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When purchasing household appliances, the user is obliged to take care of its safe connection in order to protect himself from electric shock, and household appliances from breakage. The washing machine is often installed in the bathroom, where the risk of electric shock increases several times. How to avoid it? It is necessary to make the grounding of the washing machine.
Why is it necessary to ground the washing machine
After buying a washing machine, many users boldly connect it to the nearest outlet and do not even think about whether this is right. First of all, you need to ground the washing machine for your safety.
Think! Even machines with an installed noise filter are able to pass current through the case – a power of 110 volts. And if the filter burns out or the wiring is broken, the electric shock can be 220 volts. This is a direct threat to your health, and if installed in a humid room – life.
Moreover, if there is no grounding, the equipment itself may deteriorate. Water contact with damaged wiring will lead to a short circuit and complete combustion of the washer. Think about what is more profitable: learn how to properly ground the washing machine or buy new appliances. Let’s look at the features of the grounding installation with your own hands.
Grounding the washing machine in the apartment
The apartment has two options for grounding. One of them is correct and allowed. Another is also often used by the townsfolk, but is ineffective and “outlawed” today. We will talk about each of them so that you have an idea about the pros and cons of these methods. What tools will be needed:
- Pliers;
- indicator screwdriver;
- tool to clean contacts.
Attention! Disconnect the machine from the mains before starting work.
First option: grounding in old houses
This method will tell you how to ground the outlet and the washing machine in the apartment, if there is no grounding initially. Let’s make a reservation right away that this option is suitable for residents of old-built houses, since in new buildings all sockets are equipped according to modern standards. Progress:
- It is necessary to organize the wiring that will go to all household appliances, including lighting in the apartment.
- To do this, it is necessary to install two buses in the electrical panel, to which the wiring will be connected later. Tires are designated as zero – N, and with grounding – PE. How to connect the ground to the shield, read on.
- From the outlet into which the SMA is connected, a wire is drawn to the shield. It should consist of three cores with a copper section. Connection is carried out as shown in the photo below.
First connect the blue neutral wire that goes to the N bus. Then connect the ground wire to the PE bus, in different cases it can be green or yellow. Now the red phase wire is connected to the RCD of the meter.
Note! It is forbidden to swap contacts.
Thus, you can protect yourself and your equipment. If you are afraid to carry out such work, then call an electrician.
Second option: grounding in the bathroom
How to install grounding on a washing machine in the bathroom if there are no special contacts on the shield? Use the potential equalization method. The fact is that in the bathroom there are a lot of objects that conduct electricity. To get a small electrical discharge, you do not have to touch the body of the SMA – just touch the mixer. We propose to connect all objects that conduct current with metal wires – thus equalizing the potential.
Having SMA in the bathroom, it is necessary to install moisture-proof sockets.
However, this is not enough. For a washing machine without grounding, an RCD is additionally installed. A shield is also required. In case of failures and overloads, the shield will simply knock out, which will save your equipment from damage. Of course, it was not without home masters who came up with their own way of leveling. It is much cheaper, just as effective, but against safety precautions and has its drawbacks. In this case, the ground wire of the washer is fixed to a metal pipe or battery.
A rather dubious option, since the pipes are quickly destroyed under the influence of electricity. This will incur additional costs for their replacement.
Many doubt: is it possible to zero the washing machine? This question is relevant when there is no ground wire on the shield. In this case, there is an option to connect the wire to the zero phase. However, this method is not secure. You decide which option to use in the apartment. One thing is for sure – a washing machine without grounding will sooner or later cause unpleasant situations.
Grounding the machine in a private house
If it is important for you to know how to ground a washing machine in a private house, then you can do it in the same way as in an apartment – follow the methods described above. However, there is another option. Residents of the private sector can independently organize grounding on the street. To do this, select a free area in the yard. You will need three metal pipes. Usually, pipes from old beds are used for these purposes, at least 1,5 meters long. Next, do this:
- Install the pipes in the ground, to a depth of at least 2 meters. The distance between them should be from one to one and a half meters.
- The installation is done so that 15 centimeters of the pipe remain sticking out above the ground. Metal plates are welded to them.
- A ground wire is connected to this structure, which is welded to one of the plates.
- The other end of the wire is brought to the switchboard and connected to the PE (grounding) bus.
If your washer has a special bolt, you can lead the wire to it, and not to the shield. There are times when the machine beats with current due to a breakdown. Therefore, before starting work, inspect the washer for damage to the wiring. After all, if you do not replace the damaged area, there is simply no point in carrying out work. Grounding in any room should be organized using three-wire wires. They should be carried out from the shield to all sockets. The rest of the options, although effective, are dangerous to health. If you are not an electrician, it is better to call a specialist at home. For those who decide to work independently, a video on the topic: