[B]So just remember to keep them seperate after leaving the main panle[/B] I thought this needed to be a seperate post. Mike? I think. I asked a guestion in another post concerning the gnd and neutral wires. I meant that at the panel, the gnd and the neutral actually both lead to the same stake in the ground/earth. Right? So, does this mean they still have to be on different bars in the panel? If so, that is confusing to me. I do understand keeping the ground/case-ground/safety-ground and the neutral seperate at the receptacle end in case of shorts. I have an old 60 amp fuse box in my shop( 3 # 6 copper wires from 200 amp service in my house less than 30 ft ) and have the ground wires and the neutral wires on the same ground bar but seperated everywhere else. Is this correct?

How come some 240 take four wires like the range and dryer and some take three wires like the water heater. How does one know if it takes a fourth wire. On the three wire do they just drop the netrual wire or is it the ground.