundation of
electrical safety. Hosted by CMP five member Paul Abernethie, this
show breaks down the National Electrical Code with a focus
on Article two fifty, the article dedicated to proper grounding
(00:25):
and bonding of electrical systems. Whether you're a season electrician
or just decoding the code, you're in the right place.
No resistance, just grounded knowledge. Now sit back and enjoy
the podcast with your host, Paul Abernethie.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
What up, everybody, Welcome to Bond and Ground podcast. This
podcast is This is the first episode of this new
the Bond and Ground Podcast, where we're going to talk
about all things ground and bonding that associate with Article
two fifty of the National Electrical Code. Also Article two
(01:06):
hundred dealing with grounded conductors as well in the National
Electrical Code. And if you're not familiar with who I Am,
or you've never listened to a podcast before, or you
stumbled onto this podcast, you're thinking, well, who the hell
is this guy and what is his authority to be
able to talk about grounding and bonding? Is he just
(01:27):
another Joe Schmoe that's out there and got their license
and say, hey, I'll just start a damn podcast. So
I guess it would be proper to give a little
bit of an introduction, since this is episode one of
the new podcast called the Bond and Ground Podcast. My
name is Paul Abernathy. If you crack open the front
(01:49):
of your codebook, whether it's the twenty seventeen, twenty twenty,
twenty twenty three, whatever, and the new twenty twenty six
that'll be coming out in year, you'll see my name under.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Code panel five.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
In code panel five, as you know, deals with Article
two fifty and also Article two hundred deals with grounded conductors,
again in many cases a neutral conductor.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
And of course we'll talk about all.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Those nuances here on the podcast as we go through
various episodes. But I wanted to give you a little bit,
a little bit of a background. I'm not new to
the industry. I've been doing this nearly forty years. I've
written books on the subject, helped create courses on grounding
and bonding. I helped write books with a gentleman named
(02:38):
Phil Simmons on grounding and bonding. I have co authored
many books as well as wrote articles, blogs podcasts on
the subject and again serving on Code Making Panel five
for the National Electrical Code from multiple cycles and just
getting to know various members of Code Making Panel and
(03:00):
through the years also as the expert to the Southern
Region as a NIMA representative for a few years there
and being that I also serve as a director of
technical services for probably arguably the world's largest manufacturer of
(03:21):
wiring cable, whether it's low voltage, medium voltage, electronic, whether
it's high voltage, those type of things. So I've been
doing that for quite a few years, so I'd like
to think that I'm a bit of an authority on
subjects that deal with the National Electrical Code. Now you
can agree to disagree, but as we go through this podcast,
we're going to be talking about a lot of topics.
(03:43):
And one of the missions that I used to do
years ago was to look for things when it came
to grounding and bonding that were misconceptions. They were kind
of urban legends that people would share and propagate. And
the next thing, you know, we have this advent of
the social media, and so we get these these platforms
(04:06):
like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, all these different types of social
sharing platforms where behind the keyboard or behind the computer,
everybody's an expert.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
I get it, and they share information.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
The problem with that and the problem that spawned me
to do the Let's Ask Paul podcast.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
If you've never heard it before, check it out. It's available.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Just go on any of your favorite social platforms and
look for Let's Ask Paul podcast or Master the NEC podcast.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Those are other podcasts.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
That we've been doing for years on all different topics
involving the National Electrical Code. So I am sure you'll
find something in one of those episodes for your flavor
that we talk about the NEC. But on this podcast,
one of the main focuses that we're going to have
in this series is look looking at all of the
(05:01):
things about grounding and bonding, having discussions on service bonding, UH,
We're going to talk about UH bonding of transformers. We'll
will dig into UH separately derived system applications, generators. We're
gonna look about just about everything through this series that
(05:25):
has to do with grounding and bonding.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
And one of the big things that we're going to.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Look at is this this this thing where folks, you know,
the electrical industry. Electricians have this weird pride I guess
that that they never want to be wrong. And so
when you take somebody like myself who has which I
can't be wrong, don't get don't get me wrong. It's
(05:50):
not I'm not here to say that I am always right,
because we can agree to disagree on many things.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
But when I post something on social or something on
a platform, it's usually well founded in research and the
fact that serving on code panels and having various discussions
on the topic, that I feel the need to share
certain information with the public on our social platforms as
well as in our courses, our blogs, and other things
that we offer. And what we find is that in
(06:19):
many cases there are a situation where other electricians want
to chime in and argue and post their opinion. The
problem with that is usually they never post a code reference,
they never back up anything they say, and they just
(06:41):
put it out there on the ether. And the problem
with that is we have a generation now that is
learning based on what they see on social media, and
it's very easy for somebody to just start a YouTube channel,
start a TikTok channel, and become what we call an influencer,
(07:04):
and so people are very easily molded into watching these
influencers who have never really served on any code panel,
They've never written any books, they've never done anything outside
of maybe achieving licensure themselves, So they don't really have
the foundation. And so when they put information out there,
(07:24):
we have to take it with a grain of salt
because what happens is they could be propagating information is
not accurate. It may be what they believe, but it
doesn't make it accurate, and so we have to be
real careful with that. So we spend a lot of
time making sure that when we post something on our
social or we post something and somebody's always eager to
(07:48):
jump right.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
In and give their opinion.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
But you know, I tell people all the time on
my social platforms, I'm not interested in your opinion.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I need you to state facts.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
And when you state fact, you back it up with
code references, not what you believe, that type of thing.
