Can I run a ground wire from and electrical motor to a bolt that is screwed into wood? Will this work? I have a hot tub and replaced the motor, the new motor has the thick copper ground wire mounted on the back so the wire I have is too short now to reach to where it was grounded before. I ran the wire from the motor to a bolt that is screwed into the wood frame of the hot tub. The old ground went from the motor to the metal brain box witch is also attached to wood so I figured my alternative fix is OK?
Use a wirenut and more wire! It must be a good mechanical connection for grounding. No soldering either. It's not allowed. Tightening two wires together into a piece of wood is not a good mechanical connection. If the wood cracks or the screw becomes less than tight because the wood fibers get wet, the mechanical integrity of the life-saving ground connection could be compromised. Your homemade wooden terminal strip idea is unusable for grounding or any other purpose in home 120/240 volt electrical systems. You can/should tape a loose ground wire to the outside of the supply conductor conduit, for protection of the grounding conductor. I'm glad you asked, and the answer is an emphatic NO! p.s. The best thing would be a new, one piece grounding wire, from point A to point B. Use mechanically crimped eyelets on the wire. Use at least a 14 gauge piece of green colored, stranded, copper THHN wire, available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc by the foot.
Well wood will not provide grounding. If anything attach another wire to the bolt and run it to a metal grounding source. Either way you're going to need more wire. Wood is nonconductive and will not provide a path to ground unless the bolt you're talking about is contacting metal on the other side of the wood or something.
To be effective and prevent the person using the whirlpool hot tub being electrocuted from a wiring fault, the grounding cable needs to be connected from the tub power switch right back to the ground busbar in the electrical distribution box - and extended by use of screwed connections that can't come loose wood can shrink /expand not to code. It's no use connection to a water pipe and hope it makes a good electrical path back to the electrical distribution board as plastic pipes could be used to repair copper ones and the conduction path is lost. The usa NEC codes demand a separate ground cable is installed as many water pipes are plastic non conductive. Alternatively install a GFCI unit (still requires a ground cable) for 30 mA ground fault leakage protection. Note for uk readers this is called an RCD in uk and obligatory in uk bathroom electrical installation.
You should run were that is terminated at the green grounding lug in the service panel. Also connect it to 2 driven ground rods at least 6 feet apart. You can get these rods at almost any electrical supply house
Ahh, you're ok with getting electrical advice on the Internet? How will you know if your setup is wrong and can hurt you? Try to help, but I recommend getting a knowledgable person to look at it. There's a couple of issues here. Wood is not a good insulator. You should have a durable, electrically-sound connection to a properly sized ground source. If you have an arc at the connection, the wood can so be a fire hazard.
