www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2015 43
HVAC/ HYDRONICS
oilheat techs don't have; three years of
vocational high school electronics train-
ing. After graduation, my first full-time
job was for RCA in the Defense Systems
Division and again the need for ground-
ing safety was pounded into my young
head. Next, it was the United States Air
Force where I learned heating, and again
safety was banged into my head over and
over again.
In 2013 we gave up all legal work, but
before that a part of my living was made
as an expert witness. As an expert we had
been involved with several serious injury
cases all caused by improper grounding
of everything from boilers and burners
to air-conditioning condensers. Some
of these techs have been seriously hurt.
Now, many of you are sitting there
thinking, "damn it, George, proper wir-
ing is the duty of a licensed electrician."
Well, you're right, but who put the last
heating unit in? Can you honestly tell
that guy in the mirror that you've con-
nected every burner grounding screw
(the little green one, Figure 1) you've
come across? Oh, I know, "the ground-
ing will be made through the boiler."
Really, ever hear of Teflon™ tape? When
DuPont® first created this stuff it was
for use as an insulator and it still makes
a great one.
The worst case of personal injury
I've heard of was a guy injured working
on an industrial boiler where the con-
nections to the system and water lines
were all made in Teflon™ tape. It was
a beautifully laid out and installed job,
but electrically it was an electric chair
waiting for its next victim. You just can't
keep breaking my second rule and get-
ting away with it: Assume nothing!
Enough on safety, it's your precious
life on the line and all the soap boxing by
me isn't going to change a non-believer.
Now, back to the equipment.
Today's equipment contains more
solid-state components, microproces-
sors, resistors, diodes, rectifiers and
capacitors than you can shake a stick
at, all of it requiring proper grounding.
It's not just primary controls either; it's
electronic ignitors, system controls and
thermostats, too. A lot of the problems
that you are running into are due to
grounding.
When working as an expert witness I
was associated with a gentleman by the
name of Bill Werner. Bill is a genuine
expert on electricity and when we talk
about grounding he gets excited.
"Grounding is called out in every
code and must be done properly for