And so we see an awful lot of that on
social media. So I began this little test again, as
y'all know, I do this from time to time, where
I went to Facebook and I started posting some grounding
and bonding pictures and some of the comments that you get,
(08:21):
which I expected this, some of the comments that we
get are really out there. I mean, they're not founded
in anything but somebody's opinion, and they really aren't the
authority to be able to propagate this type of stuff
through social media. They're just giving their opinion, and when
you're quick to correct them, they'll say, well, it should
(08:44):
have been obvious or you know, it's like you know,
like if it's a service application and there's a bonding
jumper application, they might say, well, I said it was
a bonding bushing, but they didn't remember that.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
The general rule that.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
We're talking about is about a bonding jumper, not just
the bonding bushing, because that could be applicable to more
things than where the code requires a bonding jumper, like
in two fifty ninety two B when you're dealing with
service in raceways. It contains service conductors and the little
extra bonding that you have to do at all points
(09:19):
where the raceway, for example, will terminate into an enclosure.
And then the quick to say bonding bushings need it.
But the real focus is a bonding jumper, and they
may understand it.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
And in their mind. They do, but it's how they
convey it.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
And one of the problems with social media is and
unless you point blank be very descriptive and make it
very much detailed, the problem with that is that somebody
will see something and assume it and they don't know that.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
A bonding jumper, for example, is required.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
They may think it's okay just to do a bonding
bushing and when you post and go, well I figured
it was obvious, it's not obvious.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
And so that's the.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Problem with social media is that they only give partial stuff.
It's never substantiated. It's very lax detail. And what I've
determined over the last I guess probably about five years
or so and where the social media has really grown up,
is that I start looking at these posts and they
(10:26):
start analyzing it and Instagram is awful. Probably not as
bad as TikTok, but Instagram is terrible. Facebook's awful, of course,
that's you know, Facebook's also interlocked with with Instagram. But
it's the the armchair experts who really have not, you know,
(10:46):
put in their time.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
I'm okay with being told I'm wrong.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
If you can substantiate it, you just tell me I'm wrong.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
That's not going to do you any good.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
That's the you know, I've served too many years on
code panels and too many books and articles, and I
am one of those those that believe that Augusta Sores is.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
Accurate, and he is right. He was right that type
of thing.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
So at the end of the day, that's what this
podcast is going to make an effort to do. This
is episode one, just trying and give you a little
introduction to me. And my hope is that you will subscribe,
that you will follow as we dig into various topics
with the article two fifty and I will make a
(11:33):
promise to you that I will try since it is
a podcast, and folks know I love podcasts, and this
has been in the works for a while, as I
haven't done any you know, podcasts in the last couple
of weeks on let's ask Paul or Master the NEC podcast.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Because we were working on this.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Podcast that we want to do here that that focus
is on grounding and bonding. That that's that's kind of
the reason, and so it's called the Bond and Ground Podcast.
Hopefully you will listen to it. We will as slowly
it will make its way on all of your popular
listening platforms. We hope that it will and we'll be
(12:16):
able to you know, you know, share information out there
about grounding and bonding, which if you go on social media,
a vast majority of people just don't understand grounding and bonding.
They don't understand it, and so we want to make
an effort to explain it to people and give them
(12:38):
some insight because again, safety, safety, safety, safety, that that's
what we're focusing on. Okay, So anyway, I just want
to let you know this is an introduction. Make sure
you bookmarket share with other people. We're excited about the
Bond and Ground Podcast. Hopefully you will join us as
we'll get into various episodes, votes and talk about all
(13:01):
types of topics that goes with grounding and bonding and
all those great things in Article two fifty and spread
the love.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
All right, folks, take care, God bless.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Thanks for listening to the Bond and Ground Podcast. The
podcasts where grounding and bonding aren't just topics, they're the
foundation of electrical safety. Hosted by CMP five member Paul Abernethy,
this show breaks down the National Electrical Code with a
focus on Article two fifty. Like No One else can.
(13:36):
Whether you're a season electrician or just decoding the code,
you're in the right place. No resistance, just grounded knowledge.
Thanks for listening to the Bond and Ground podcast. Stay bonded,
stay grounded, and as always, trust the real code professionals,
not social influencers.
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