[Boatanchors] Basic electricity question

[AB3L1 at aol.com]

also  what is meant by neutral
> lead, and ground?
 
Neutral lead is the return path for the two phases rated to carry the  return 
current. The ground and the neutral are bonded at the main panel but  the 
ground should not be the return path for any load. Here, we attach to a  water 
pipe ground and than jump around the water meter to ensure a path in the  event 
the meter is removed. We also drive two ground rods outside and attach to  the 
neutral/ground panel bus.
 
If you were to put a sub-panel away from the house panel, like in a  detached 
garage, the neutral and the ground in that panel would not be bonded  
together. There would be two separate bus bars, the ground bus actually bonded  to 
the box. The neutral isolated from the box. The feed cable has two power  
conductors, a neutral and a ground wire. When that cable is terminated in the  house 
panel feed the neutral and ground become the same point again.
 
Bob AB3L