Need Earth Ground Without Drilling a Hole

[D from BC]

I need to connect the green earth wire to an aluminum box but... the
tricky situation is that I can't drill a hole for a bolt, screw or pop
rivet.

What do I do?


D from BC

 

[John Larkin]

I need to connect the green earth wire to an aluminum box but... the
tricky situation is that I can't drill a hole for a bolt, screw or pop
rivet.

What do I do?


D from BC

Welded stud.

John

 

[James Beck]

I need to connect the green earth wire to an aluminum box but... the
tricky situation is that I can't drill a hole for a bolt, screw or pop
rivet.

What do I do?


D from BC

Aluminum flux and some solder.
Silver impregnated epoxy, and rough up the surface.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

Jim

 

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

I need to connect the green earth wire to an aluminum box but... the
tricky situation is that I can't drill a hole for a bolt, screw or pop
rivet.

What do I do?

If appearance isn't an issue, there are grounding clips that clip onto
the edge of an approved metal fixture box. Unfortunately, I don't think
aluminum has been used for such a box in premises wiring, so the use of
such a clip (intended for steel boxes) isn't within the scope of their
acceptable use. That's per NEC rules.

TIG weld a ground stud or lug into the box in a convenient location. If
the aluminum is thick, you might be able to drill and tap a blind hole
(if appearance was the reason for the 'no drill' rule).

 

[Rich Grise]

I need to connect the green earth wire to an aluminum box but... the
tricky situation is that I can't drill a hole for a bolt, screw or pop
rivet.

What do I do?

What kind of box? Project box, or wall outlet/junction box?

Good Luck!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

[email protected] says...
Aluminum flux and some solder.
Silver impregnated epoxy, and rough up the surface.

Never, ever solder a safety ground connection.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[D from BC]

Welded stud.

John

Maybe I could make a welder??
I've heard about mini pulse arc welders for jewelery.
D from BC

 

[D from BC]

Aluminum flux and some solder.
Silver impregnated epoxy, and rough up the surface.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

Jim

I could try soldering..But I'll need lots of heat..
The point I have to ground is also an excellent heat sink.
Also...I think aluminum flux might be a specialty item.. A pita to
find.

One time I did mix epoxy with aluminum splinters..Worked good.

Commercial silver conductive adhesive sounds ok.. I'm clueless if this
can pass 15amps in the event of a ground fault. I'll check some
specs..
Also, I wonder if CSA would approve an earth ground wire bonded with
conductive adhesive to an aluminum box.
Maybe the ground wire will burn off...
Although, I'm not aiming for CSA..I do try to practice CSA
approvalable construction.
D from BC

 

[D from BC]

If appearance isn't an issue, there are grounding clips that clip onto
the edge of an approved metal fixture box. Unfortunately, I don't think
aluminum has been used for such a box in premises wiring, so the use of
such a clip (intended for steel boxes) isn't within the scope of their
acceptable use. That's per NEC rules.

TIG weld a ground stud or lug into the box in a convenient location. If
the aluminum is thick, you might be able to drill and tap a blind hole
(if appearance was the reason for the 'no drill' rule).

Oh yah...clips...It's been ages since I've seen that..Totally forgot..
(It's the lead! )
But clips will interfere with assembly in my app.

Tapping is possible but I think I'd have to track down some high
thread count specialty tap.
It's 1.5mm thick aluminum..

I've been thinking buiding making my own TIG welder circuit..
An example on:
http://www3.telus.net/public/a5a26316/TIG_Welder.html
D from BC

 

[Eeyore]

I need to connect the green earth wire to an aluminum box but... the
tricky situation is that I can't drill a hole for a bolt, screw or pop
rivet.

What do I do?

Weld a tab inside the box.

Graham

 

[D from BC]

What kind of box? Project box, or wall outlet/junction box?

Good Luck!
Rich

Project box..but I want all sides smooth.
The electronics inside are at shock levels.

D from BC

 

[D from BC]

Never, ever solder a safety ground connection.

Thanks,
Rich

Is that because of the solder resistance?
Flunks at approval agencies ?
D from BC

 

[Eeyore]

Is that because of the solder resistance?
Flunks at approval agencies ?

Safety grounds require a reliable mechanical connection. The stud (if used)
should also be corrosion proof.

Graham

 

[Rich Grise]

Is that because of the solder resistance? Flunks at approval agencies ?

It's indirectly because of the resistance - at a certain current level,
the I^2R will heat up the solder, which _could_ melt and leave
you with an open ground, which depending on the fault, could make
the equipment dangerous to touch.

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

Project box..but I want all sides smooth. The electronics inside are at
shock levels.

If it's a one-off, then Drill & tap, use a screw on the inside, and grind
off however much screw sticks out on the outside.

Use the kind of lockwasher with the teeth all around, to dig into the
metal.

Good Luck!
Rich

 

[Stanislaw Flatto]

I've been thinking buiding making my own TIG welder circuit..
An example on:
http://www3.telus.net/public/a5a26316/TIG_Welder.html
D from BC

Nice!
Cannot drill a simple hole in soft matter and is building a TIG welder.
No wonder elders are complaining that this world IS going to hell.

HTH

Stanislaw

 

[John Fields]

Project box..but I want all sides smooth.
The electronics inside are at shock levels.

 

[D from BC]

Nice!
Cannot drill a simple hole in soft matter and is building a TIG welder.
No wonder elders are complaining that this world IS going to hell.

HTH

Stanislaw

It's like I got a bad case of stupid-smart

Maybe I can get my ground wire blended into the aluminum like with the
Hutchison effect..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutchison_effect
D from BC

 

[D from BC]

If it's a one-off, then Drill & tap, use a screw on the inside, and grind
off however much screw sticks out on the outside.

Use the kind of lockwasher with the teeth all around, to dig into the
metal.

Good Luck!
Rich

Yup..it's one-off..

Doh!...Forgot the teethed lockwasher.
I'll have to put another screw on and regrind.
D from BC

 

[John Fields]

---
Better yet:

http://www.pemnet.com/fastening_products/pdf/fhdata.pdf